Thread: Tuesday’s Massachusetts special election a test case...

Campaign 2008
TheHill.com
Tuesday’s Massachusetts special election a test case for GOP in 2008
By Aaron Blake
October 16, 2007
Congressional Republicans have been contributing thousands of dollars to Massachusetts special-election candidate Jim Ogonowski in the run-up to Tuesday’s contest, and the candidate should reward their investment with, at the very least, a test case of how to run in an unfriendly environment.

As Republicans approach a second straight election fraught with difficulties, including growing retirements, money problems and generic polling that shows voters prefer the Democratic label, Ogonowski’s campaign has blazed a new trail en route to what could be a close contest with Democrat Niki Tsongas.

Voters will head to the polls in the Democratic-leaning district formerly held by Rep. Marty Meehan (D) on Tuesday, and as with other special elections, the outcome is anyone’s guess.

A pair of close special elections in GOP-leaning districts in Ohio and California last cycle were seen as harbingers of things to come for Democrats in 2006, and another in Georgia this year was seen as a repudiation of the GOP establishment candidate.

Ogonowski has run away from his party in some ways and has actually tried to tie his Democratic opponent to the Bush administration’s policies on issues including immigration and the Iraq war.

[b]Ogonowski’s campaign launched a radio ad Monday focusing on Tsongas’s support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Ogonowski’s campaign has dubbed that policy “Bush amnesty,â€

If candidate Jim Ogonowski does not win it would be nice to see him become the new Executive Director of MCIR Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform.