in the woodpile somewhere...
Posted on 09/05/2007 12:40:30 AM PDT by raccoonradio
LOWELL - Neophyte candidate Niki Tsongas, the widow of Sen. and presidential contender Paul Tsongas, won a hard-fought primary against established Lowell pol Eileen Donoghue and three others in her first election yesterday.
The race to replace U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan pitted the Tsongas name against Donoghue’s local political machine. The almost legendary name won out in the Merrimack Valley’s 5th Congressional District with 19,811 votes, or 36 percent, to Donoghue’s 17,373 votes, 31 percent.
“This is just Round 1,” Tsongas said. “Make no mistake. This election will be a referendum on the presidency of George W. Bush.”
The Democrats scheduled a “unity rally” for this morning. Tsongas will face Republican James Ogonowksi in the Oct. 16 general election.
Of the other Democrats, Rep. James Eldridge of Acton won 14 percent, or 8,041 votes; Rep. Barry Finegold of Andover had 13 percent, or 6,996 votes; and James Miceli of Wilmington won 6 percent, or 3,296 votes.
Turnout was low across the district, and interviews showed a Democratic electorate focused mainly on Tsongas and Donoghue.
“I felt Niki seemed like she had stayed more on top of the issues. She had a wider reach and grasp of what the issues entailed,” said voter Edgar Davis, 36, of Lowell, outside a downtown polling spot.
But some locals were not bowled over by Tsongas’ ties to Washington and perferred a candidate with her own track record in politics.
Tom Casey, 57, and his wife, both of Lowell, voted for Donoghue, saying they respected her work as a former city councilor and Mill City mayor.
“Of course Niki Tsongas was attractive just from name recognition and the work that her husband did,” said Casey’s wife. “But she doesn’t have the experience.”
The primary is the first step by voters to fill the seat left vacant by Meehan, who stepped down this spring to take the job as president of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Meehan served eight terms before vacating the seat, which covers a district that stretches from Concord to Lowell to Lawrence.
Ted Kennedy's opponent in 1962: "If your name were Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, your candidacy would be a joke."
>>“But she doesn’t have the experience.”
Her Republican opponent, Jim Ogonowski, was in the military and has a sad tie in to 9/11: His brother was a pilot on one of the hijacked plases that hit the WTC.
should say planes, sorry
There is no chance that Lowell will elect a decent person.
At least it’s hard to imagine them electing a more vile bastard than Meehan.
Sad to say, Oganowski has no chance whatever. I am convinced that Mass voters would elect Baghdad Bob if he were the dim candidate.
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