Massachusetts Special Election: Democrats Afraid Gomez Will Win Next Week’s GOP Primary

Wednesday, Chuck Todd said something very interesting about the Massachusetts Senate special election race in The Daily Rundown. Republicans should be listening, if they are interested in gaining Secretary of State John Kerry’s old Senate seat.  

The MSNBC host said, "I talk to many Democrats around here, and they’re only focused on one guy, and that's Gomez. That's the candidate they think, if he gets out of the primary, he presents a real threat in the special general election. They're very dismissive of Sullivan…" In other words, Democrats see Gabriel Gomez, a candidate in the Massachusetts Republican primary, as their strongest opponent.

In the segment, Boston Globe reporter Frank Phillips agreed with Todd. “I have picked that up in the last couple of days. The Democratic leadership around here is getting very nervous about Gomez winning that election," Phillips said. He went on to say that Democrats are hoping Sullivan will win, as he is very socially conservative, while Gomez is a moderate Republican and will therefore pose a much more formidable challenge to the winner of the Democratic primary.

Gomez himself explains, "I’m not a career politician and I'm not set in any kind of ideological position that's going to make me go so far to one side." He is the kind of moderate, rational Republican who can excel in a blue state. On Gomez's "issues" page, he concisely displays his views. His middle-of-the-road take on social issues and common-sense approach to fiscal issues give him the broad appeal he needs in order to win in Massachusetts.  

There is more bad news for Gomez’s opponents. Stephanie Ebbert of the Boston Globe writes what many are thinking ... that "The biography of Senate candidate Gabriel E. Gomez reads as though it might have been compiled by a team of Republican consultants trying to craft the perfect candidate." He is running from an unusually-outsider perspective. As he puts it, "I’m exactly what the American dream is all about," and "the reason I’m running is I want everybody to have the same chance I had when I was a kid."

According to his campaign website, Gomez is a first generation American. He is one of very few to serve as both a Navy aircraft carrier pilot and a Navy SEAL officer. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School and led a fruitful career in business and finance. During this time, he "experienced how onerous taxes and excessive regulation are barriers to job creation" and "learned what it takes to help businesses and employees prosper and thrive." This experience will help guide the aspiring senator on economic issues, if he wins the April 30 primary and then the general election.

As one can see, Democrats are rightfully concerned. Gomez is the ideal candidate and has a habit of succeeding at everything he does, so it logically follows that he will be successful in becoming Massachusetts's next member of America's most exclusive club. Republicans looking to elect a pro-small business candidate should keep this in mind when voting this coming Tuesday.