GREAT SCOTT? – AT 9:15 A.M. ET:  Former Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown seems to be getting closer and closer for another Senate run...from New Hampshire.  From CBS and AP: 

Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown has decided to form an exploratory committee for a possible Senate run in New Hampshire, according to a CBS News report.

Brown has also begun seeking campaign staff while aggressively courting New Hampshire’s political elite, marking what local Republicans consider serious steps toward launching a Senate campaign against Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

The forming of an exploratory committee officially allows him to begin raising money and hiring staff. An official announcement has not yet been made.

The longtime Massachusetts resident recently relocated to his seacoast New Hampshire vacation home.

Brown spent much of the past two weeks calling key New Hampshire Republican officials and influential GOP activists, saying he was going to run and seeking their support. At the same time, Brown’s camp has quietly begun offering paid positions to Republican operatives for a prospective New Hampshire campaign.

Several people involved in the discussions said some in the GOP establishment remain skeptical given the former Republican senator’s recent track record. The 54-year-old Brown angered Massachusetts Republicans last year after indicating he would run in the state’s special U.S. Senate election, only to change his mind late in the process.

“He’s been reaching out to opinion leaders, to grassroots activists, getting a sense of, ‘Would you be supporting a Scott Brown campaign,’” said former New Hampshire Rep. Frank Guinta, who is running again for Congress and was included in Brown’s outreach efforts. “That, to me, says he’s serious. But I think only Scott Brown knows if Scott Brown is going to run.”

Democrats hope he does not.

While recent polls give Shaheen a solid lead in a prospective matchup, Brown’s near-universal name recognition in a state that shares a media market with Massachusetts and his national fundraising network would make him a serious contender on Day One should he enter the race.

COMMENT:  I hope he runs, but I think it will be very difficult.  Even though he comes from neighboring Massachusetts, and has a home in New Hampshire, some will still see him as a carpetbagger and an opportunist. 

Also, Shaheen, while vulnerable, is not a left-wing nut case.  She'll run a good campaign.  Of course, if Scott can defeat her, it's one more GOP senator in the battle to take control of the Senate.

March 14, 2014