Want the scoop on hot races around the country? Get the digest emailed to you each weekday morning. Sign up here. Leading Off: ' MA-Sen: What a huge relief: On Friday, Republican ex-Sen. Scott Brown said he will not run in the special election to replace John Kerry, who was just confirmed as Secretary of State. Brown's singular appeal and universal name recognition made him the only Republican capable of making this a competitive race from the get-go, but without him in the race, it's hard to imagine the GOP stealing a Massachusetts Senate seat once again.
Of course, Brown had plenty of good reasons not to run. He caught lightning in a bottle in the 2010 special to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, when conservatives were convinced his election would block passage of Obamacare. Not only did that turn out to be badly wrong, but there's no defining issue fueling tea party rage right now that Brown could use to replicate his unlikely first run for office.
On top of that, he got turfed by eight points last year while running against a first-time candidate in the form of Elizabeth Warren. Warren certainly benefited from increased presidential-year turnout, but new polling from PPP showed Brown under 50 percent, with most undecideds saying they'd voted for Warren just a few months earlier. Those types of numbers painted a very difficult picture for Brown, who, after all, just endured a very bruising race'though he certainly would have caused plenty of difficulty for Democrats, too. But if he wants to run for something else, many Republicans have pushed him for next year's gubernatorial contest, a potentially easier affair in which he may well engage (though his statement made no mention of that possibility).
For now, though, the GOP has to turn to its various Plan B's, none of whom look particularly attractive. Continue reading below the fold to see what their (meager) options look like.
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