Ambassador Scott Brown and wife, Gail, weigh in on '24 NH primary and beyond

RYE — A pit stop at a hot dog and beer-filled forum in Rye has become a crucial campaign event for presidential contenders looking to make a splash in New Hampshire ahead of the Republican primary.

Nearly every GOP candidate seeking to boot President Joe Biden in 2024 came one-by-one to the oceanside town this summer for a night of grilling and getting grilled by voters on their policies and positions. The barbecue bashes were headlined by several White House hopefuls, including nine Republicans and Democrat-turned-independent environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The married hosts of the event? None other than the former ambassador and U.S. Senator Scott Brown and his wife, 2022 New Hampshire congressional candidate Gail Huff Brown, a longtime broadcast journalist in Boston.

The Browns began the free candidate nights, dubbed their “No BS Backyard BBQs,” prior to the 2016 election. Sixteen Republicans, the last of which was former President Donald Trump, came to the Seacoast before that election, which started at the Browns’ Rye home but grew in size and required a relocation to a Toyota dealership in Portsmouth.

The Hatch Act prohibited the couple from hosting their forums before the 2020 election, when Brown was serving as Trump’s ambassador to New Zealand. But this year, with the Browns out of public office, the barbecues came back, drawing crowd sizes ranging from 75 to 2,000 people.

“This basically was born out of a conversation between Scott and myself where I said that it isn’t really fair that only certain people get to meet the candidates,” said Huff Brown. “Even though they come to New Hampshire often, they often see the same people again and again and again. These are people that are already well-informed, frankly. They belong to Republican clubs or organizations or big companies where the candidates come to meet big groups at a time.”

Voters who attended this year’s Central Road forums, on a larger property owned by a Rye neighbor, were everyday people, unlike some crowds at other candidate events, said Brown, who served as Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator from 2010 to 2013. He shared that around 40% of attendees came from out-of-state, the majority of whom came from across New England but also traveled from states like Alabama and Maryland.

“We’re the only family in the country that everybody (all the candidates) goes to, and it’s free,” he said. “So, it’s an honor. I’m honored that they would think so highly of us and of the event.”

The Browns spent an estimated $10,000 this year to host nine Republicans — former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Vice President Mike Pence and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — and Kennedy. Both Pence and Suarez have since suspended their campaigns.

“Every one of them handled themselves really well,” Brown said. “They answered every question thoughtfully and honestly. If people didn’t get a good answer, they would ultimately keep asking until they actually got an answer and were satisfied.”

A notable candidate missing from the list was Trump, who has not participated in a televised debate and whose team did not respond to the Browns’ invite.

But the Browns are still open to hosting the 45th President of the United States, even after their slate of forums have come to a close.

“There’s still time, certainly. We’re happy to have him,” said Brown. “We had him last time.”

The Browns see DeSantis and Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, as the two likeliest candidates with the best odds of competing with Trump for the presidential nomination. Recent polling averages from RealClear Politics show Trump in the lead in the Granite State at 46.5%, with Haley trailing at 14.8% and DeSantis behind her at 10.5%.

“I sense that New Hampshire will break late, even though President Trump has a large lead,” Brown said. “I don’t think he’s going to end up with a larger lead. Right now, it’s still his to lose. But you see Nikki Haley and DeSantis as the two that are still kind of strong.”

Huff Brown feels strongly that Trump needs to participate in at least one Republican debate.

"At some point, I do believe that he needs to come out and be able to talk about how he’s going to make a difference and talk about the things that he did during his administration and the things he didn’t do," she said. "I think it’s only fair that the voters get a chance to hear him debate with the other candidates."

In July, the couple hosted Kennedy, then a Democrat, in part because of Biden’s request to have South Carolina’s presidential primary moved up on the nominating calendar ahead of New Hampshire. Biden, whose first-place finish in the 2020 South Carolina primary rejuvenated his campaign after a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire, has since decided not to even file for the 2024 New Hampshire primary.

