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Keller @ Large: Democrats Chip Away At Scott Brown

BOSTON (CBS) - Alan Khazei gave up his bid for the U.S. Senate Thursday leaving just four Democrats in the race.

Elizabeth Warren's remaining competitors lack money and name recognition, and if she can skip the primary and jump-start the final battle with Republican Scott Brown, she will do so with a formidable head of steam.

Recent polls show months of pounding by Democrats have cut into Brown's approval ratings.

WBZ-TV's Jon Keller Is At Large

His party allies are fighting back, trashing Warren for her support of the occupy movement.

But with Warren clearing the Democratic field and raising tons of dough to match the millions being spent by her partisans, you wonder: If the Democrats are getting negative, shouldn't Brown follow?

Brown responded, "People are smarter than that, they know what I've been doing, they know who I am, they know I'm not part of the Democratic machine that really controls this state."

But when push comes to shove, conservatives will rush in with their own ad buys to bolster Brown's campaign, right?

Not necessarily.

A spokesman for one major right-wing PAC founded by former Bush aide Karl Rove, American Crossroads, tells WBZ-TV:

"Sen. Brown's grassroots popularity coupled with the extreme liberal positions of Liz Warren makes it unlikely that the race will be competitive enough to merit an investment there. But if the race tightened, we'd very likely engage."

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