Republicans and the Kennedy Seat

Unless Massachusetts passes a quick amendment to its constitution, the successor to the late Ted Kennedy will be chosen in a special election held, at the soonest, 145 days from now. John Gizzi has the most optimistic Republican spin on the race, keying off of the Democratic primary that will pit most of the House delegation against each other: “If Democrats are going to wage a political holy war, whoever emerges as the nominee is unlikely to recover fully from the wounds inflicted in a primary for a special election a few months later.” The candidates he’s hearing floated: failed 2008 U.S. Senate nominee Jeff Beatty, former Lt. Gov Kerry Healy, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, Carruth Capital President Chris Egan, and former state GOP chairman Jim Rappaport.

I am hearing zero Republican optimism about any of these candidates. All of the potential Democratic nominees have huge war chests and political bases; a GOP candidate would have neither, and would need to gin it up in a couple of months. Still, some ambitious Republican may make a run for it, as the short timeframe of the election reduces the costs and the downsides.