In a boost to his independent brand, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) today got the endorsement of retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

“In an institution characterized by gridlock and partisanship, Scott Brown is a much-needed breath of fresh air,” Snowe said in a statement released by the Brown campaign. “During the last two years, I have worked closely with Scott and have come to appreciate his independent spirit and bipartisan outlook.”

Part of Brown’s story to voters in Massachusetts, who overwhelmingly vote for Democrats in political offices of every level in state and federal elections, is that he is an independent voice who votes for what is in their best interest, instead of toeing the GOP party line.

To bolster his case, he’ll point to Congressional Quarterly’s 2011 vote study, which found that in Senate votes where a majority of Democrats voted against a majority of Republicans, he voted with his party only 54 percent of the time. Snowe voted with the GOP 57 percent of the time in 2011.