Talk Elections

option 1 (normal)

What are their politics like?  All I know is that Mihos is a silly populist.

1  healey is a william weld type republican.  she is certainly more liberal than her boss mitt romney.

2.  tom reilly is a decent man.  he is probably one of the better people running for office.  his politics are wishy-washy, though.  he is more of the blue collar type democrat.  i really dont think he is very liberal.

3.  deval patrick is a l iberal democrat.  a latte liberal, some folks would say.  he really has the support of the activists in the democrat party.

4.  chris gabrieli is an ideas man, a policy wonk.  probably a bill clinton type democrat.  actually he wouldnt be too bad as governor.

5.  christy mihos is a horrible person.  a pompous ass.

Healey, Rielly and Gabriel sound decent.  I voted Healey to give the GOP some representation in the MA state government.

Reilly

Reilly.

At the moment I would lean towards Patrick.

Leaning toward Patrick.

Healey. I hope that Patrick wins the primary. I think it's an accepted idea that Patrick as the Dem nominee gives Healey the best shot in November. I love keeping the MA Governor spot away from the Dems.

reilly is a bad candidate too, phil.  i really like him as a person.  but he isnt a natural born politician.  to say he is gaffe prone would be an understatement.

I thought he was a popular AG. He also has the best name recognition, too. Wouldn't facing off against Patrick be easier?

reilly is reasonably popular.  most of that is just personal popularity.  reilly is  a likable guy.  he is  a very decent guy who has had to work hard for everything in his life.  people look at him as 'one of us'.  but at the same time, that can be a bad thing.  a lot of people think of him as a bumbling lightweight.

reilly also isnt very popular with the liberal wing of the democrat party.  they question his committment to the liberal agenda.  personally, i dont think reilly is very liberal at all.  all of the liberal positions he takes (like gay marriage) just seem contrived and insincere.

would patrick be easier?  probably for two reasons:
1. he is an outspoken liberal.  many voters want a 'check' on the democrat and liberal legislature.  i also think a lot of blue collars will vote for mihos if patrick is the nominee.

2.  race is an issue (unfortunately)

on the other hand, patrick is probably a more polished candidate than reilly.

I'd probably support Healey, because she's a Republican.

I bet Deval Patrick will do really well in Southie....:P

I find it so funny how one of the most liberal states is also considered one of the most unfriendly states to blacks.  Very interesting, and says a lot about the true feelings of liberals, as opposed to what they say.

maybe Gabrieli

Gabrieli.

The Dem state convention is soon, and candidates need 15% of delegates to be on the primary ballot.  Patrick won about 70% of the delegates at the caucuses with 30% for Reilly, so both passed that mark.  Because Gabrieli entered the race after the caucuses (and needs to take delegates who have already been pledged), it is possible that he or Reilly will not have enough support to make the ballot. 

 I support Patrick.

 He won't have the easiest road to the governorship, but he also won't have as tough a time as Mitty suggests. He's liberal but also an outsider, so I don't think he's in any danger of being lumped in with the legislature in people's minds- Reilly would be.
 
 As far as the "southie" argument goes, it would be interesting to see what working class whites in Massachusetts would choose in a race between an african american and a woman. This won't be the only issue in peoples minds of course, but it will be a factor. I have working class Irish family in Worcester (basically an enmormous Southie) and while they are unsure of who to vote for in the primary, they have no love for Healey.

Mihos sounds like a really cheesy porn name.

Deval Patrick, although I'd be happy with Gabrieli as well.

Probably Healey.

Kerry Healey - This is one Kerry from Massachusetts that I would definately vote for :)

Personally, I want to support Deval Patrick

But I like having divided government in MA so that they continue to have an all Dem. Congressional delegation and majority in the state assembly.

If Kerry Healy really is similar to William Weld, then I could see myself voting for her.

True, though one could make a similar comparision to Republican states getting a higher share of federal spending compared to their contribution in taxes than Democratic ones.

Considering that Massachusetts is one of only two states that have elected post-reconstruction black sentators and given it has such a small black population, I'm not sure its valid to say the state is unfriendly to blacks.  Its white population is certainly less unfriendly to electing blacks than in nearly any other state in the nation...

That said, I am somewhat disappointed in Patrick, who seems to have some corporate ties that I'm rather skeptical about and, imho, is kinda hyped by the blogospheric types.

I'd stick with Tom Reilly...

I voted Healy so that the Reps. could have some New England voice.

They have the Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont governorships and until 2005 held the New Hampshire governorship as well.  They also hold both U.S. Senate seats from Maine and New Hampshire.  I think the Republicans have some voice.

What's everyone's  problem with Mihos?

Of these less than inspiring choices, Healey, who is probably the best of a bad lot.

I dont have a problem with Mihos. He had a big fallout though with Jane Swift over Swift trying to hike rates on the Mass Turnpike back in 01 or 02.

I'm still registered to vote in Mass. If it was held today, I would lean towards Mihos. Healey - perhaps. Patrick, Reily and Gabrieli - NO.

A big reason that Massachusetts chooses Republican Governors lately is because of the inept and criminal coddling administration they had when Democrat Michael Dukakis was in power.

Massachusetts's economy was certainly quite prosperous during Dukakis's time in office, and the prison furlough program, of which I assume you are referring to with regards to "criminal coddling", was of course implemented by a Republican Governor.