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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.
ARI SHAPIRO, Host:
And I'm Ari Shapiro. Senator-elect Scott Brown says he'll be sworn in next week, at the earliest. He became the Republican Party's new favorite when he won the late Edward Kennedy's seat a week ago. That upset ended Democrats 60- vote supermajority in the Senate. NPR's Tovia Smith has this profile of the Senator-elect from Massachusetts.
TOVIA SMITH: Campaigning in his blue jeans and pickup truck, Scott Brown ran for Senate as a kind of everyman. The morning after his big win, he seemed as shocked as anyone by his meteoric rise from his modest roots.
SCOTT BROWN: If you would have told me growing up that, you know, a guy whose mom was on welfare and parents had some, you know, marital troubles and, you know, I had some, you know, issues, you know, growing up, that a guy from Wrentham would be here going to Washington, D.C.? Are you kidding me?
SMITH: He calls himself fiscally conservative and socially conscious, and he's got an alluring story of a self-made guy and a patriot who served 30 years in the National Guard.
JIM VALLEE: He's not a one- dimensional caricature. He's a multifaceted guy. So he can't pigeonhole him.
SMITH: For example, Brown opposes certain abortion procedures, but says he supports a woman's right to choose. He opposes President Obama's plan to overhaul health care, but supports mandatory coverage in Massachusetts.
VALLEE: I think he does have deep convictions and values. He does beat to his own drum. I think that's the best way to put it. He's his own man.
SMITH: In fact, shyness doesn't seem to run in Brown's family at all. His wife is a well-known local TV reporter, and his daughter has had some national aspirations, as well.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")
RYAN SEACREST: All right. If you want to vote for Ayla, 1-866-IDOL-06, 1-866...
SMITH: Brown's older daughter Ayla became something of a star on "American Idol." On the show, she credited her father for piquing her interest in music by singing to her.
AYLA BROWN: Embarrassingly, I actually thought he was Elvis till I was about nine years old, actually. Like, oh, my gosh, I hear my dad on the radio. And my friends were like, actually, that's Elvis Presley. I'm like, oh, my gosh. I'm so embarrassed.
SMITH: And it wouldn't be the last time. Ayla's jaw literally dropped after Brown introduced his daughters on election night and veered way off script.
BROWN: And just in case anybody who's watching throughout the country, yes, they're both available.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
BROWN: No. No. No. Only kidding, only kidding. Arianna definitely is not available, but Ayla is.
RICHARD TISEI: Yeah. I think he says what comes to mind, and that speech was classic Scott.
SMITH: Minority Leader Richard Tisei served with Brown in the state Senate.
TISEI: Scott's a normal person, and he isn't all caught up in Washington-speak, and he's very down-to-earth and he's very authentic.
SMITH: That's one way of looking at it. His critics see Brown as prone to making politically incorrect statements, like the time he called his opponent's decision to have children with her lesbian partner, quote, "not normal."
MARY ANN GRENIER: And that was pretty stunning.
SMITH: That's Mary Ann Grenier, a Democratic activist who's worked for Brown's opponents in five races. While Brown has courted independent voters by vowing to be open-minded, Grenier says she's found Brown to be anything but.
ANN GRENIER: I never see him giving in. He has this smile and he has this affability, but when push comes to shove, he believes he is right all of the time.
SMITH: Supporters say that's just Brown having the courage of his convictions. Indeed, Brown is nothing if not resolute. Again, his friend Jim Vallee.
VALLEE: He's a pure competitor. You know, he's a gladiator in the arena. Once he steps in, you know, he knows it's only one person stepping out, and he wants to be that person. He gives everything 100 percent.
SMITH: Tovia Smith, NPR News, Boston.