Former Sen. Scott P. Brown locked up the GOP nomination for Senate Tuesday in New Hampshire, defeating several opponents.  

The Republican had 49 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race with 21 percent of precincts reporting.  

Brown, who previously represented neighboring Massachusetts in the Senate, will face incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in November. The Republican establishment had already all but anointed Brown as the nominee. But on Tuesday, he made it official, defeating another former senator, Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., former state Sen. Jim Rubens, and several lesser-known candidates. [field name=iframe]  

Rubens had the backing of Mayday PAC, which ran $1.6 million in ads supporting him. He and Smith were tied at 23 percent when the Associated Press called the race. 
Mayday PAC is a super pac with an ironic goal to get big outside money out of politics. Brown faces a somewhat uphill battle to return to the Senate. Public polling shows him trailing Shaheen. But recent polls put him behind by only single digits, and observers expect the race to tighten after the primary.  

The race is rated Democrat Favored by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.
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