Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New In The Phoenix: Is Tsongas Political Royalty?

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] |

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 3:30:05 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Interesting piece, David. Given what will undoubtedly by an abysmal turn out, I think that there are legitimate paths to victory for all five democrats. However, due to the lack of attention and interest in this race, I think that your analysis is right on target.

Matt

Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:30:42 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I think, and hope, that Matt is right...it's so up in the air, because this post-Labor-Day election is going to be totally depressed in turnout. Also, I think Tsongas support is soft - the "if I show up, I'll vote Tsongas, probably, cuz I liked her husband" crowd is less likely to get themselves to the polls then those listed as supporters by other campaigns who are getting reminder phone calls (I got mine!), and who are probably paying more attention (they'd almost have to, to get past Niki Tsongas' name and into supporting another candidate on merits) so will be more determined to get out to the polls for their candidates.

I am both gratified (because I like democracy) and unhappy (cuz I like my candidate) to see some evidence of Finegold and Donoghue using some grassroots campaign tactics...far preferable to Tsongas' methods, that's for sure. Of course, I am hoping my boy Jamie has the <i>best</i> and most effective grassroots turnout and wins. :)

Lynne

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