Scott Brown pays homeless $8 an hour to campaign in black areas

Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown is under fire for a racially-tinged campaign tactic in his contentious 2012 U.S. Senate race.

According to the Boston Herald, the GOP candidate has been paying small sums of money to homeless people of color to campaign on his behalf in largely minority neighborhoods.

Some have been spotted in “Obama Supporters for Scott Brown” t-shirts, although the president an ardent supporter of Brown’s opponent, Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

The group is reportedly funded by the Brown campaign, with volunteers earning an $8 an hour to campaign for the incumbent Republican.

According to the Herald, “The effort for Brown comes after recent Warren endorsements by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and leading black ministers, a blow to the Brown camp’s hopes for heavy city electioneering support.”

Polls have recently shown the race neck-and-neck or with Warren leading Brown by a thin margin.