WASHINGTON — Senator Scott Brown is planning to attend the Republican National Convention this August but will not have a speaking role as his party gathers to tap his fellow Massachusetts Republican, Mitt Romney, as its presidential nominee.
Of any Republican in the country, perhaps no candidate has more to risk by being at the convention than Brown, who is running for reelection as an independent-minded Republican in a deep blue state. Also, Romney does not fare well in public opinion polls in his home state, and the Globe reported in May about how the two men are political allies but have never been particularly close.
But Brown is still choosing to attend, even while some vulnerable Democrats — most prominently Senator Claire McCaskill, of Missouri — decide not to attend their convention. Some suggest the lawmakers — several from Republican-heavy states — are staying clear of the convention for fear of being too closely linked to their party and their president; McCaskill’s camp says she wants to stay in Missouri to campaign.
“It’s always a proud moment for Massachusetts when one of its own is nominated for president of the United States, whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican,” said Colin Reed, a Brown campaign spokesman. “Senator Brown will be attending the convention with other members of the delegation.”
Brown plans to be at the convention in Tampa when Romney accepts the nomination, which takes place on the final day of the convention and will mark a crowning moment for the small but merry band of Massachusetts Republicans. But Brown will not have a speaking role himself, according to his campaign.
It’s not necessarily a given that Brown would have a speaking role at the biggest gathering of GOP officials. He is a freshman senator. He’s also been a rising star in his party, and one of a few who has tried to promote himself as willing to work with Democrats.
Brown and Romney have several overlapping advisers — Eric Fehrnstrom, Beth Myers, and Peter Flaherty are part of the inner circles for both — who likely could ensure that Brown takes the podium, were there a political benefit.
Caroline Kennedy campaigns for Obama in Granite State
NASHUA, N.H. — Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, urged New Hampshire residents Wednesday to support President Obama in his reelection bid during a short campaign tour in the Granite State.
Kicking-off her two-day campaign, Kennedy stopped at the Obama campaign headquarters in Nashua to rally support for the Democrat. Her trip comes just days after the president traveled to Oyster River High School in Durham to seek support for his reelection campaign against Republican Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who has a vacation home on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee.
In a crowded room adorned with Obama campaign posters, Kennedy spoke of the president’s accomplishments in Washington, such as repealing ‘‘don’t ask don’t tell’’ in the military, investing in clean energy, and saving the American auto industry. She also commended him for his work on education, an issue she championed for many years as the vice chairwoman of the Fund for Public Schools in New York City.
She drew parallels between Obama and her late father, saying she believes the president has the power to inspire the country and that the country faces a crossroads as it did in 1960.
Kennedy told supporters that she believes Obama represents a vision of opportunity, fairness, and a better future, while the ‘‘Republican vision, like Richard Nixon, would turn the clock back on so much of the social justice and economic problems.’’
Obama bus tour ready to roll across Pennslyvania, Ohio
WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to hit the road next week, traveling on a two-day bus tour that will allow him to focus more on direct engagement with voters and less on ritzy fund-raisers.
Obama’s bus trip, the first of his campaign this year, begins July 5 and will go across Pennsylvania and Ohio, two battleground states in the November election, an official said.
The trip will coincide with the release of the monthly nationwide jobs report, a key economic indicator that could affect the president’s reelection prospects. The most recent report, for May, showed a slight uptick in the unemployment rate, raising fears among Obama aides of an election-year economic slowdown.
Rangel’s margin of victory in primary race shrinks
NEW YORK — New York Representative Charles Rangel’s margin of victory in Tuesday’s primary shrunk to less than 3 percentage points, but his campaign expressed confidence that he would still win.
By midday Wednesday, with 93 percent of precincts in the 13th Congressional District reporting, Rangel had 43.98 percent, or 16,898 votes, compared with state Senator Adriano Espaillat’s 41.18 percent, or 15,823 votes.
said he was confident the result would hold.
‘‘He’ll still be victorious when this is over,’’ he said.
Lynch was referring to the process by which the New York City Board of Elections officially certifies results. That process involves tallying any absentee ballots that have come in, along with the counts from the vote scanners. City Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez said absentee ballots would start being opened July 5.