At this time a year ago, Scott Brown was still just a good-looking state senator from Wrentham.

Three months later, the Republican was the toast of the political world after he won a shock victory in the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. His easy win over Attorney General Martha Coakley energized the G.O.P. and shocked Democrats from coast to coast. A Boston Globe poll last June found that Brown was the most popular politician in Massachusetts.

But unlike most newly elected senators, Brown doesn’t get to wait six years before facing voters once again. That’s because Brown won an election to finish out Kennedy’s last term, which ends in January 2013 – so he is up for reelection again in November 2012.

With Barack Obama on the ballot, that’s not going to be an easy year for a Republican to win in a blue state – especially considering the G.O.P. couldn’t even win any statewide races there last week in what was otherwise a banner year for their party.

Politico’s Alexander Burns has more in a story published today that asks whether Brown is “a dead man walking”:

He’s one of just 10 Republicans up for reelection next cycle – compared with 23 Democrats – and the only first-termer running in a blue state. …

Several Democrats who lost in the primary last time around are considering the race against Brown, including Rep. Michael Capuano and City Year founder Alan Khazei. Some in the party still hope Vicki Kennedy will consider the race, and even longtime Boston Mayor Tom Menino was recently floated as a candidate online. …

What Brown has going for him is this that he has consistently posted high favorability ratings, unlike Baker and other losing Republicans this year. He’s running as the incumbent, while Democrats will be fighting each other through a late, September primary. His trips this year as a campaign surrogate have taken him to essential fundraising destinations from Chicago to Burbank, and he had nearly $7 million stockpiled at the end of September.