If there’s a silver lining to not winning any Congressional races in MA in 2010, it’s this: the Democrats there are unlikely to avoid a full-bore deathmatch over redistricting. The ‘problem’ there is that MA will be losing a Congressional seat, thanks to the 2010 Census – which means that somebody’s going to be taking it on the chin.
The Boston Herald runs down the options. You’ve got the guy whose wife is in jail for tax fraud (Tierney), the guy who just got the scare of his electoral life and is responsible for our current home mortgage mess (Frank), the freshman (Keating), the retiree (Olver), and two guys reportedly thinking about making a run at losing to Senator Scott Brown in 2012 (Lynch, Capuano). None of the above are acting like they want to let go of their seats… though even if they did, they wouldn’t show it.
If I had to guess, I’d say that the House member most likely to get left out after the dust clear would be… Niki Tsongas. She’s only been in office for several years, she’s a legacy pick, and… well, she’s a female Massachusetts Democrat. Let us just say that the Massachusetts Democratic party is not renowned for being a bulwark of feminist empowerment.
Moe Lane