In light of majority wins in the Massachusetts state primary elections, contenders in the Senate and Fourth Congressional District races gear up for debates this fall as their campaigns stick to the messages that have defined the campaign season thus far.
Despite a higher percentage of votes in the primaries for his Democratic opponent, Joseph Kennedy III, the Sean Bielat campaign said they are optimistic for Election Day.
Sarah Rumpf, senior media consultant for the Bielat campaign, said in an email that there was a small voter turnout on Sept. 6 and the Fourth District was almost 50–50 in 2010.
Barney Frank won the election with 53 percent of the vote, with Bielat falling short with 42.5 percent, according to the Massachusetts State Elections Division.
“These are all things that make it a hospitable environment for Sean,” Rumpf said.
Two debates between the Fourth District candidates are confirmed to take place on Oct. 15 and Oct. 27.
In those forums, the Bielat campaign said it will be focusing on the “night and day” difference between the candidates.
Rumpf said she believes Kennedy is supported by his family legacy.
“If it wasn’t for Kennedy’s name, he wouldn’t be a contender in this race,” she said.
In an email sent out on primary night to subscribers, the Bielat campaign directly named the Kennedy family.
“This election represents the choice between two visions for America,” the email read. “One vision — one that has been held by the Kennedy family for more than seven decades — states that the government is smarter than you.”
The Kennedy campaign did not answer requests for comment in time for press.
In a separate phone interview, Rumpf said the remarks were not intended to make it sound as though the Kennedy family believed they were better than others and were not aimed at Joseph Kennedy III.
Contenders in the nearby Seventh Congressional District race, which encompasses parts of Boston University, include Rep. Michael Capuano of Somerville and Independent candidate Karla Romero.
Capuano, the current representative for Massachusetts’ Eighth District, went unopposed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the race for the Senate continues between Sen. Scott Brown and Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren.
After both went unopposed in the primary, the Brown campaign began the weekend by linking the newly released jobs report to his opponent.
“Today’s weak jobs report is more bad news for middle-class families struggling to get by in this bad economy,” Brown said in a statement on his website. “And yet Elizabeth Warren’s answer is to borrow another trillion dollars coupled with the largest tax increase since World War II. That’s exactly the wrong approach.”
Warren’s press secretary Julie Edwards said in a phone interview that the statement is another example of the Brown campaign’s increasingly negative campaign.
“The truth is that Elizabeth supports tax cuts for middle-class families. Scott Brown voted against those tax cuts to get even bigger breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent,” Edwards said. “At the same time, he’s been defending billions in taxpayer subsidies for the biggest oil companies in the world. He’s launching false attacks because he can’t run on his voting record.”
The Brown campaign did not return requests for comment.
After months of deadlock between the two Senate candidates, Brown has been gaining traction and moving ahead in the polls, according to a Public Policy Polling poll that shows Brown leading Warren by 5 points. A Kimball Political Consulting poll shows Brown leading by 6 points.
The Warren campaign would not comment on the data.
Jobs and taxes could remain a topic of discussion between Brown and Warren during the debates, the first of which will be held at the WBZ-TV studios on Sept. 20.
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