Hudson , New Hampshire ( CNN ) -- When Scott Brown was fighting to keep his Senate seat in Massachusetts two years ago , he was forced to keep his distance from a former colleague who also happened to be his party 's top gun at the time , Mitt Romney . Now , Brown is battling for the Senate again . This time , his arms are wide open for Romney . The 2012 Republican presidential nominee campaigned for Brown on Wednesday for the second time this year , returning to a venue in Hudson where Romney held his own event more than two years ago . `` This is the guy who ought to be the next United States senator , and you 're going to make him the next United States senator , '' Romney told the audience Wednesday . So , why is more Brown more comfortable pairing up with Romney this time around ? What changed ? The state . The election . The big players involved . In 2012 , Brown was trying to fend off an aggressive challenge by a progressive favorite in a reliably blue state . He cast himself as an independent and was more likely to tout his work with President Obama than his relationship with Romney . When he was asked about Romney , he would sometimes give a short answer , then change the subject . `` Bringing in a Republican like Romney to talk about you is not what you want to do when you 're running as a perceived independent in Massachusetts , '' said Andy Smith , director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center . Now Brown is mounting his own challenge , trying to take down incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in neighboring New Hampshire , a more politically mixed state . Romney , who 's perhaps more popular than ever at the moment , is practically an adopted son of New Hampshire . He has a vacation home here and won the 2012 GOP primary by a wide margin . And campaigning in a state where he 's not `` carrying the baggage '' as a former governor -- as is the case in Massachusetts -- can help make things less complicated , Smith said . So , strategically , it 's common sense that Brown would welcome Romney in this state , in this year . Jim Merrill , a GOP strategist who led Romney 's New Hampshire campaign , said `` it 's natural '' for the two men to want to `` link arms '' this cycle . Romney 's `` campaigned here , he 's fought hard , '' Merrill said . `` I think since the 2012 election , what we 've seen is a real appreciation among the electorate on issues Mitt campaigned on . '' With no clear potential frontrunner in the 2016 GOP presidential race , calls have surged for Romney to make a third White House bid . He insists he 's not running , but he has n't entirely ruled it out . His wife , Ann Romney , told the Washington Post Tuesday that it 's a `` no '' for her husband `` at this moment . '' On stage Wednesday , Brown echoed sentiments that are fueling renewed interest in Romney . `` He was right on Russia . He was right on Obamacare . He was right on the economy , '' Brown said . `` I can tell you , governor , if you were in the White House , the country and the world would seem a whole heck of a lot different. `` For Brown and Romney , their political past go back more than a decade . When Brown was running for the state Senate in Massachusetts in 2004 , Romney , who was governor at the time , helped Brown raise big money . And during Brown 's 2010 Senate race , Romney showed support . The two northeast Republicans are also known to share advisers . But is it awkward for them to pair up now after keeping their distance two years ago ? `` I do n't think there would be any awkwardness -- they 're pros , '' said Neil Levesque , the executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library at Saint Anselm College . `` They know how this all works , '' he continued . `` They 're going to do what they can to get as many votes as possible . '' And with the Senate race being neck and neck in the final sprint to Election Day , turnout will be a big factor . `` Romney is popular now , and he 's going to help Brown get on that front page tomorrow , '' Levesque said . That might help deflect attention from Shaheen 's big-name visitors . Former President Bill Clinton headlines a dinner here Thursday night , and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is slated to be in the state on November 2 . At the end of the day , it 's the candidates themselves who become the closers of their own race , not their visitors . But having top-of-the-list supporters in town certainly does n't hurt . `` You 're looking for these pivotal points that might help you get half a percentage here , half a percentage there , '' Levesque said .
Mitt Romney and Scott Brown kept their distance in 2012 . The two are now campaigning together as Brown seeks a new Senate seat . Experts say it 's all about political strategy .