Republicans look to Shaheen and Brown race to balance Senate

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – Senator Jeanne Shaheen may be in a race against Scott Brown in N.H., although technically Brown isn't truly official yet. This is the race Republicans see as their chance to help win the balance of the Senate.

In N.H. you are about to see an influx of ads, and a lot of familiar faces. But analysts on both sides agree, there's one person you likely won't see visiting the Granite State anytime soon, the president.

No sign of Shaheen on her own campaign website, just an unfavorably treated image of former Senator Scott Brown. For his part Brown is keeping his site low key, at least so far. In N.H., this Senate race is set to shape up to be one of the most closely watched in the country.

Democratic strategist Jim Spencer says Shaheen's campaign will take some tips from Senator Elizabeth Warren's in 2012.

"You're going to see a similar race to the Warren race. That he's a tool of Wall Street. That he's in bed with polluters. That he's against the kind of everything that New Hampshire stands for. Environmentally, small business-wise he's a tool of the big banks," Spencer said.

Republican strategist Pat Griffin says from their side, it's going to be all about the president and his policies.

"Obamacare is the albatross around every single Democrat's neck. But it's not the only one. The president himself is a problem and to that extent this race is not just going to be about Jeanne Shaheen. It's going to be about Barack Obama," Griffin said.

Given Obama's low poll numbers, Griffin says it's highly unlikely that he will be seen campaigning alongside Shaheen in N.H. Instead, for a state that's used to presidential candidates, he says get ready to see them early.

"I think you'll see Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton attached at the hip to the Shaheens. They're very close friends. I fully expect that the 2014 senate race for Jeanne Shaheen will be the beta test site for Hillary's 2016 run in New Hampshire 07," Griffin said.

"I think what's really interesting on the Republican side is if we see Ron Paul. N.H. has a very strong Libertarian streak. And Ron Paul has always done his father, done well there. And if you get Ron Paul out for Brown that could be very significant and interesting," Spencer said.

Polling will decide but it's likely you'll see Senator John McCain and Governor Mitt Romney. Possibly even Chris Christie, while Obamacare and Obama may be Shaheen's biggest hurdle. Brown does have a glaring problem, the carpetbagger tag.

"Certainly he's going to have to overcome that. But he is a charming retail politician. I think that Scott Brown probably can," Spencer said.

Independent voters make up the biggest block of voters in N.H., while registered Democrats and Republicans are fairly similar in number. So swing voters are key in this race.

Cox Media Group