The Democratic State Convention in Worcester this weekend proved Will Rogers’s point when he said, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Most […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Scott Brown’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week
Once upon a time, Scott Brown was riding high. He rocketed from backbencher within a Massachusetts state Senate Republican caucus that could convene in a phone booth to national political […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Fisher is a plus for Baker
Halfway through a forum this week featuring Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher, I began to wonder why GOP officials fought so hard at their state convention to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Running unopposed in the Bay State and beyond
What’s the point of having an election if only one person wants to run? That’s just what will happen in five congressional “races” come November: US Reps. Michael Capuano, Richard […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Outsiders running from behind this time in governor’s race
Political insiders have been striking out in Massachusetts governor’s races for decades. In the years since Foster Furcolo parlayed a job as state treasurer into a stint in the corner […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Baker, Fisher differ on health care, climate change
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE While they agreed on considering bringing the Olympics to the Boston area and in worrying about the impact of casinos, Shrewsbury businessman Mark Fisher and former […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Martha Coakley and “the inevitability thing”
The ghosts of 2010 are rattling their chains. There are so many problems plaguing Attorney General Martha Coakley’s run for governor that it is difficult to know where to begin. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
State GOP getting rolled by its own boulder
Kirsten Hughes must, at times, feel like King Sisyphus. Though Hughes, the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, has never been accused of being deceitful like the Corinthian ruler of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker camp warming to idea of primary face-off with Fisher
Back in March, former governor Bill Weld was arguing that Charlie Baker, the onetime Weld aide and presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee, had nothing to fear in a potential Republican primary […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The GOP’s demographic challenge
Republicans nationally have been licking their chops over the prospects of midterm election gains, with doubts about the Affordable Care Act the lead card the GOP will play in many […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Lantigua takes on Devers
The colorful and controversial William Lantigua made it official: He intends to run for his old House seat representing Lawrence as an independent. He still has to submit 150 voter […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Elizabeth Warren, the presidency, and perils of a first-term senator
First-term senators are getting quite a bit of media attention, courtesy of the latest parlor game, “Is Elizabeth Warren running for president?” All the senior senator from Massachusetts had to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Things are looking ducky for Elizabeth Warren
Politicians can proclaim their disinterest in an office all they want, especially president, but until the deadline passes – or they stop talking and acting like a candidate – they […]
Posted inPolitics
Paving the way for votes
CORRECTION: The original map that accompanied this story was based on a 2010 draft redistricting plan provided by the Lawrence city clerk’s office in error. The map and legend have […]
Posted inPolitics
Threading the needle
From the archives This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Spring 2014 issue. Click here view more issues. CHARLIE BAKER BOUNDS into the Charlestown Knights of Columbus, where the once and […]
Posted inPolitics
Harsh history lessons
IT’S HARD TO HEAR as the chatter bounces off the bare tile floor of the crowded VFW hall in Ipswich. The Democratic town committee is holding its annual breakfast on […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston’s challenge for the GOP
The partisan divide between cities and less urbanized areas is growing into one of the defining characteristics of Massachusetts politics. The suburbs are often held up as the place where […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Casino repeal could become the issue of the 2014 election
The race for governor is still young, but so far, it’s a contest that’s lacked both star power and sizzle. Early polling shows that the race hasn’t registered with voters. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Obama’s weak “movement” coattails
The front-page of this morning’s New York Times takes readers inside the campaign of Eric Lesser, a bright-eyed 29-year-old running for an open state Senate seat in Western Massachusetts. The […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Outsider act of Warren, Patrick hard to follow
To outsiders looking to make a splash in Massachusetts politics, Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren are guiding lights. Each ascended as political novices from relative unknown to statewide officeholders, winning […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Is Warren Democrats’ not-so-secret weapon?
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the country’s feistiest Democrat, goes where the once cool Barack Obama cannot, parachuting into Senate races around the country to try to shore up the party’s […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Mass. GOP’s urban challenge
The road to the Massachusetts governor’s office used to run through the belt of suburbs between Boston and Worcester. Now, it runs through cities. And that shift makes the state […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
McCormick tries Forrest Gump approach
When new candidates emerge on the scene, they often have to do something to set themselves apart. For Joe Malone running against Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1988, it was youth. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Nate Silver’s not betting on Brown
Scott Brown ‘s move to New Hampshire, and his impending run against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, have set area political circles aflame. That’s the power of Brown’s political celebrity. He plays […]