maxomai | #MASEN: Scott Brown is out (Reply)

Former US Senator Scott Brown, who recently lost badly to Harvard professor and current US Senator Elizabeth Warren, was, via PPP, the front runner to win the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry. On the other hand, he also stood a good chance to win the 2014 Massachusetts Gubernatorial election. It all basically came down to what he wants to do.

Today, Scott Brown made his choice.

"I was not at all certain that a third Senate campaign in less than four years, and the prospect of returning to a Congress even more partisan than the one I left, was really the best way for me to continue in public service at this time. And I know it’s not the only way for me to advance the ideals and causes that matter most to me," Brown said in a statement. "That is why I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for the United States Senate in the upcoming special election."

So, what does this mean?

The MAGOP doesn't really have a lot of other options to run for that seat, so whoever wins the Democratic Primary is automatically the front-runner. Right now, that person is likely to be Ed Markey, provided that he gets his shit together, fast. (Seriously, Markey, don't choke. Remember the lessons of 2010.)

This doesn't raise his chances to be Massachusetts's next Governor. We still have to see whether he decides to run for that seat, or to bow out of politics altogether. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him to bow out, particularly if the conservative money just isn't there anymore.