Massachusetts GOP In Deep Trouble

The picture above is of Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts. He is running for the senate seat vacated by John Kerry, and he has the support of most Democratic leaders in that state. So far, his only opponent is Rep. Stephen Lynch, who is also a Democrat (although a slightly more conservative one than Markey).

Who are the Republicans going to run against the primary winner of either Markey or Lynch? Right now, no one has stepped forward. Republicans had expected Scott Brown, who was unseated by Elizabeth Warren in the last election, to run -- and most political pundits thought Brown had a decent chance of winning. But Brown surprised everyone by refusing to run.

And one by one all the the few other Republicans with decent name-recognition have also refused to run -- including former Governor William Weld, Tagg Romney (Mitt's son), former Lt.Governor Kerry Healey, and former congressional candidate Richard Tisei. That means if the Republicans are able to field a candidate at all, it will be one with very little name-recognition with voters. And with less than five months until the special election in June, that leaves that candidate with only a short period to introduce himself/herself to the voters and gain enough of their trust to get their votes.

It seems like Senate Republicans just can't catch a break when it comes to Massachusetts. They blocked Elizabeth Warren from becoming head of the new Consumer Protection Bureau, only to have her run for the senate and beat Scott Brown. Then they backed Kerry for Secretary of State, thinking they could get Brown back in the Senate -- and now it looks like they might not even have a GOP candidate for that seat (at least not one the voters have ever heard of).

It now looks like the Democrats won't have much of a problem holding on to Kerry's senate seat.