With six months to go before the Massachusetts gubernatorial election and polls indicating that the race will be close, Boston University students are getting active in the campaign process.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick will be running for reelection again Republican candidate Charlie Baker and Independent candidate Tim Cahill. The election will take place on Nov. 2, 2010.
According to an April 7 Rasmussen Reports poll, Patrick holds a slight lead with 35 percent of the likely voters saying they will choose him, while Baker and Cahill have 27 and 23 percent, respectively.
Spokespersons for Baker and Cahill both said the most important issues of the campaign are jobs and the economy. Patrick’s campaign could not be reached for comment.
“[Cahill’s] primary issues are jobs, the economy and bringing state revenue figures up,” said Cahill spokeswoman Amy Birmingham in an email. “However, without first focusing on jobs, recovering our economy will continue to be a struggle.”
Rick Gorka, a spokesman for the Baker campaign, said the issue of the economy is critical to attracting young voters.
“The vast majority of voters think that jobs, spending and the economy are the most important issues, especially as we relate to young people,” Gorka said. “We need to be able to create an environment that allows the best and brightest to stay in Massachusetts and work here. We have the best and brightest students here and we have to be able to keep them.”
Both candidates’ representatives also said that college students have been very active in supporting campaign efforts.
“We have a very active young Republican coalition that hosts events on a regular basis,” Gorka said. “Young people make up the bulk of any campaign. They provide the energy and long hours necessary for any winning campaign. We have a whole slew of college students in and out of this building every day.”
“The campaign rents space from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy . . . which has generated a great amount of help from students at the school,” Birmingham said of student involvement.”We are also reaching out to college campuses around the state to inform them of the opportunities available on the campaign.”
BU College Democrats Treasurer Matt Wall said he believes Patrick’s accomplishments as governor are telling of his future potential.
“I will be supporting Governor Patrick in both the Democratic primary and the general election,” Wall said in an email. “The Governor has taken Massachusetts into the twenty-first century with a number of projects. He has increased access to broadband access, invested in biotech and life sciences industries in the Commonwealth to ensure the well paying jobs that the students who graduate from its many universities need will be available.”
BU College Republicans Secretary Matthew Stern, on the other hand, said in an email that he will be supporting Baker.
“Charlie Baker is the right person to send to Beacon Hill this fall because he represents all of Massachusetts,” Stern, who is the state co-chairman of Students for Baker, said.”Running on a platform of social liberalism (gay and abortion rights) and fiscal conservatism (job growth and low taxes), he plans to bring the Bay State back on the path to prosperity and will reintroduce government accountability.”
However, he acknowledged that the success of either candidate will hinge on the recruitment of young voters.
“It will be critically important for the candidate’s [sic] to reach out to students and young adults throughout this campaign,” he said.
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