Incumbent Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen held on and defeated Republican Scott Brown in New Hampshire’s US Senate race on Tuesday evening. Major networks called the race for Shaheen a little after 9 PM ET as she held a solid lead over the former Massachusetts Senator and projections showed that Brown would be unable to catch up. With 25% of precincts reporting, Shaheen was up 53% to Brown’s 47%. There just weren’t enough Republican votes left in the remaining precincts to help out Brown.
The victory was a bitter pill for Brown, who was hoping a change of scenery could help him get back to the Senate after he lost to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in 2012. While Brown caught up to Shaheen in the polls as Election Day approached, his being painted as an opportunistic carpetbagger hurt him greatly and he just couldn’t shake it. Brown also received a bit of bad press in the run-up to the election due to a Republican rally where the state’s GOP chair called for the drowning of Democrats.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, released the following statement after Shaheen’s victory.
“Tonight’s results are great for the people of New Hampshire and middle class families across the country. As the first woman to serve as both Governor and U.S. Senator, Jeanne Shaheen is the epitome of New Hampshire values and has been a relentless advocate for the Granite State in Washington. Senator Shaheen always puts New Hampshire first. I look forward to serving alongside her for years to come as she continues to fight for New Hampshire’s middle class and small businesses.”
Clara Jeffery of Mother Jones had the perfect tweet for Brown after Shaheen was projected as the winner.
Which state should Scott Brown run in next? http://t.co/49p5vwhjLi #nhsen pic.twitter.com/r20SGQjXVX
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) November 5, 2014
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
