And we Democrats were worried about a Democratic Primary!
The indomitable Sean Bielat, two-time candidate for Congress filed papers so he could toss his hat into the ring. A formal announcement is planned, but Springfield Republican reports:
Former Republican congressional candidate Sean Bielat has formed a campaign committee to mount a run for U.S. Senate.
Bielat filed papers with the Federal Election Commission this week to form the “Sean Bielat for Senate” committee. He filed an official statement of candidacy at the same time….
Bielat joins Republicans competing for the seat including ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, state Rep. Daniel Winslow of Norfolk, former Nantucket selectman Douglas Bennett of Dorchester and former Ashland selectman Jon Fetherston.
State Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan are also contemplating jumping into the race.
Two candidates with no experience, two candidates with little experience, and poor Dan Winslow, who can at least claim relevant legislative experience.
If all five candidates actually make the ballot, the Republican Primary could turn into a crap shoot.
Ryan says
when/because he was running within striking distance in the polls against Baker in the primary.
It’s almost like the Republican elites that typically run the party from behind the scenes don’t care, without ‘ol Scotty Boy to be their face. They’ve given up, at least for this one.
It could be that Scott Brown has done more to damage the Republican Party in Massachusetts by having tricked them into thinking he cared for long enough to get their hopes up than anything else, not to mention their brand by running a dismal campaign and pulling a Sarah Palin after the election was over.
I bet it takes them a long time to recover to the point where they can field legitimate challenges for statewide races — something that, for all their other faults, they were at least able to do up until this point.
It’s a sad day for the GOP…. but I have some popcorn popping in the microwave.
John Tehan says
…every candidate, winner and loser, went around town and picked up their signs. Every candidate except Sean Bielat, that is – for weeks, his signs were still all over the place, where his supporters had put them on public lands. It’s likely that there are still several of them out there now, buried under the snow.
Sean, if you’re going to run again, please remember to pick up your trash this time when you fail!
kittyoneil says
They really need to tell these other clowns to get out and have a Sullivan/Gomez primary.
fenway49 says
I live in the Fourth, so I learned a bit about Mr. Bielat last fall. Apparently, starting in 2004, he was assisting a Kennedy School classmate in her run, as a Democrat, in a House district in suburban Rochester, N.Y., the same area where Bielat grew up. He then decided he was interested in running for Congress himself, and flirted with the idea of entering the primary against her. In the end he didn’t, she lost in November, and Bielat took a job with McKinsey in Chicago.
But he bought a house in the upstate NY district, and had his wife take a job there and live in the house. He himself registered to vote there, though he really lived in Chicago. He met with the DCCC in DC about running for the seat in 2006 as a Democrat. They put their support behind Eric Massa instead.
A couple of years later Bielat takes a job in Massachusetts and runs against Barney Frank in 2010 as a Republican. In a big GOP year, he makes it interesting (55-45). After losing, he moved to Pennsylvania, only to move BACK to the Fourth District here when Frank announced his retirement. This time, in a Democratic year, he lost more soundly to JPK III.
From the past decade’s history, it seems Sean Bielat cares more about getting elected to Congress than about anything else. It doesn’t matter what party, it doesn’t matter what state. I find that level of ambition unseemly. There’s certainly nothing to suggest he gives a damn about Massachusetts, having lived here a total of about three years and returning only to run for office again. I wouldn’t trust him to watch my grocery cart for two minutes, let alone represent my interests in Washington for six years.
sabutai says
I have thoroughly hated moving the few times I’ve done it. Tony O’Brien was similar, moving all over Plymouth County in his ongoing efforts (finally thwarted) to find and keep elected office. If you’re willing to uproot your life (and family) that persistently and abruptly, you care too much about power for me to support you.
John Tehan says
My folks uprooted the family and moved us twice between 1946 and 1966 – I wasn’t born yet for the first move, so I only moved once. But it was a major upheaval in our lives, with new friends, new schools, etc. Years later I talked about it with one of my older sisters, and she said that she would never dream of doing that to her kids, because she remembered how painful it was. She was in high school for the second move, so it was likely way more painful for her than for me, I was just in 3rd grade.
stomv says
I think Americans should move *more*. The world changes more quickly than it used to, and finding the right-sized home, the right-length commute, etc. are things we should be thinking about doing on a more regular basis.
While my parents didn’t move often when I was growing up, they did move a couple times and I ended up going to a different school system for K-8, for HS, and for college. I believe that going to a different high school system than my K-8 peers was absolutely the best thing for me at the time.
My point isn’t that moving is easy — all change is hard. But, moving can be in the best interests of the family, even when it is hard. Don’t just write it off as a no-can-do or avoid-at-all-costs.
P.S. There are lots of families that move around every few years. Everything from resource extraction to sports coaches go through this. It isn’t for everyone, but it happens. My grandfather was a house builder in Westchester County, NY. He’d build a house, and if it didn’t sell right away he’d put his own house on the market too. If his own house sold first, they’d move into the new home. As a result, my mother lived in about 10 different houses growing up, moving around the County. She doesn’t regret it — it’s just how it had to be given the line of work her father was in.
Peter Porcupine says
Sen. Tarr has already announced he is NOT running.
Doug Bennett is gathering signatures for Winslow (or is at least mentioned as a source for his nomination papers in mass emails).
Poor Jeff Donnelly can’t get people to admit he exists, althoguh he’s been announced for weeks.
This has been a public service announcement.
Disclosure – 100% behind Dan Winslow
Mark L. Bail says
on 95% of the issues, but he’s the only serious GOP candidate, the only one who could be expected to do a decent job.
Peter Porcupine says
So tell unenrolled friends to sign papers – it’s a ballot choice, not a contract to vote!