A few years ago, Democrat Martha Coakley was the candidate who managed to lose Ted Kennedy's senate seat to the Republicans in the Bay State. Coakley was an inept campaigner who seemed to know nothing about the local scene in Boston. She even got confused between the Yankees and the Red Sox, a major sin in Boston. After that election, Coakley went back to being the Attorney General of Massachusetts, a low profile job that seemed appropriate for a low quality candidate like her.
Now Coakley is back, and Democrats in Massachusetts may rue the day she reappeared. Coakley is the Democrat candidate for governor of Massachusetts this year. Normally, selection as the Democrat candidate is sufficient for election to the office of governor; the results on election day are a mere formality. This year, however, that does not seem to be the case. Oh, Martha was running 12-15% ahead of her Republican opponent for some months, but then the campaign began in earnest. In the latest polls, Coakley is still ahead, but her margin is down to just 3% and her total vote is in the neighborhood of 40%. This is a disaster for the Democrat. The voters in Massachusetts know Coakley well from her previous runs for state office and her service as AG. Despite that (or may because of that) Coakley can only garner 40% of the vote. As the campaign progresses towards election day, a reasonable effort by the GOP candidate seems like it will be enough for Massachusetts to become yet another state with a Republican governor.
To be fair, I do not see these results as indicative of any national trend. The polls just show the basic fact that Martha Coakley is perhaps the worst candidate running for statewide office this year.
Now Coakley is back, and Democrats in Massachusetts may rue the day she reappeared. Coakley is the Democrat candidate for governor of Massachusetts this year. Normally, selection as the Democrat candidate is sufficient for election to the office of governor; the results on election day are a mere formality. This year, however, that does not seem to be the case. Oh, Martha was running 12-15% ahead of her Republican opponent for some months, but then the campaign began in earnest. In the latest polls, Coakley is still ahead, but her margin is down to just 3% and her total vote is in the neighborhood of 40%. This is a disaster for the Democrat. The voters in Massachusetts know Coakley well from her previous runs for state office and her service as AG. Despite that (or may because of that) Coakley can only garner 40% of the vote. As the campaign progresses towards election day, a reasonable effort by the GOP candidate seems like it will be enough for Massachusetts to become yet another state with a Republican governor.
To be fair, I do not see these results as indicative of any national trend. The polls just show the basic fact that Martha Coakley is perhaps the worst candidate running for statewide office this year.
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