page_title: Scott Brown (politician)
section_title: Political positions
hierarchical_section_title: Scott Brown (politician) / Political positions
caption_attribution_description: English: Image courtesy of The White House. President Barack Obama meets with Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., in the Oval Office, June 16, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
context_page_description: Scott Philip Brown is an American diplomat, attorney, and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. He is a former United States Senator for Massachusetts, and also was the 2014 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. Prior to his Senate tenure, Brown served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court, first in the State House of Representatives and then in the State Senate.
  In 2010, Brown faced Democratic candidate Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election which occurred after the 2009 death of longtime Senator Ted Kennedy. While initially trailing Coakley by a large margin, Brown saw a sudden late surge and posted a come-from-behind win to become the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts since Edward Brooke in 1972. Brown ran for a full Senate term in 2012, but lost to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren. He subsequently joined the board of directors of Kadant paper company, joined Fox News as a commentator, and joined Nixon Peabody where he provided legal services.
  After re-establishing residence in New Hampshire, Brown then campaigned for the U.S.
context_section_description: Scott Brown is a moderate Republican. Brown describes himself as socially moderate and fiscally conservative. He said he is a "pro-choice moderate Republican." He said that he voted 50–50 with Democrats and Republicans and said he is bipartisan. He identifies himself as a "Reagan Republican". He has said, "I'm going to be the only person down there who is going to be the independent voter and thinker ... I've always been the underdog in one shape or form." The University of Chicago's Boris Schor completed an analysis of his tenure in the state legislature and concluded that his voting record was more liberal than two-thirds of Massachusetts Republican state legislators. "He has supported abortion rights and come out against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage – an issue he has said should be up to states to decide. As a state legislator, he also supported Massachusetts' groundbreaking legislation to provide universal healthcare." However, in 2010, Brown was endorsed by the conservative Tea Party Express. After being elected, Brown said that "[he's] not a Tea Party member." As a United States Senator, Congressional Quarterly found that Brown voted with President Obama's 2011 positions on legislation 69.6% of the time. According to GovTrack, Brown was the third most moderate Republican Senator during his tenure in the Senate. He has a lifetime 53% conservative rating from the American Conservative Union and a 50% liberal rating from the Americans for Democratic Action. In 2012, the non-partisan National Journal gave him a rating of 54% conservative and 46% liberal.
caption: Brown meets President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, June 2010.
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