Posted on 06/26/2020 1:29:31 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Edward Markey appears headed for a bruising defeat unless he can turn around his struggling campaign in the next two months — a difficult ask for a 73-year-old incumbent running against a well-funded young heir to a political dynasty.
The latest developments are not good for Markey — and we’re not even talking about his staggeringly stupid decision to pose on his porch with an American flag on the floor.
Democratic sources say two new polls in separate congressional districts show Markey trailing U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III by double digits.
One of the polls was from a Democratic candidate running in Kennedy’s congressional district, and the other poll came from U.S. Rep Richard Neal, who is up for re-election in the 1st District in western Massachusetts.
Markey campaign officials dismiss the recent polls, which have been up and down.
“The pollercoaster has been about as consistent as Joe Kennedy’s reason for running,” Markey campaign manager John Walsh said.
Now, it’s not surprising that Kennedy would have a big lead in his district, which includes Brookline and Newton, where he lives. If he didn’t have a lead there he’d be in big trouble.
But to be leading by a double digit margin in Neal’s district in western and central Massachusetts is a huge boost for Kennedy, and an ominous sign for Markey.
Markey, a Malden Democrat who has copped endorsements from some well-known progressive and environmental groups, needs to have strong support in progressive areas like the Berkshires in order to overcome Kennedy’s advantage in the Boston area.
Kennedy had a whopping 30-point lead in Boston in a poll conducted in May by Emerson College, according to polling director Spencer Kimball. The only place Markey held his own was in the North Shore, which is near where Markey lives. The only demographic Markey led in was in voters with post-graduate degrees — not exactly a rallying cry for victory.
Kennedy held a 16-point lead statewide in Emerson’s last poll, which was conducted before Kennedy and Markey’s latest debate in the first week of June.
Kimball said there is still time for Markey to turn around the race, because more than half the voters in the state could still change their minds.
“There definitely could be some movement,” Kimball said.
But that Kennedy name is keeping Markey from making much headway.
“There is a soft Kennedy vote out there but what game changer does Markey have? He’s tried a lot of different tactics but none of them seem to have been the game changer he needs,” Kimball said.
The pollster said both candidates need strong absentee ballot pushes, because so many voters have indicated they would rather stay home and vote because of the coronavirus.
And it takes lots of money to get out that vote — something Kennedy has plenty of. The 39-year-old congressman is several million dollars ahead of Markey in fundraising and that’s not likely to change much.
What Markey really needs is a game-changing moment — maybe in one of the last debates — or a big mistake by Kennedy.
It's just about impossible for Republicans to win the MA Senate seat. The only exception was in 2010 when RINO Scott Brown beat the inept Martha Coakley in special election to replace the late Ted Kennedy.Pocahontas beat Brown in 2012.
Another Senator Kennedy from MA...the redhead grandson of RFK (born about a dozen years after Bobby's death) is Sloppy Joe (disastrous SOTU response when he put on too much Chapstick).The last name and his youth can propel him. It's "Joe Kennedy da Turd" (heard Howie Carr call him that) vs Mr Frosty, Ed Malarkey. (Last real job selling ice cream?)
The Kennedys: Oldsmobiles going off bridges Assassinations Plane crashes Dying while playing football on skis Affairs with the babysitter Drugs Booze Dying while chasing a soccer ball that went into the water Crippling young women Etc
Markey aligned himself with AOC in
endorsing the Green New Deal
Mr Frosty.
Ol’ Howie will have some on-air giggles over this news! ;-)
Eventually he will write Kennedy Babylon
Vol 3
Does Joe have a pilots license?
Shiva is a fraud.
Don’t worry Kennedy will eventually endorse AOC as well.
Just what we need at the moment, another drug addicted Kennedy in the Senate.
Isn’t Kennedy how you spell White privilege?
Boy, who do I root for in this one?
The greater of two evils ...
He’s a Kennedy, you lost before it started.
All Markey has to do is start calling Kennedy ‘Orange Man’ in ads and the populace will think he is running against DJT. /S
The people of Massachusetts have unwavering support for their sports teams, and they think of Kennedy as a sports team for politics, they will support no matter what.
That Edward Markey is a United States Senator should fill anyone with despair.
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