Tomorrow is the big day Massachusetts voters go to the polls to choose between Congressman Ed Markey (D. MA) or businessman Gabriel Gomez (R. MA) in who will fill Secretary of State John Kerry's (D. MA) U.S. Senate seat. From The latest Suffolk University poll, it looks like the majority of voters prefer Markey over Gomez:
http://www.masslive.com/...
The poll of 500 likely voters conducted June 19-22 placed 52 percent of the sample behind Markey with 42 percent standing with Gomez. Just four percent of those surveyed said they are still undecided.
The findings are similar to the conclusions of a Western New England University poll released over the weekend in conjunction with MassLive.com and CBS-3 Springfield. That survey placed Markey over Gomez, 49 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, with 9 percent undecided.
“These numbers suggest that tomorrow night Ed Markey will make the transformation from congressman to senator-elect,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston in a press release. “All eyes will be watching to see how Markey’s final vote tally stacks up against Elizabeth Warren’s eight-point win over Scott Brown last November.”
The polling center also forecasting a win for Markey based upon its findings in three bellwether communities which correctly predicted that in the 2010 special U.S. Senate election, republican Scott Brown would go on to defeat Democrat Martha Coakley.
According to the poll, Markey leads over Gomez 49 percent to 38 percent in Lowell; 52 percent to 37 percent in Dartmouth; and 51 percent to 37 percent in South Hadley. - The Republican, 6/24/13
The Fix also gives 5 reasons why Markey will win tomorrow:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
1. The Democratic cavalry: After suffering that embarrassing defeat to Scott Brown (R), Democrats in Washington resolved not to fall victim again. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and now-Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Markey early, helping him build on an already robust war chest and avoid a crowded and costly primary. After Markey dispatched of Rep. Stephen Lynch (D), Democrats kept their foot on the gas. The DSCC spent about $700,000 on TV ads. Majority PAC, a leading Democratic super PAC, bought airtime, too. Markey maintained a robust ground operation throughout the campaign, and to top it off, brought in the likes of President Obama and Vice President Biden to stump for him. In short, Democrats used everything in their toolbox.
2. National groups never showed up for Gomez: By comparison, Gomez never got serious buy-in from national groups. The National Republican Senatorial Committee says it spent some money (almost $1 million, the group estimates), but American Crossroads/Crossroads GPS and other GOP-aligned outside groups took a pass, and a super PAC supporting Gomez struggled to raise money. In the age of super PACs and nonprofits wielding major clout, candidates in competitive races are often only as good as the reinforcements they get. Gomez simply didn’t convince national groups and donors coming off a bruising 2012 cycle that his underdog bid was worth a big-time play.
3. It’s Massachusetts. ‘Nuff said: As we’ve noted before, Brown’s 2010 win can be chalked up to a confluence of factors that together helped him defy the state’s strong Democratic tilt. Gomez didn’t experience a similar wave. The state’s strong Democratic tilt made Markey a favorite from day one, and it is one of the major reasons why he is in good shape heading into Tuesday. Another is that the race hasn’t seized the attention of Bay State voters. More than one in four votes in a recent poll said they had little or no interest at all in the campaign.
4. No major Markey missteps: Part of the reason Brown won in 2010 was his opponent. Coakley made some big-time missteps. (Note: Dismissing the idea of stumping outside Fenway Park is never a good idea in Massachusetts.) The same can’t be said of Markey. Few could argue that Markey is a very dynamic candidate. But it would be hard to make the claim that he self-destructed either. His campaign kept tight control over his message, and the result was a six-month stretch in which it would be hard to argue Markey made a major gaffe.
5. Gomez forced to play defense early: Democrats wasted little time after the primary going after Gomez. They hit him with accusations that he went too far with tax breaks he took on his home. At minimum, that aggressive strategy allowed Democrats to seize control of the conversation at a time when Gomez was trying to introduce himself to the universe of Bay State voters that had not paid attention to the GOP primary. - Washington Post, 6/24/13
Theses are all good reasons to feel confident about Markey's win tomorrow but as we all know, Markey's win is only guaranteed if voters show up to the polls. Something Markey and Democrats have been working on:
http://www.wbur.org/...
With Ed Markey, it’s the campaign that impresses. His campaign is confident that it will win this race Tuesday. On Saturday, nearly 500 people, most of them volunteers for Markey, turned out at UMass Dartmouth to hear Vice President Joe Biden.
Nancy Williams, not a volunteer, came from New Bedford to hear Biden. She says she’ll probably vote for Markey.
“I usually vote social justice and that’s how I usually vote,” Williams said.
Biden reminded the volunteers of the importance of getting Democrats to vote at a time when people are more focused on school vacation than on the election.
“There is not a single doubt in the world that Ed Markey wins if people show up and vote, but this is the first time in my understanding that you’ve ever had a vote for a major office in this state in the middle of June,” Biden said. “So folks, folks, please, do me a favor, do the country a favor, do yourself a favor, vote and get everybody to vote.”
Markey was meeting with volunteers again Sunday morning at his campaign headquarters in Lynn. Some brought their children. he reminded his volunteers of the points he would like them to emphasize as they contact voters.
“A woman’s right to choose,” Markey said. “Making sure that the Wall Street protections stay on the books. Insuring that the wealthy pay their fair share. And to make sure that the NRA does not have another vote to block a ban on assault weapons and their magazines.”
Markey’s campaign has kept its sights on turning out Democrats and independents since the beginning.
“We have been working hard for four months to get ready for this weekend, and all across Massachusetts, we’re having events just like this where people are coming out of headquarters and going out onto the streets to ring doorbells, and so obviously everything is now targeted towards Tuesday,” Markey told reporters. “We feel that we have built a first-class organization.” - 90.9, WBUR, 6/24/13
This community has been absolutely wonderful helping raise money for Markey's campaign and I would like to not only thank the community but also Daily Kos staff member, Joan McCarter, for also helping the community informed and up to date with the race. Joan published a diary today with GOTV events today. Please check it out:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Also, you can sign up to volunteer with GOTV efforts today and tomorrow here:
https://docs.google.com/...
Again, thank you all and to all the volunteers and campaign staff for helping with GOTV efforts tomorrow. Tomorrow's race isn't just about holding onto the majority. It's about getting the message across to the party leaders that progressives like Markey truly represent the views of not just Massachusetts voters but voters across the country. Markey has proven that issues like the chained CPI are losing positions and his stance on gun control and taxes represent what the majority of Americans believe. He also proved that voters do care about climate change and was able to defeat his opponent, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D. MA) in the primary by opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline. Markey is a true blue fighter for the environment, women's rights, immigration reform, the LGBT community, privacy and organized labor. By the time they finish counting the votes tomorrow, I look forward to calling him Senator Ed Markey. Lets bring it home you guys. You can also go here to get involved with Markey's campaign:
http://www.edmarkey.com/