Brown’s campaign has worked hard to resist that link, DiCara said, but the association may be hard to shake. Even as Brown has shown himself to be a strong advocate of women, his party’s stances on abortion and affirmative action may undercut his efforts to paint himself as progressive representative for women.
“Scott Brown himself is probably okay on women’s issues,” DiCara said. “The real issue is not Scott Brown, but it’s the people who will end up having the gavels in the Senate if the Republicans have a majority.”
Though Brown will need to attract the votes of blue-collar women who tend to vote Democratic in order to win, his success is still largely dependent on men’s votes.
The same gender gap that gives Warren a leg up among women, gives Republicans like Brown and advantage among me, Gray said.
“If he can drive up the number of white males that are supporting him that will help him against Warren’s advantage among female voters,” said Democratic political consultant Dan Payne.
—Staff writer Nicholas P. Fandos can be reached at nicholasfandos@college.harvard.edu.