It’s Official: John Kerry to Have Primary Competition!
Uber-Liberal, 24 year Democratic incumbent and ertswhile Presidential candidate John Kerry will have to endure the indignity of a primary challenge from Gloucester attorney Ed O’Reilly.
To add insult to injury, if he survives the primary, he’ll then have to face the surging Jeff Beatty in the general election. That’s what happens when you are out of touch with your constituents.
~~John Cronin~~
Boston Globe
LOWELL –
Gloucester attorney Ed O’Reilly got enough support from party officials today to ensure that he will give US Senator John F. Kerry his first Democratic primary challenge in 24 years.
At the state Democratic Party convention at the Paul E. Tsongas Arena, O’Reilly got 22.5 percent of the 2,574 ballots cast, more than the 15 percent he needed to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Kerry got the majority of votes, which means he’ll get the party’s endorsement.
“Party officials said this campaign is a nuisance. And it is. It’s a total nuisance,” O’Reilly said to the convention floor. “Democracy is a nuisance. People said the American Revolution was a nuisance — and it was!”
Kerry, in his fourth six-year term, last had a serious challenge in 1996, from Governor William F. Weld, a Republican. He hasn’t had a primary opponent since 1984, when Kerry and three other Democrats ran for a seat vacated by Paul Tsongas.
Few predict the sitting senator will be vulnerable in a primary race. But it could mean more campaigning this summer – and marks an embarrassment that a former presidential candidate was unable to thwart the challenge from O’Reilly.
June 7th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Let’s hope he’ll have to spend enough time and energy on O’Reilly to give Beatty the edge he needs to win. We need Kerry OUT of the senate.
June 8th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Mega dittos!