PPP: MA Dems want Vicki Kennedy to run against Sen. Scott Brown (R)

[Free_Eagle]

Scott Brown probably wants Vicki Kennedy to run against him, too.

I'm not sure why she would be considered a contender, other than her last name.

Out of the serious candidates, I would think that either Capuano or Lynch would pose to Brown the largest threat. Frank would put off working class whites the same way Coakley did in the special election. Patrick got re-elected, but he still isn't very popular and is probably not the Democrats' ideal challenger to Senator Brown.

[Free_Eagle]

Is there any indication that Vicki Kennedy is a good campaigner?

We know that she is smart, was an excellent partner for her husband, and it seems like insiders think the world of her, but does that mean she can actually run against Scott Brown? The precedents with Niki Tsongas and (gulp) Caroline Kennedy are not promising.

Realistically speaking, the precedents with Massachusetts' most prominent statewide Democrats aren't looking good for Democrats either, in the case of Scott Brown. Coakley had the right party designation and a typical Senate candidate resume; Vicki Kennedy simply has a party designation and the surname of her late husband.

Democrats are going to want to energize the liberal base in and surrounding Boston in order to defeat Senator Brown.

[Free_Eagle]

Democrats are going to want to energize the liberal base in and surrounding Boston in order to defeat Senator Brown.

I have to hope that Obama will do that for them. (If not, we're in real trouble.) My worry is the Democrats nominating someone who loses the suburbs and Cape in a landslide.

Even Coakley won the suburbs. Unless you're actually referring to exurbs or places way different Cambridge, Brookline, Newton and Somerville.

I don't think of those places as suburbs for psephological purposes, although Newton is debatable. They may not be within Boston city limits but Cambridge and Somerville are cities, full stop. Brookline is affluent but densely settled with old housing stock and almost completely surrounded by high-density Boston. If annexation proceeded here like it did in Chicago or New York City, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline would be part of Boston.

I do think exurbs is better than suburbs for what I am thinking. But I would also say that we need a Democrat to do well in older suburbs on the South Shore and even close-in cities like Quincy to be competitive against Scott Brown.

Democrats in Massachusetts would be smart to find a candidate who has been able to deal with a strong Republican challenge previously. Probably something that will be hard to find in Massachusetts, though. I'd look to a prominent State Senator from the right geographic location as an alternative, one with solidly liberal credentials that can draw a sharp contrast to Senator Brown and keep up reasonably well with President Obama's re-election totals in the state.

[Free_Eagle]

Smart call on Murray, she could probably use a favorite-daughter advantage to cut down the nice margins Brown racked up in Plymouth County in the special election. Coakley just wasn't inspiring; here being a female had nothing to do with it. Though it could be a potential drawback for Vicki Kennedy, since she is just Ted's widow and hasn't really run for political office in her own right. Murray might just be the candidate Democrats need.

Another interesting throw: pro-life Democrat vs. pro-choice Brown. But I guess William Weld showed us how that tends to play out.