Gov. Deval Patrick officially announced his campaign for the 2010 gubernatorial election this weekend.
Patrick is running against activist Grace Ross for the Democratic nomination. Should he win the nomination, he will run against Independent candidate Tim Cahill and either Republican Charlie Baker or Christy Mihos in the November election.
An April 7 Rasmussen Reports poll found Patrick drawing the most support at 35 percent, followed by Baker at 27 percent and Cahill at 23 percent. If Mihos is the Republican opponent, Patrick’s support rises to 38 percent and Cahill’s to 33 percent, with Mihos at 15 percent.
But Douglas Kriner, a political science professor, said these numbers could change.
“Early polls are notoriously inaccurate. I think we will see a good deal of movement back and forth during the course of the race,” Kriner said.
Patrick spokesman Alex Goldstein said that the governor is keeping this in mind.
“I think the most important thing to know about the governor is that he doesn’t take anything for granted and never has, both in this election and the first. We believe that we have to work for every vote,” Goldstein said.
“The kick-off weekend is a great microcosm. The governor was up at the crack of dawn. . .and didn’t close out the night until 9 o’clock,” Goldstein said.
For the kick-off, Patrick traveled to 18 different towns across the Commonwealth and 22 different events, Goldstein said.
Patrick has other difficulties ahead of him. The recent election of Republican Scott Brown over Democrat Martha Coakley to the Senate may have an influence on the campaign, Kriner said.
“It has probably only further served to energize the Republican Party base. They certainly always had higher hopes for challenging Patrick than for contending for Kennedy’s Senate seat. After Brown’s victory, I am sure the party base is even more motivated for the fall,” Kriner said.
But Goldstein argued that Brown and Patrick share the same grassroots energy.
“Obviously the governor was supportive of Coakley in the race, but he has a lot of respect for Brown and the way that he ran that race,” Goldstein said. “Scott Brown was out there meeting people and had a very busy schedule crisscrossing the Commonwealth. There’s nothing more empowering than an active grassroots campaign.”
Baker served for 10 years as the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Mihos has served as a member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
Though once a Democrat, Cahill is running as an independent and is currently the Massachusetts treasurer.
Patrick will meet with constituents throughout his campaign, said Goldstein.
“There’s no better way to connect with people than connecting with people in their communities,” Goldstein said. “When the governor goes to these events, he’s not just showing up and shaking hands, he’s demonstrating some of the administration’s achievements such as the education reforms, he talks about health care reform, he talks about our unprecedented commitment to infrastructure projects. . .it is truly about listening for him.”
“There are great ideas out there,” added Goldstein, “But it only matters to the extent that it affects people.”
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