As a Democrat likely supporting Charlie Baker, I may be too quick to see rainbows in what could arguably be a rain cloud. However, as insignificant as these picks generally are, Loscocco gives Baker more room to pick up disillusioned Democrats in the center. And it seems a mistake for Cahill to think a move to the right gets him more than a handful of Republicans (who I would guess will mostly vote with the party despite Baker’s left-of-the-base leanings). This pick will probably add fuel to the argument among Deval-supporters that Baker-Cahill cancel each other out by fighting over the same voters, but I’m not so sure. Perhaps it opens up just the space that Baker was looking for. And from what I hear, these picks are more about money than anything else. Murray certainly does a good job filling that role, but unsubstantiated reports have Tisei bringing in $300K of the $700K Baker pulled in last month. Not too shabby. How will Loscocco stack up? I’m hearing: not so well.
Which of course is good for Baker. If Cahill gets 20% I can see Patrick getting 41% pretty easily — getting to 48% if Cahill has only 5% (much more likely) looks a lot harder for Patrick.
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p>Of course, we don’t know how successful Patrick will be when he reverts to campaign mode, which he was very good at. And Baker is completely unknown so far except for the vague impression that he is smart, which is working for him so far. He doesn’t look like much of a campaigner, but you never know.