Unlike many Massachusetts Republicans, I haven’t done much handwringing over the Charlie Baker campaign, because I think he’s running a smart one. Not one to make right-wing nuts like me happy, but one that makes it easy for moderate Massachusetts Democrats to vote against Deval Patrick. And man, do they want to cast that vote.
Today, the Baker campaign I’ve been expecting all along has begun. Take a look at this ad:
This is NOT an attack ad. It’s just a friendly “hello” compared to the ads I predict you’ll be seeing in October—when it counts.
As I’ve written many times, Deval Patrick has been such an awful failure as a governor, all you have to do in October is simply play back his own words and read back his record. If the GOP is smart enough to do that (I always set my expectations low when it comes to Republican smarts), Deval tops out at 35-38% support, in a year when Democratic voters aren’t motivated to vote, anyway.
A solid 60% of Massachusetts voters don’t want to vote for Gov. Patrick under any circumstances. Baker merely needs to be the candidate who’s the best vote against.
UPDATE! The trend is already starting. The new Rasmussen poll has Baker trailing Gov. Patrick by just 5 points. Factor in the “leaning” voters and it’s a 2-point race.
And the ads just started today.
"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi
