In the few days since John Kerry resigned to become Secretary of State, five prominent Republicans have passed on the chance to run for his seat in a June 25 special election.
On the Democratic side, two well-known lawmakers, Rep. Ed Markey (D) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D), have launched their bids, setting up an April 30 primary.
Why the cold feet among Republicans?
One reason is timing. The candidate who wins in June will have to quickly gear up to run again in 17 months, when Kerry would have been up for re-election.
Another reason is the strong and heavily financed Democratic field of potential candidates who could run either this year or next.
But Massachusetts voters famously bucked their Democratic tradition a few years ago and elected Scott Brown (R) to fill the vacancy left by the death of legendary Sen. Ted Kennedy (D). It was a groundbreaking election and made a genuine difference in the power Republicans could wield in facing President Obama.
This time around, the only two Republicans exploring the chance are little known state Rep. Dan Winslow (R) and unknown venture capitalist Gabriel Gomez.
The fact that not a single prominent Republican is willing to take a chance at running for an open Senate seat is shocking.
It's embarrassing.
And it’s another sign of the disarray the party finds itself in after a string of tough election losses in 2012.
Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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