Polito's Take: Scott Brown made you look

(MyFoxBoston.com) -- Scott Brown is not running for Governor of Massachusetts, but he certainly got your attention.

When Brown told the Boston Herald that he was thinking about it, that made news and it gave him the opportunity to seize that attention and insert some great talking points. Those points are sure to be the foundation of the Republican campaign to win back the corner office no matter who gets the nomination.

Brown hammered away at the EBT issue and the problems of mismanagement in the state. Then he hit on all the scandals, the probation department, the crime lab, and the MBTA's refusal to release pension information, just to name a few. I believe the key issue in the governor's race will be accountability and Scott Brown just fired the opening salvo.

If Charlie Baker had said all those things they would have been the proverbial tree falling in the forest and no one around to hear it; however, when Scott Brown talks, people listen, especially if he's cagey in answering whether he'll run for governor.

The 2014 election will almost be a mirror image of the race in 1990 that landed Republican William Weld in the corner office. All of the negatives from the Dukakis era contributed to Democrat John Silber's defeat. Voters were fed up and I believe they are now. Whether that momentum still can beat the machine is certainly debatable.

Just for the record, Brown would beat Charlie Baker in the primary. Remember, Brown's former campaign aide Kirsten Hughes is now the chair of the state Republican Party. A job she landed thanks to Scott Brown's influence. That's a big advantage. It would be a bloody primary, but in the end nearly all state Republicans would fall into line behind Brown against the Democratic nominee.

As for the final election, consider this: Scott Brown still has rock star status. He's no longer the darling of the far right, and some state Republicans are disillusioned with him because he chose not to run for U.S. Senate again. But, he has big name recognition and he appeals to middle of the road voters. These are the people who can swing an election to a Republican in this very blue state. In the Governor's race, my money would be on him to beat any Democrat. Remember, this is a state election. The Democratic National Committee will not be a major factor in the race. They put money and organization into the Senate race because they wanted to keep a firm control on their Senate majority. The governor's race is different. I think we are more likely to see Scott Brown help Charlie Baker and then possibly run for Senate in N.H. where he has a summer home.

What do you think? Tweet me, @jimpolito.

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