Massachusetts Senate race: Democratic big guns join the fight
Bill Clinton was on the stump Friday for Democrat Martha Coakley, who’s now trailing Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race. President Obama will campaign there Sunday.
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While former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned for Brown in Massachusetts Friday, the national Republican Party hasn't offered up the same kinds of funds. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has not purchased television ads for Brown.
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But Brown is not hurting for money. His campaign announced that it brought in $1.3 million in a 24-hour period after the candidates’ final debate Monday. The Daily Caller, a new online publication launched by conservative Tucker Carlson, reports that Brown has raised $1 million dollars each day this week.
The momentum for Brown seems to be internally generated and self-sustained, says Charles Stewart, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Can Clinton and Obama change the game?
“Given that, how much of a game-changer can Obama or Clinton be? It will remind a few people who have been on the fence about why they supported the Democrats in 2008,” says Professor Stewart. “But if there’s going to be a groundswell to Brown, I’m not sure there’s much these visits can do to counter that.”
David Paleologos, a pollster at Suffolk University in Boston who conducted Thursday’s poll, agrees.
“If there was a high number of undecided voters, I’d be looking to components like endorsements,” says Mr. Paleologos. “But polls indicates that only 1 percent of voters remain undecided.”
Sen. John Kerry, who was also attended the rally along with other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, argued that Democrats need more time to accomplish the change they’ve promised, including healthcare, energy, and financial reform.
“You just can’t get where we need to go so quickly,” Senator Kerry said.
It was a message that resonated with educator Mary Garrity, a Democrat who was in the crowd.
“What frustrates me is Brown’s plan to paralyze the government with this ‘no’ vote,” Ms. Garrity said. “It’ll have huge consequences in the midterm elections if no one can accomplish anything.”
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