Pros of Alan Khazei running again:
He’s run for Senate before, and made major inroads in the last campaign
It’s a regular election, so he will have more time to win over voters, a luxury he didn’t have in the last campaign.
He has fresh new ideas that will help rally a new generation of progressives.
The media loves him.
He has a strange crossover appeal, and is able to assuage the fears of conservatives, despite being very liberal.
Cons: he’s coming off a defeat, and may not want to risk another.
Still lower name recognition than a lot of other potential candidates.
He’s never held public office before.
So, what is everyone thinking about this? Who should we nominate in 2012?
Please share widely!
Fresh out the gate, my top rubric for “should they run in ’12?” is “how visible were they in ’10?”
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p>On that scale, Khazei and Capuano need not apply.
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p>Speaking of back-room deals, I imagine that the way it will happen is that one Congressperson will be chosen for promotion to Senate via election, and their district will be dispersed among the other after the census numbers come in.
He was pushing hard on his email list and has been at events with Coakley. He used his social media leftover from the primary to push voters to Coakley as well.
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p>Capuano’s face may as well have been on a milk carton during the general, but Khazei actually did make an effort.
Didn’t see him at any events or on any coverage. But he could on the tv right off the bat on Election Night coverage.
Coakley basically ran a 10-day-long campaign for the general, so it would not be surprising if you blinked and missed any medium-profile supporter doing something (or several things) for her.
The only people who did high-profile work for her were Terry Murray and Obama. However, one can’t have it both ways: either it was a short-term campaign, or Khazei was all over the place.
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p>Actually, come to think of it, Terry Murray would be my top choice to take on Brown. She’s got a record to be proud of, faced tough fights before, presents excellently on the stump, knows how to work, and isn’t going to be blinded by sneak attacks.
with her own campaign. Coakley lost Plymouth by more than 6,000 votes — an almost 2-1 margin. The Senate President couldn’t even deliver her hometown and it wasn’t even close. Not a good sign.
If we take Special ’10 to be an example, the Democrats would be lucky to have a majority, much less a veto, next January.