Massachusetts U.S. Senate Race

Race of the Day

August 25, 2006
74 Days Until Election Day

Massachusetts U.S. Senate

Status: Democrat Incumbent
2004 Presidential Result: Blue State (East)

Outlook: Safe Democrat

With his Presidential ambitions long since gone, Democrat Ted Kennedy has cemented quite a legacy for himself as a champion of liberal causes in the U.S. Senate and even his critics concede that he has been a very effective legislative figure for his party over the past two decades of a Senate career that stretches back to the early 1960’s and the time of “Camelot.”

No amount of scandal or tragedy have caused the voters of heavily Democrat Massachusetts to turn against Kennedy and with the exception of enduring one tough race in 1994; he has always been reelected by overwhelming margins. 2006 will be no exception and most believe that Kennedy will run once again six later for the job he has held for well over half of his life.

Republicans of course are not willing to give Kennedy a free ride and they have two competent candidates who will oppose each other in the September primary for the right to tell their grandkids that they once ran against Ted Kennedy. Those Republicans are a language school owner and GOP activist named Ken Chase who has the state party’s official endorsement, and a businessman named Kevin Scott, who was formerly a Wakefield Selectman, who received enough votes at the state convention to make it onto the ballot for the primary. Scott has been described as somewhat of a promising Republican (at least in races other than this one) but for whatever reason, most delegates decided to go with Chase.

Whoever wins the nomination will easily go down to defeat, but they should fare better than Kennedy’s last Republican opponent, who happens to be running for Congress this year. That candidate’s campaign was so hampered by both past and present incidents involving plagiarism, womanizing, substance abuse, and automobile accidents, it seemed less like he was running against Kennedy as much as he was running to actually be a Kennedy.

So, come next January, Teddy Kennedy will be back in Washington, to the delight of old-school liberals and national Republican fundraising professionals alike.


Massachusetts GOP link:

http://www.massgop.com/

Sizzling photo of the extremely hunky Senator:

http://blamebush.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/kennedy.jpg

2006 U.S. Senate races predicted thus far: 7 D, 3 R
Post-election Senate balance of power predicted thus far: 34 D, 43 R