Kennedy Wants to Go It Alone

Sunday's Globe has an interesting article about Senator Ted Kennedy's apparent desire to be unopposed in 2006. At first, I thought that was kind of tacky, but when you think about it, I'm sure every politican wants to run unopposed. Kennedy is just one of the few who has the money and the clout to make it happen. It won't be his decision, of course, but by raising more money than would ever be necessary for him to keep his seat, he can frighten off anyone who doesn't want to dump resources into a losing effort.

The state Republicans, I'm sure, are having a tough time trying to find someone who will get no money to fight a battle they won't win. In fact, the article touches on the fact that a well-funded and motivated Kennedy organization is probably the last thing the state GOP wants their slate of legislature candidates to have to contend with downticket. Of course, if state Republicans would benefit from leaving Kennedy without opposition, out of state Republicans will pay the price. Kennedy's millions will likely go to Democratic Senate candidates in places like Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Rhode Island if he doesn't have to spend it on himself. Of course, Mitt's the one who needs to win favor with the national Republicans, so the Mass GOP probably won't be taking that into account.

On the other hand, I'm sure the state Democrats would love to get their hands on some of Kennedy's money. They may even get some of it, but what they won't get if Kennedy has no Republican opponent is any organizational help for the gubernatorial race. A motivated Kennedy, who already has a bone to pick with Romney, could only help to bring Democratic partisans to the polls in the mid-year. Getting people out may be the Democrats' biggest problem in '06 as the most likely candidates are either moderately uninspiring (Reilly and Galvin) or politically inexperienced (Patrick).

The other thing Republicans should factor in when weighing a run against Kennedy is the race for Governor in 2010. Even if Mitt wins his next election and stays for the whole term, I can't see him running for a third. He barely seems interested in his first, and if it can't get him to the presidency, he just may pack it back up to Utah. An aspiring Republican with a decent personal finance (Chris Egan?) could use the race against Kennedy to boost his or her name recognition in preparation for a future race, the way Mitt himself did in 1994 (unintentionally, I'm sure). Of course, Romney is still showing signs of bailing on his '06 race, so perhaps it's best for GOP aspirants to sit back and wait for things to unfold.