As the Massachusetts Democratic Party heads to Worcester this weekend to figure out who has enough delegates to run for governor in the fall, three wanna-bes are hoping for a campaign kick start — or at least no abrupt ending. To earn a spot on the September 19 primary ballot, each must receive at least 15 percent of the delegates’ votes. Deval Patrick is widely expected to win the delegate vote handily. Chris Gabrieli and Thomas Reilly will likely find themselves in a dogfight for second place.
Pundits are fascinated by this battle for delegates’ votes. But should voters care about such political machinations?
In a word, yes — especially since a Democrat has a good chance of winning come November (perhaps the best chance since 1990). Here are three admittedly subjective, shoot-from-the-hip snapshots of the three Democratic candidates for governor. We throw them out there at this critical campaign juncture to help you take the measure of these men amid the din of political technicalities and the blur of the PR horserace.
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Survivor: Worcester, Enter the wonk, Shadow of a doubt, More 
- Survivor: Worcester
It’s the question of the moment in state politics: when the Massachusetts Democratic Party wraps up its 2006 convention on June 3, will all three Democratic candidates for governor still be standing?
- Enter the wonk
Chris Gabrieli’s decision to jump into the race for governor — which he’ll do this week, if all goes according to plan — has an almost Shakespearean quality.
- Shadow of a doubt
Every Democrat running for governor can claim victory after last weekend’s party convention in Worcester.
- Reversal of fortune
On January 30, Tom Reilly — the Democratic attorney general and would-be governor of Massachusetts — was supposed to formally announce that Chris Gabrieli, the wealthy Democratic activist from Boston, was joining his campaign as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
- Christy’s choice
The conventional wisdom is already fixed: if Christy Mihos — the convenience-store magnate and Big-Dig whistle blower who has pledged to run for governor — campaigns as an independent, he’ll be doing the Massachusetts Democratic Party a huge favor.
- The First Annual Spotty Awards
Say, those Emmy Awards last week were something else, eh?
- Corporate accountability
Maybe, In the wake of his landslide win at this month’s democratic caucuses, Deval Patrick Is the new front-runner.
- Ship without a rudder
It’s a simple question: other than the candidate — who has a day job, after all — who is running Attorney General Tom Reilly’s campaign for governor?
- Imagine all the Democrats
There are two big things worth knowing about the battle for the Democratic governor’s nomination. The race is a doozy and barely anyone cares.
- Kicking and screaming
Every four years, right around Labor Day, the interests of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates for governor become almost totally divergent.
- Gabrieli’s promise
If the Democrats are serious about recapturing the governor’s office, they should make sure their statewide convention this weekend puts Chris Gabrieli’s name on the ballot.
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