Congressman Ed Markey (D. MA) had quite a weekend. On Saturday, former President Bill Clinton hit the campaign in Worcester to help out Markey's campaign:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
Hundreds filled Alden Hall at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday evening for a rally supporting congressman Edward J. Markey’s bid for the US Senate, but the candidate was not the primary attraction for everyone present.
“I miss Bill Clinton,” said Elena Crowley, a Milford resident who was excited to see the former president come to Worcester to support Markey. “He’s the best speaker, very smart, brilliant guy.”
Crowley, 53, said she grew up in Russia, in the Arctic Circle, but she has been a US citizen since 2002 and has been active in campaigns for many Democratic candidates. A singer and dancer, she said her dream is to perform with Clinton, who plays the saxophone.
She then demonstrated her skill by performing a few breathy bars of a Marilyn Monroe-style “Happy Birthday.”
Markey drew loud applause from the crowd, estimated by campaign organizers at 900, as he took the stage to introduce Clinton, whom he called “the man who rescued our country from 12 years of Republicans in the White House.”
People held aloft cameras and phones as Clinton took the stage, cheering and shrieking their excitement.
Clinton thanked the crowd for electing Elizabeth Warren to the Senate and called on them to do the same for Markey in the June 25 special election.
“This is really important,” he said. -Boston Globe, 6/16/13
The Big Dog wasn't the only one getting the voters ready for the June 25th Special Election:
http://www.masslive.com/...
With just 10 days left until the special senate election, Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Mayor Alex B. Morse and state Rep. Aaron Vega in Holyoke Saturday to give Democrat Edward Markey’s U.S. Senate campaign “a shot in the arm.”
Warren spoke passionately to a crowd of about 100 Democrats gathered to give the U.S. representative's campaign a final push as his race against Republican private equity investor Gabriel Gomez draws closer, saying the people of Western Massachusetts, Holyoke in particular, share the same ideals and vision on which Markey has based his candidacy.
“We’re on the cutting edge of how to make America stronger,” she said. “We can do this together. I’ve been out here and will stay out here to get Ed Markey across the finish line.”
Despite a lack of attention the June 25 election has attracted on a national level, people in Holyoke, Warren said, understand its importance and turned out Saturday to continue the grassroots campaigning that takes them door-to-door and face-to-face to encourage a high voter turnout.
“Here’s the deal,” she told supporters before sending them out to canvass city neighborhoods, “This really is grassroots. People in Holyoke are fired-up and ready to go. That’s how it should be.” - The Republican, 6/15/13
Also Markey and his opponent, Gabriel Gomez (R. MA), recently expressed their views on what to do about Syria:
http://bostonherald.com/...
GOP Senate candidate Gabriel E. Gomez said yesterday the United States is setting up Syrian rebels “for slaughter” if it just provides arms and stops short of imposing a no-fly zone, but Democratic rival U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey said the U.S. needs to avoid overly entangling itself in Syria’s messy civil war.
“We have Russian fighter planes coming in, and the rebels have no defense against this at this time,” Gomez said before a candidate forum at Roxbury Community College yesterday. “You might as well just line them up for slaughter if that’s going to be the case.”
Russia, a Syrian ally that strongly opposes a no-fly zone, has agreed to supply the Middle Eastern nation with fighter jets and other weaponry, according to news reports.
Markey called for a more cautious approach, saying a no-fly zone could mire the United States too deeply in a Syrian civil war and risk inflaming Russia.
“I would have to be convinced that there was a way of doing it that did not draw us in,” Markey said. “I just think that we have to be careful.”
Markey said, however, a no-fly zone remains on the table, and could be “the next step.”
President Obama authorized small arms assistance to rebels last week after determining Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces used chemical weapons to kill at least 100-150 people, a tactic considered a “red line” for escalated American involvement. - Boston Herald, 6/17/13
With views like Gomez's, no wonder Markey had a big lead in the latest Boston Globe poll:
http://www.masslive.com/...
The poll put Markey ahead of Gomez, 54 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, with only 4 percent undecided. (Counting those who are undecided but leaning toward a candidate, Gomez would get support from 43 percent.)
That is a larger margin than two independent polls released last week, which both put Markey up by 7 points.
The special election will be held June 25.
The poll found Gomez with a nine-point lead among voters who are unenrolled in a political party – but since Democrats outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts three to one, that was not enough to offset Markey’s advantage among Democrats, with 84 percent of registered Democrats supporting him.
The poll found Markey had a strong advantage among women – 61 percent of whom were supporting him. Female voters tend to vote Democratic, and Markey has been talking about issues, such as abortion and women's health, that are more likely to sway women voters. Geographically, Markey's strongest base of support was in the Boston area, inside Route 128, where 63 percent of voters said they will support Markey. The only region where Gomez leads is in central Massachusetts, where he would get support from 51 percent of respondents.
