A year ago, Republican Kelly Ayotte couldn’t escape the vice presidential buzz.
Potential presidential candidates dropped her name. Democrats seized on the rumors as an attack line, accusing Ayotte of seeking higher political office while running for reelection to the U.S. Senate.
Flash forward to now and oh, how times have changed.
The New Hampshire name being floated for VP is none other than Scott Brown’s, a Republican who has never held elected office here. Brown crossed the state’s southern border to run for U.S. Senate in 2014, only to lose to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen amid a national GOP wave.
News outlets are reporting that the former Massachusetts U.S. Senator is on Donald Trump’s VP list.
Brown hasn’t exactly shut down the rumors. Last week he told the Boston Globe: “of course I would do it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Trump supporters say behind the scenes they are skeptical of the choice. And in reality, it’s unlikely Brown would do much to boost the Trump ticket in the Granite state.
During his 2014 run, Brown was panned by some state conservatives as “soft on guns,” others labeled him a carpetbagger. He faced primary challenges from former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith and former state Sen. Jim Rubens (who is running again this year). Brown defeated both handily, winning 49.9 percent of the vote. But Rubens and Smith still picked up a chunk of support, earning 23 and 22.6 percent respectively.
Since the loss, Brown has remained active in the New Hampshire political scene. He hosted a number of GOP presidential contenders at a series of “no-B.S.” backyard barbecues on the seacoast. He also picked up some odd jobs, working at a local bike shop in North Hampton.
But now Brown is taking on a new role, becoming one of the most prominent politicians here to vocally back Trump.
Ayotte, for her part, has faced blowback over her choice of words on the matter – she is supporting, but not endorsing Trump. Top state lawmakers have said they will vote for the nominee, but haven’t gone much further. Others have remained silent, and few have shown up to Trump’s campaign events since he has come back as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
Brown, last week, got on a press call to hammer Hillary Clinton after the FBI recommended no charges be filed against her.
“It’s just beginning, because it continues to add with this pattern of not being honest with the American people,” he said, while defending Trump. And Perhaps it’s just the beginning for Brown too, as he seeks to relaunch his political career here.
Rising Revenue
The state got a big boost last week, learning revenues are a whopping $100 million above projections. But don’t start banking on that dough yet.
The Legislature has already promised some of it away this year, to substance abuse initiatives, and to patch a hole in a police training budget. Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan also signed a bill into law that redirects up to $40 million of a state surplus to the largely depleted rainy day fund.
The state won’t learn the actual surplus figures until later in the fall, and then lawmakers will have a clearer picture of how much extra money is really left over.
One of the biggest boosters of state revenue was business taxes, which came in nearly 75 million above expectations. Republicans are rejoicing, saying the tax cuts they put in place during the last budget are working. Hassan vetoed the state spending document over concerns with the reductions, but eventually agreed to accept them with an escape hatch. If business taxes don’t reach $4.6 billion by June 2017, the second round of cuts won’t take effect. Republicans are hopeful. And whatever the outcome, Hassan won’t have to deal with it.
The state will have a new governor then who will have to face the changes.
A look ahead
New Hampshire is basking in presidential attention months after the first-in-the-nation primary. Hillary Clinton is stopping in the state Tuesday for what some expect will be a big announcement – an endorsement from rival Democrat Bernie Sanders. She’ll be in Portsmouth.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com)