Senator Scott Brown says he is ‘underdog’ in re-election bid; calls Elizabeth Warren ‘very, very liberal’

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Pivoting to a re-election campaign mode that he has so far avoided, US Senator Scott Brown today declared himself the underdog in a battle against likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren, but expressed confidence that he can win a full six-year term by persuading voters that she is too liberal and uncompromising on a host of issues.

“I’ve always been the underdog and I will be the underdog again,’’ Brown said, referring to his come-from-behind victory in January 2010 when he stunned the political world by capturing the Senate seat once held by Edward M. Kennedy’s death.

He noted that he is the only Republican to hold federal or statewide office in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, but pointed out that there is a tradition among Bay State voters of splitting tickets.

He said voters will have a “clear choice’’ next November, as he described himself as the “most bipartisan’’ member of the Senate and accused Warren of adhering to a rigid liberal ideology.

“She is very, very liberal,’’ Brown said in a brief, 15-minute interview at Mul’s Diner in South Boston this morning, one in a series of meetings with members of the Massachusetts media today.

He made clear that he wants to project an image as an independent Republican who can reach across party lines and that Warren is far too partisan.

“She’s stated ... there’s no problem leaving blood and teeth in the streets and not compromising,’’ he said.

His comments were the first significant campaign statements he has offered since Warren burst onto the political landscape last fall. Polls show they are running neck and neck, exciting Democrats who earlier felt that Brown was too popular to unseat.