Brown rakes in $2M with Romney’s help

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will return to New Hampshire Wednesday to campaign for GOP Senate candidate Scott Brown.

{mosads}Brown, formerly a senator from Romney’s home state of Massachusetts, is vying with a handful of other Republicans for the chance to take on Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) this fall. 

The former Massachusetts governor’s visit to the state comes on the heels of the news that Brown raised more than $2 million during the three months since he launched his campaign, in April. He hasn’t yet released his second-quarter fundraising disclosure forms, so it’s unclear how much he’s spent over those first three months, or how much cash he has in the bank. 

But a campaign aide confirmed the number to The Hill, and it’s the strongest single-quarter haul of any New Hampshire Senate candidate this cycle, including Shaheen.

That $2 million sum was achieved with Romney’s help, according to the New Hampshire Journal, which reported Romney headlined a fundraiser for Brown in Chicago on Sunday. He’ll formally endorse the candidate on Wednesday during an event at Scamman’s Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, N.H., where Romney launched his last presidential campaign.

Still, Shaheen had a considerable financial head start on Brown, posting $4.3 million cash on hand at the end of March. And she’s got fundraising powerhouses in her own corner: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who defeated Brown in one of last cycle’s most expensive and hard-fought matchups, has been helping Shaheen, hosting a fundraiser for her in Boston on Monday.