Voters still feel like they know Markey, a Congressman since 1976, better than Gomez, who is new to politics. Thirty four percent of respondents feel they know “a lot” about Markey and 13 percent know little or nothing. For Gomez, 13 percent who know “a lot” about him and 28 percent know little or nothing. Most respondents reported knowing both candidates “somewhat.” - The Republican, 6/16/13
Here's a little background info on the Boston Globe poll:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
The poll of 508 likely voters, taken from June 11 to June 14, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
The survey results suggest that Gomez, who is making his first bid for office, has yet to convince a majority of voters that they should back him as a fresh-faced alternative to Markey, a consummate congressional insider who has served 37 years in the House.
With three-quarters of the voters saying they are firm in their decision about who will receive their vote, Andrew E. Smith — director of The Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire, which conducted the poll — said Gomez will have a tough time generating the kind of finishing kick that vaulted Scott Brown to a huge political upset in the state 2010 election.
“Gomez is not in a bad spot, considering how Democratic the state is,’’ Smith said. “But unless he can catch lightning in a bottle like Brown did in the final days, it would be extraordinarily difficult for Gomez to win.”
Neither candidate, in fact, has managed to ignite strong voter interest in the race, the poll found. Only 34 percent of respondents said they know a lot about Markey and just 13 percent say they know a lot about Gomez.
Much of the congressman’s support may come more from the fact that he is a Democrat in deep blue Massachusetts than from any personal affinity for the candidate. For example, 30 percent of those who said they were likely to vote for Markey also acknowledged that they don’t actually know much about him.
Markey, however, also did well on a question that has in the past accurately forecast election winners: Voters, when asked who they think will win the race, regardless of their preference, chose Markey over Gomez 73 percent to 14 percent. Smith said that question is often a valuable predictor because it takes into account what poll respondents’ friends, relatives, and co-workers are saying about the candidates.
The new survey was taken during a period when the candidates had begun a barrage of television ads as they enter the final days before the election. - Boston Globe, 6/16/13
And Markey has been killing it in terms of fundraising:
http://www.masslive.com/...
Between April 11 and June 5, Markey raised $2.9 million in contributions. Gomez raised $1.7 million during the same time period. Gomez also loaned his campaign $300,000.
The disparity in recent fundraising only builds on Markey’s already significant financial advantage. While both candidates faced competitive primaries, Markey has built up his campaign money over more than three decades as a congressman. He has held leadership positions in Congress and has not faced competitive challenges in his reelection campaigns.
Markey was the only one of the five candidates from either party to enter the primary race with a significant war chest – $3.1 million left over in his U.S. House campaign committee.
Markey was endorsed early on by leading Democrats in Massachusetts and nationally. Drawn by his reputation as a progressive congressman and a leader on energy and telecommunications policy, top names in business, sports and entertainment contributed to his primary campaign.
During the primary election campaign, Markey raised $4.7 million – far more money than any other candidate from either party. As of April 10, he had $4.6 million in the bank.
Gomez, however, was unknown in the political world and relied heavily on his personal contacts in the financial world to raise money for the primary. Gomez raised $582,000 during the primary campaign and loaned himself another $600,000. Coming into the most recent fundraising period, on April 11, he had just $500,000 in the bank.
Markey’s national appeal is evident in his current fundraising numbers as well. According to the Markey campaign, slightly less than half (48 percent) of Markey’s total donations this fundraising period came from within Massachusetts. The average donation was $86, according to the campaign. - The Republican, 6/17/13
By the way, here's an excellent endorsement from voter Meryl Baier, Cogswell Street:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/...
Ed Markey stands solid on women’s issues. He fought hard for the Affordable Care Act and is endorsed by both NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Ed is 100 percent pro-choice and voted for the health care reform law that expands free access to preventative health services like contraceptives and mammograms. He also supports equal pay for equal work and was a co-sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Act.
Ed Markey supports equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. He supports the repeal of DOMA, which would require the federal government to recognize the validity of same sex marriages. Ed will continue to take a stand and insure a future of equality for all Americans.
Ed Markey stands for good sense gun control, while protecting Second Amendment rights. He supports a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity clips, as well as logical background checks for all.
Ed Markey is a leader for the environment. He led the investigation and pushed for transparency from BP following the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He continues to fight for the communities that were directly affected, allowing their voices to be heard, while holding BP appropriately accountable. He has the endorsement of both the League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club. - Ipswich Chronicle, 6/17/13
The Special Election is Tuesday, June 25th. If you would like to get involved with the Markey campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.edmarkey.com/