The Browns feel that Biden’s refusal to file not only flies in the face of New Hampshire’s longtime claim as the first-in-the-nation primary, but also has economic ramifications.

“It’s disrespectful. It’s certainly an economic hit, and quite frankly, I thought our (congressional) delegation could have done more,” Brown said. “They’re all Democrats, and they’re highly ranked Democrats. They should have, I thought, worked harder.”

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan has yet to set a date for the New Hampshire primary.

“It’s not just that. It’s not about money. It’s about the privilege of being able to pick who we believe best represents American interests,” Huff Brown added. “That’s just a huge, huge honor and responsibility. For 100 years, I think we’ve been doing a really, really good job of it. It’s not just embarrassing. I think it’s really an insult that the Democrats have decided to skip New Hampshire.”

Kennedy’s appearance in Rye didn’t disappoint. Brown, who bought 1,000 hot dogs and 30 cases of beer, reported Kennedy brought in 2,000 voters, close to 1,500 more attendees than the second-most attended event for Ramaswamy. Scores of people parked around town to hear Kennedy speak, followed by the candidate shaking hands, taking selfies, and speaking one-on-one with voters after the event.

Brown pondered a hypothetical Election Day 2024 scenario in which Kennedy receives enough votes to prevent Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and the eventual Republican nominee from reaching 270 electoral college votes. In that instance, the House of Representatives would then determine the next president, choosing between the three candidates that earn the most votes. Each state delegation has one vote, and whoever has the majority of states’ support would become president.

Would he endorse Kennedy in the general election? Of all the candidates, Kennedy is the one Brown speaks to the most frequently.

“I’m not sure. I’m intrigued,” Brown said. “He’s a Kennedy, and he’s got some really good ideas. He has to answer for some of the other things that he’s been questioned about, but he’s certainly offering an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. He’s a good guy. I personally like him a lot.”

Brown is planning to endorse a candidate for president ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Who that will be, however, he's not saying.

The former U.S. Senator, a current substitute teacher and girls varsity basketball coach at Amesbury High School, in addition to cross country coach at Rye Junior High School, will likely endorse a candidate by the end of November, he said.

“I’m going to wait for it to shake out a little bit more and we’re still going to see if President Trump has any interest in attending (a forum in Rye),” he said. “I think it’s important to do this and put your name out there and not hide behind the cloak of secrecy, especially if you’re a public figure and you’re active.”

Huff Brown, a Carey and Giampa realtor, Rye Junior High School substitute teacher and Strawbery Banke Museum historical interpreter, is unsure about whether she’ll endorse a candidate for president in 2024. One thing she’s sure of, though, is that she currently doesn’t plan to run for office in the future.

“My role in this is simply to provide a forum for voters to listen to the candidates and to make decisions, and to be educated in their decisions. That’s my role,” she said. “I don’t see my role being any grander or more important than that.”

Her husband is a different story. Brown is eyeing a possible return to Congress in 2026.

The seat held by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, will be on the ballot in that election cycle, as will the two House of Representative seats currently occupied by Rep. Chris Pappas and Rep. Annie Kuster, also both Democrats. In 2014, Shaheen beat Brown, the Republican nominee, in the race for the New Hampshire U.S. Senate seat.

“I think I have one more run left in me,” Brown said. “I’m really upset about the direction of our country. So, it’s obviously not in this cycle, but I think next cycle, I’m going to really look hard. I think most people get involved in politics because they’re not happy with the representation they’re getting. We have an all-Democrat delegation right now on the federal level. There’s complete dysfunction in politics right now, and I think good people on both sides of the aisle need to get involved to bring us back to the middle.”

New Hampshire has always been a must-visit state for presidential candidates throughout the years. But when it comes to the Seacoast, Republicans know to come knocking on the Browns’ door for access to throngs of voters.

“Seeing them standing right in front of you in a backyard or at a barn, without the klieg lights… really brings them down to just another person,” Huff Brown said. “I think that’s better for the voter because they get to see them in a real down-to-earth environment.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Sen. Scott Brown and wife, Gail, weigh in on NH primary and beyond