Scott Brown lost narrowly to incumbent New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, after starting the race 10 points behind this spring.
His almost-but-not win was aided by a huge gender gap among men, according to exit polls. Brown won 55 percent of the men’s vote, leaving roughly 45 for Shaheen. (RELATED: Jeanne Shaheen Conspired With White House Insider On IRS Targeting Scandal)
But women cast more votes than men, and they went for Shaheen by the much larger gap of 59 percent to 41 percent. (RELATED: Liens Filed Against Dem Senator Jeanne Shaheen And Her Husband For Failure To Pay Creditors)
Recent polls showed Brown less than one point behind Shaheen in the final days of the campaign.
Brown goosed his campaign in August and September by touting border security, but didn’t press the hot-button issue of jobs, wages and immigration until very late in the election. (RELATED: N.H. GOP Hits Shaheen For Replacing American Workers)
Brown was slammed by Democrats as a carpetbagger, because he is from nearby Massachusetts, and only moved to New Hampshire after the 2012 loss of his Senate seat in Massachusetts. Shaheen’s campaign was aided by a bevy of Democratic bigs, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Brown was supported by several senior GOP leaders, most notably, Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Senate’s leading immigration hawk. (RELATED: Shaheen Jeered At Debate After Interrupting Scott Brown)