Brown Campaigns in Concord ... One Onion Ring at a Time

It’s not even May yet, but it is definitely campaign season in New Hampshire, and one candidate, former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, is hoping the formula he used to get elected in 2010 in the Bay State will work in the Granite State in 2014.

For the second time in two weeks, Brown, along with his wife Gail Huff, a former broadcaster for WCVB-TV in Boston, have quietly visited the capital city talking to people in public settings, without a lot of hoopla, while looking for votes.

Two Fridays ago, they popped into The Draft on South Main Street to pour some beers and talk to patrons. On April 29, Brown, Huff, a campaign staffer, and some local Republicans stopped by the Beefside Restaurant on Manchester Street, for some onion rings, French fries, and sodas. 

The sign at the restaurant – which is known for its snappy, sometimes snarky sayings – simply read, “Welcome Scott Brown!”

Inside, Brown thanked the staffers behind the counter for putting up the sign and then, spoke to the cooks, noting that he, his father, and Huff once owned a breakfast luncheonette.

“But we didn’t do any fried stuff like that,” he said, with a smile, later wishing another staffer a happy birthday.

They all then sat down, talked a bit of public policy, and quickly devoured two huge plates of rings and fries, seemingly pleased with the food.

“Yum, yum, yum,” Huff said, holding up the empty onion rings basket.

On the way out the door, Brown chatted with some patrons, with one older woman commenting about the negative television ads she had seen about him.

“There’s all sorts of crazy stuff out there,” Brown said. “Unless you hear me saying it myself, then it’s not true.”

At another table, he talked with a woman and boy who were ordering seafood. Brown said he enjoyed it too and just before leaving, reminded the boy to study hard.

Outside of Beefside, Brown said he was enjoying meeting with “salt of the Earth” folks around the state.

“We’re working very hard, every day, going out and meeting new people, businesses … individuals … learning and understanding their issues,” he said, adding that a lot of people were talking about the problems associated with the Affordable Care Act. “It’s something I like … it’s fun … I enjoy it very much.”

Brown then got into his GMC pickup truck and headed to more stops, including the Quality Cash Market in East Concord and later, a stop in at The Barley House on North Main Street in Downtown Concord.

Following along with all the Patch 2014 election coverage in our Elections section.