Bloomberg backs Scott Brown in Massachusetts Senate race

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-bloomberg-backs-scott-brown-in-massachusetts-senate-race-20120726,0,2492843.story

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is throwing his support behind Sen. Scott Brown’s bid for reelection, giving a boost to the Massachusetts Republican who faces a fierce opponent in Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Bloomberg will host a fundraiser for Brown on Aug. 15, according to an invitation first reported by Politico.

Brown, who swept into office in 2010 as a darling of the tea party movement, has carefully cast himself as a centrist senator who isn’t afraid to buck the party establishment. It’s an image that should help his efforts to defeat Harvard law professor Warren, who is hoping to return to Democratic control the seat that was held for decades by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Bloomberg’s support could help cement that image: The New York mayor is a Republican-leaning independent who is known for making the Republican Party uncomfortable. He’s made headlines most recently with calls for immigration reform, gun control and an initiative to ban the sale of enormous sugar-sweetened beverages.