National Republicans have a new rallying point in Massachusetts Senate nominee Scott Brown, with presidential contenders and party committees flooding the zone with cash, staff and endorsements as health care becomes the central issue at stake for the special election.
2012 hopefuls Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty are helping the campaign, and Sen. John McCain endorsed Brown to win over attorney general Martha Coakley.
Republicans believe the key in what’s expected to be a low turnout race will be independents, and note the trend in Massachusetts is similar to what’s been seen nationally – voter frustration over spending issues and the economy.
Brown (R-MA) and Coakley (D-MA) are neck-and-neck in some polls leading up to next Tuesday’s special election for a permanent replacement for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Tarah Donoghue, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Republican Party, told TPMDC Brown has been boosted as health care put the race in a national context.
As Eric has been reporting, Brown says he would attempt to block final passage health care bill if elected.
But Republicans are accusing Democrats of making backroom deals and circumventing the legislative process, pointing to this article to suggest the majority party would stall the official vote certification if Brown wins.
Republicans say that Brown has been more active on the trail than Coakley, and note he’s had television ads on the air for two weeks. They also say he’s using technology smartly to generate support and a get-out-the-vote machine via text messaging and email.
Today, Brown is nearly halfway to his goal of raising $500,000 in an online “Money Bomb” today and he is winning the backing of state troopers hours before the final debate.
Also today, Romney did a fundraising push to his mailing list and Pawlenty set his sights on Massachusetts by helping raise cash for Brown.
Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has done fundraising appeals for Brown and one of his top political advisers is working with the Brown campaign.
“Massachusetts is not as monolithic a liberal state as people think,” Romney said recently on Fox, a clip displayed prominently on his Web site.
“There’s a lot of anger in Massachusetts among independents in particular about the Obama health care plan,” Romney said. “He’s a guy who very well could win this thing.”
In a blog post today Pawlenty announced a “new Website” that links to a fundraising page allowing for regular “monthly” donations as well as one-time contributions.
“If Scott wins, he’ll be the 41st vote we need to defeat the Democrats’ ill-conceived government take-over of health care,” Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant wrote.
As Brian reports, possible 2012 contender Sarah Palin isn’t expected to be on the scene.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson and the Tea Party Express have backed Brown as well.
A Republican strategist noted that the Democratic National Committee deployed spokesman Hari Sevugan to Boston for the final week of the campaign.
“The reality is that if this was a 15 or 20 point race, the DNC would not be sending staff up to Boston right now. There’s no reason this race should be close, it’s one of most Democratic states in the country,” the strategist told TPMDC.
Late Update: Asked about the race, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during his briefing today that “the president doesn’t have any travel plans to campaign in Massachusetts.”
Also, GOP Senate hopeful Rob Simmons in Connecticut sent out an appeal asking for help to make Brown the “41st vote.”
