Far-left Democrats rule race for Kennedy鈥檚 Senate seat
| Boston
The race to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy 鈥� known as the Senate鈥檚 liberal lion 鈥� has stayed true to his liberal politics and the strong Democratic nature of his home state.
When voters in Massachusetts head to the polls Tuesday for a primary鈥� their first step in deciding who will serve out the remaining two years of Senator Kennedy鈥檚 term 鈥� they鈥檒l essentially choose from four Democratic candidates who tend to skew pretty far left on the political spectrum.
Because Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1 in the state, which has not elected a Republican senator since 1978, the focus of the race has been on these Democratic candidates.
All are against the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and they are in favor of abortion rights and of a public option for healthcare reform. They鈥檇 like to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which does not recognize gay marriages. And they鈥檇 like to give illegal immigrants 鈥渁 path to citizenship,鈥� as front-runner Martha Coakley said at a campaign event Nov. 25.
These positions might not fly in much of America, but Massachusetts is 鈥渄eep blue,鈥� says Dan Payne, a Massachusetts-based Democratic media consultant.
鈥淚t makes it easier for them to put their true beliefs on table,鈥� says Mr. Payne. 鈥淭hey can all be against the troop buildup in Afghanistan, for example.鈥�
It鈥檚 especially easy to advertise these positions during the primary season. Historically, voters who turn out for primaries and off-cycle elections tend to be older and very active politically 鈥� perhaps in unions or with personal political causes they care about deeply.
In other words, campaigns can focus on 鈥渟uper voters,鈥� says David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston.
Voters are not used to turning out in December, when people are focused on the upcoming holidays, says Mr. Paleologos. According to his estimate, only 500,000 voters will cast ballots Tuesday. That鈥檚 about 11 percent of those who were registered in 2008, the most recent year for which voter-registration data is available.
鈥淭he audience is going to be very small, very sophisticated politically,鈥� Payne says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be hard-core Democrats.鈥�
Indeed, candidates haven鈥檛 had to try to court independent or centrist voters, at least so far.
鈥淓ven in Massachusetts in a general election, you have to appeal somewhat to an independent voter,鈥� says Stephen Ansolabehere, professor of government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not a factor in this race.鈥�
At a polling center in downtown Boston early Tuesday morning, there were 24 voter stations, but only two were in use. The polls had been open for nearly two hours, but the counter on the ballot box read 92.
The Massachusetts primary is also a difficult sell to voters because only one contest is on the ballot and 鈥渢here hasn鈥檛 been a real spark on any issue,鈥� says Paleologos. The Democratic candidates, after all, agree on most issues.
The most recent poll heading into Tuesday鈥檚 primary showed Ms. Coakley, currently Massachusetts鈥� attorney general, in the lead. She had the support of 36 percent of likely Democratic voters, according to a . Her closest rival, Rep. Michael Capuano, trailed her by 15 percentage points. The two other candidates, Alan Khazei and Stephen Pagliuca, were each back by another seven points. Ten percent of likely Democratic voters were undecided.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Scott Brown is running against businessman Jack E. Robinson. A Suffolk University poll last month of likely Republican voters found Senator Brown leading Mr. Robinson 45 percent to 7 percent, with 47 percent undecided.
Tuesday鈥檚 primary will be followed by a general election Jan. 19. Because Democrats enjoy such a strong majority in Massachusetts, whoever wins the Democratic nomination is heavily favored to win next month.
See also:
Massachusetts鈥� would-be senators roil healthcare abortion debate
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