Washington politicians often seem remote, but Norfolk town officials happen to know one now. Scott Brown, who has represented Norfolk in the state Legislature since 1998, is going to the federal Senate in Washington thanks to an improbable come-from-behind victory this past Tuesday over state Attorney General Martha Coakley. Brown, a Republican, lives in next-door Wrentham. “We now have a senator who knows where Norfolk is,” Norfolk Selectman Jim Tomasze­wski said in an interview this week. Town officials say it’s unclear whether Brown’s election will help Norfolk, but the town’s three selectmen all felt like they had a personal stake in the election this week, thanks to their personal connections to Brown. All three Norfolk selectmen are Republicans, and all said they voted for Brown. They had a lot of company in Norfolk, which went almost 70 percent for Brown. (Brown won by 5 points statewide.) On election night Selectman Jim Lehan was in Chicago for a board meeting of the American Federation of Teachers, which he works for as a consultant. The union members were heavily anti-Brown, given their support for President Barack Obama’s universal health care proposal and their staunch support of Democrats. But whichever way they were rooting, it seemed like everybody was paying attention.

“The interest there was overwhelming,” Le­han said. Though he was in a small minority at the gathering, Lehan was thrilled by the election results. “Personally, I’m very excited. I think it’s wonderful news,” Lehan said of Brown’s victory. “… I just think it’s refreshing to have that kind of a campaign run and that kind of a statement being made by the people of Massachusetts.”

Selectman Rob Garrity noted that Brown en­dorsed him in his run for selectman in 2008. “I think the rest of Massachusetts saw what we’ve seen for a dozen years now, which is a hardworking, normal guy who gets it, connects with people,” Garrity said.

Garrity said Brown’s experience as a Wren­tham selectman and state legislator for the re­gion suggests suburbs may benefit. “We’ve got a senator who understands the concerns of suburban Massachusetts,” Garrity said. “We’ve never had that before.”

Tomaszewski noted that the likes of the Brown campaign hasn’t been seen in Massachu­setts in recent memory. “It was a historic election,” Tomaszewski said. “Somehow Scott and his campaign, which was beautifully run, touched a nerve in the state and got people involved in politics that weren’t involved in their whole life. … It was amazing to see that energy in the state. And somehow he tapped into that and won.”