Capuano still weighing his options on possible Senate bid

Now, as Brown seeks election to his first full, six-year term, Capuano is considering another Senate campaign. His self-proclaimed deadline is the end of the summer, which may be Sept. 23 on the calendar but, in political terms, won’t be much later than Labor Day.

Seven Democrats have already declared their candidacies, and Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren appears poised to join the field when she completes her late-summer “listening tour.’’

Talk to those around Capuano and you learn it’s gut-check time for the former Somerville mayor.

The pugnacious politician would love nothing more than to take on Brown, seen by the Democrats as fortunate to catch Coakley and the party napping 18 months ago. Democrats also believe he has been calculating with his votes, siding with their party when he wants to convey bipartisanship but voting against state interests at times to maintain support within the GOP.

Capuano is a capital-L liberal who sees himself not only carrying on the tradition of former House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip’’ O’Neill Jr., who once held his seat, but also Kennedy, a party icon.

But Warren threatens to run with that same philosophy, as do Brookline Democrat Alan Khazei and Somerville activist Bob Massie.

Different this time, too, is that Capuano would have to give up his House seat to run for the Senate. That wasn’t the case in the special election.

In a prepared statement, an aide counseled patience.

“Congressman Capuano is in the final phase of the decision-making process and will be making an announcement regarding the Senate soon,’’ said spokeswoman Alison Mills.

The call of duty The end of summer also raises another question: Just when is Brown headed to Afghanistan for his National Guard training?

All guardsmen have a service commitment of one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer, and Brown’s public schedule has helped narrow the window for the assignment he confirmed in May.

As a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, he is not part of a unit that is being deployed, but he has requested his summer service in Afghanistan this year. Brown has never served in a combat zone before.