Wednesday, August 22, 2007

For tomorrow's issue of the Phoenix, I spent some time in the fifth district, with and without the congressional candidates. In the story I wrote -- available online now -- I cast the campaign as, in part, a test of the power of "political royalty" that has always been strong in Massachusetts, but A) might be on the wane here, contrary to the national trend, and B) has seldom, if ever, applied to women here.

I spent time with both Jamie Eldridge and Barry Finegold, both of whom are solid and interesting politicians. However, I write:

If any Democrat is going to beat Tsongas, it is likely to be former Lowell mayor Donoghue, who neutralizes the gender issue and would seem to perfectly counter Tsongas’s perceived weaknesses: her lack of experience in elected office, and her cozy relationship with “insider” Washington politicos.

Today, both of the major newspapers in the district -- the Lowell Sun and the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune -- endorsed Donoghue.

Read the story here:

Taking the Fifth
The race for Marty Meehan's congressional seat is running below the radar, but it could hold the answers to a couple of burning questions.

8/22/2007 3:29:25 PM by David S. Bernstein | Comments [2] |