Mass. GOP not conceding Bay State

Faithful beat drums for John McCain win

By Dave Wedge
Saturday, September 20, 2008
http://www.bostonherald.com

Pundits may say it’s a foregone conclusion that Barack Obama will win heavily Democratic Massachusetts in November, but Bay State Republicans are refusing to roll over and concede defeat, despite the staggering odds.

Citing a surge in the number of GOP volunteers, the state Republican Party is opening two new bunkers in Springfield and Plymouth to complement the Boston office, all of which will be used to support the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket.

“The grassroots support in Massachusetts for the McCain-Palin ticket is overwhelming,” said state GOP spokesman Barney Keller. “He’s still pretty popular here. People like him.”

McCain has a history of solid support in Massachusetts, including a crushing 32-point win over President Bush in the 2000 Republican primary. In this year’s Massachusetts GOP primary, McCain got more than 200,000 votes, or 40 percent, but lost to former Gov. Mitt Romney by 51,000.

“There’s no question John McCain’s long record of working across party lines appeals to Democrats, Republicans and independents in the Bay State,” said Jeff Grappone, New England communications director of McCain-Palin 2008. “If any Republican could win Massachusetts it would be John McCain.”

But Obama campaign spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai said, “Massachusetts voters know we can’t afford a third Bush term through John McCain, which is why we have staff, an office and thousands of volunteers in Massachusetts who are telling their friends and neighbors about Senator Obama’s plans to bring the change we need to Washington.”

Massachusetts, where half of all voters are registered independent, supported Ronald Reagan twice but has voted Democrat in every presidential election since.

Rep. Bradley H. Jones (R-N. Reading) called the Bay State McCain effort an “uphill climb,” but said a close race would “motivate” independents and Republicans.

“It may not lead to John McCain winning in Massachusetts, but it may lead to him certainly over-performing,” Jones said.

A recent Rasmussen survey showed Obama with a 15-point lead in the Bay State. An August poll by Suffolk University/7 News had Obama with an 11-point lead.

GOP strategist Rob Gray said “it’s not impossible” for McCain to win the Bay State but he thinks local GOP resources would go to better use in New Hampshire, a battleground state too close to call.

“While I’d love to say McCain could pull off an upset in Massachusetts, it’s not in the cards,” Gray said. “The reality is Massachusetts is extremely far out of reach for any Republican presidential candidate, even one who appeals to independents as much as McCain does.”