Scott Brown flubs, forgets he's in New Hampshire
Former New Hampshire - er, Massachusetts - Sen. Scott Brown better get his story straight if he's really toying with the idea of representing the Granite State in the U.S. Senate.
Following a visit to Londonderry, N.H., where he spoke and signed books for the local Republican committee, the GOP former lawmaker had to scramble to save face after spacing for a moment about what state he was in.
"What I've heard from the Republicans up here is they're thankful that I've been around for a year, helping them raise money, helping them raise awareness as to the issues that are affecting not only people here in Massachusetts - uh, in New Hampshire - but also in Massachusetts, obviously, in Maine," Brown told reporters outside the event.
"I've been to Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut," he went on. "I've been all over the New England area, certainly talking and helping people raise money."
Left-leaning political organization American Bridge wasted no time putting the flub on YouTube, and blasting out an email that said it put "to shame" Texas Gov. Rick Perry's campaign-ending "oops moment" during a 2012 presidential primary. "I don't know if this has ever been polled, but I reckon that being confident about the name of the state you're running for office in is fairly high on voters' list of important attributes for candidates," American Bridge's Chris Harris wrote in the email.
Brown was reportedly answering a question about whether he would ever end his coy game of will he-or-won't he and set a timetable for deciding on a run.
He initially raised eyebrows in April, when he refused to rule out a challenge against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen - the first Democrat to come out of New Hampshire since former Sen. John Durkin was ousted in 1980. The fodder continued when Brown, who owns a house in Rye, N.H., put his Massachusetts property up for sale in September. And in recent weeks, he changed his Twitter handle from @ScottBrownMA to @SenScottBrown.
After losing his Massachusetts seat to Democrat Elizabeth Warren last fall, Brown in February declined to pursue the one left vacant by now-Secretary of State John Kerry. He's since joined on as a contributor at Fox News.
