Friday, September 26, 2014

Gender Will Decide Governor's Race

That's going to be the narrative anyway:

"Consider this: The war for women’s votes this fall is a battle of the sexes"

Well, I'm part of the problem because I've already found my guy.

Baker edges ahead of Coakley
Memo to candidates courting women
Baker’s ‘sweetheart’ remark not a big deal to some voters
Amended Partners deal would impose stricter price caps
Candidates weigh in on service workers

Look who is riding to the re$cue:

"Michelle Obama to stump for Martha Coakley; Slated to appear at fund-raiser" by Jim O’Sullivan | Globe Staff   September 23, 2014

Michelle Obama plans to help Attorney General Martha Coakley try to close her hefty cash deficit in the gubernatorial race against Republican rival Charlie Baker, headlining a Boston fund-raiser next week, top Democrats said Tuesday.

Democrats said they were still hoping to nail down details of a second event, also planned for next week, with Vice President Joe Biden, probably to raise funds for the Democratic National Committee.

The Oct. 3 event with Obama will raise money for the Democrats’ coordinated campaign, which is leading the charge to elect Massachusetts Democrats this cycle. Details of the fund-raiser were still being worked out, the Democrats said Tuesday.

Coakley entered the second half of this month, when the most recent campaign finance reports were due, trailing Baker in the cash-on-hand race by nearly $800,000. The gap has some supporters worried that she will not be able to compete with him on the airwaves in the final weeks of a tightly fought race.

Last Friday, Democrats raised more than $150,000 at a fund-raiser with Senator Elizabeth Warren at a Boston hotel, said an e-mail circulated to the host committee.

Michelle Obama remains one of the most durably popular figures in the national Democratic Party. Her visit could also offer Democrats another opportunity to highlight the gender gap between Coakley and Baker, which has largely shaped the race so far.

Shaped by who?

***************

The separate Biden event would put him in close proximity to New Hampshire, a strategically important state if he decides to seek the presidency in 2016. Top Democrats said the event had not yet been finalized.

Biden’s visit would come as the buzz on the Democratic side of the 2016 ticket swirls around former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. But the vice president, who sought to capture the White House in 1988 and 2008, has not ruled out the possibility of a third run.

Local Democrats have speculated privately that either Bill or Hillary Clinton could also come to Massachusetts to help rally the party’s rank-and-file before November. But plans for the Clintons to stump on Coakley’s behalf remain nebulous.

But what?

The wattage of Coakley surrogates far outshines that of the national Republicans who may come to the state on behalf of Baker. Because of the national GOP brand’s toxicity in Massachusetts, Baker strategists have decided that the roster of national Republican figures who could help here is short.

Chris Christie, that's about it.

--more--"

Do we really know what is in the package?

Gubernatorial debate calendar starting to fill up