In
Massachusetts:
Although his political account bulges with $4.7 million in cash and he has no opponent in sight, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy is on a fund-raising rampage from coast to coast, a campaign that Democratic supporters say is designed to leave him without a Republican opponent for the first election in his four decades in the Senate [...]
The GOP's prospects for a candidate appear bleak at this early stage. Sensing Kennedy is beyond their reach, the Massachusetts Republican Party and Romney admit they are focused elsewhere.
''Picking on the most popular Democrat in Massachusetts is not where we would put our first priority," said Darrell Crate, chairman of the state Republican Party. ''Nobody gets a free pass, but it's not lost on me he's a very popular guy. He's our blue-state fixture."
Not that Kennedy is in any danger of losing, but an unopposed Kennedy would be free to fundraise for other candidates. And Romney gained electoral experience and name recognition he parlayed into his successful gubernatorial bid in his losing 1994 challenge to Kennedy.