Update on the Massachusetts Senate Race

John Hanlon | September 13, 2009 12:21 AM

I recently wrote about Curt Schilling's possible run for the Senate seat that previously belonged to Ted Kennedy. Even though many expect the seat to remain in Democratic hands after the election, there is still an interesting political race going on in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in regards to who will oppose the Democratic candidate in the special election early next year.

Firstly, the campaign was always going to be a difficult one for former Red Sox pitcher and independent Curt Schilling but a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports noted how tough that race could be. An article on that poll noted that "Just 34% of Massachusetts voters say they’re even somewhat likely to vote for Schilling. Most (54%) say they’re not likely to do so." In recent days, though, Schilling has backed away from the idea of such a campaign. However, if he decides to jump into the race, he will have a tough battle ahead of him considering the polling numbers from Rasmussen.

The race will also be a tough one for the Republican candidate. In recent days, former Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card had talked about running but he has recently nixed that idea. However, Republican Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown has now officially entered the race. An article on Boston.com recently

noted that "Brown pledged to run a grass-roots campaign focused on lowering taxes and reducing the size of government, and denounced Democratic policies as harmful to economic recovery."

On the other side of the aisle, it seems like Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has a strong lead in the Democratic primary. That could easily change as more Democrats announce their political intentions over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, the Senate race will continue to be an interesting one to watch as the campaign becomes more intense.