This year Massachusetts faces an interesting set of political circumstances. After finishing up a critical and nationally reported senate race in the fall, Elizabeth Warren beat incumbent Scott Brown. It may have appeared that the political scene in Massachusetts would calm, but this is not the case. The other sitting senator from Massachusetts is John Kerry. Obama has chosen Kerry as his Secretary of State to replace Hillary Clinton in his new term. This means Massachusetts will have the opportunity to elect a new senator to replace John Kerry. Last week was the first debate between the candidates, and things certainly got interesting.
The two democratic candidates, Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch, are both current United States representatives. Being democrats, they tend to have the voting edge in the blue state of Massachusetts. One of the major differences between these two candidates is on the controversial topic of Obamacare. Lynch opposed the bill, saying that while he would like to see some kind of health care reform, this was an opportunity missed to do so. Markey, on the other hand, dubbed his support for Obamacare one of the proudest votes of his career, and told Lynch (who he casually addressed as “Steve”) that he was wrong not to have voted for it. Additionally, the two have seemingly different voting records when it comes to economic policy. Markey voted for the Wall Street bailout in 2008, and Lynch did not. Markey defended his vote, claiming that without this policy the economy would be worse off. These were the only major moments of tension during this half-hour democratic debate.
Immediately following the democratic debate the half hour republican debate began. There are three Republican candidates: Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, Michael Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney and Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Daniel Winslow, a State Representative. This debate focused largely on social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion. Gomez supports gay marriage completely, but opposes abortion rights. Winslow supports both gay marriage and abortion, putting him at odds with many leaders in his party. Sullivan is surely the most socially conservative candidate in the race, opposing both gay marriage and abortion. Overall, each of the candidates made statements leading to the conclusion that they believe any of the three republican candidates would be better than a democrat for the country at this point.
The primary elections for each party take place on April 30th. The general election is scheduled for June 25. Many of the current polls are showing that Massachusetts voters are at this point, unsure. Some didn’t realize there was an election going on, and many had never heard of any of the candidates. Early polls are showing, however, Sullivan is in the lead over his two competitors, and Markey has a slight edge over Lynch. Although Sullivan is in the lead as the republican candidate, polls are generally showing that either Markey or Lynch will have an advantage over any republican candidate.