In Senate race, a nail-biter
GOP declares victory, but race seen too close

By Lisa Kocian, Globe Staff, 3/3/2004

In an early election year test for Governor Mitt Romney, Republicans declared victory last night in a close state Senate race between Representative Scott P. Brown and Democrat Angus McQuilken.

McQuilken, however, had not conceded late last night, and Secretary of State William Galvin said the race was too close to call.

With more than half the Senate district reporting results, GOP officials said they felt confident Brown would win by roughly 300 votes over McQuilken, the chief of staff to former state Senator Cheryl Jacques.

"Reform won," said Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's spokesman. "This shows what happens when independent voters cast the ballot for change."

The race was widely seen on Beacon Hill as a gauge of Romney's clout and the strength of the gay marriage issue. Brown opposes legalizing gay marriage; McQuilken supports it.

They were vying to replace Jacques, who stepped down in January for a position with a gay advocacy group. The state Senate district includes Needham, Norfolk, Sherborn, Millis, Plainville, Wrentham, Wayland, North Attleborough, and parts of Attleboro, Natick, Franklin, and Wellesley.

"Once he's elected, what he does will have an impact on everybody in Massachusetts," said Newton resident Greer Tan Swiston, who was holding a Brown sign at Hillside Elementary School in Needham yesterday morning.

Swiston said she supports Brown because he backs Romney's overhaul effort and because Brown will fight to keep taxes low and curb unnecessary spending.

Standing next to her with a McQuilken sign, Cliff Cohn of Arlington said his support is driven by his opposition to Romney, who he said is hurting social service programs and putting too much of the budget burden on working families.

Romney, who won the district in the 2002 governor's race, sees the contest as a chance to cut into the Democratic Party's majority in the House and Senate. The governor campaigned with Brown on three occasions and filmed a television ad to bolster Brown, a third-term state representative from Wrentham.

He also helped Brown build a sizable war chest. Brown has raised $186,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports, plus another $100,000 from the Massachusetts Republican Party, one of its largest contributions to a legislative candidate, according to the Massachusetts Money and Politics Project, which monitors campaign finance.

By contrast, McQuilken raised $97,000. The Millis resident was Jacques's chief of staff and has her endorsement, as well as the backing of state Democrats.

The two candidates have hurled accusations at each other since they won their parties' nominations a month ago.
Brown has said that his opponent will be "one of the boys" if he wins, referring to the Democrats on Beacon Hill, and that McQuilken, who has never held elected office, is taking credit for Jacques's accomplishments.

McQuilken has labeled Brown a "right-wing extremist," who is weak on gun control. Whatever the outcome, there might be a replay in November. Representatives of both parties said that if their candidate loses, the winner can expect a challenger in the fall.

Political analyst Lou DiNatale said the outcome could be significant for the gay marriage debate. But DiNatale downplayed the impact of the election on Romney's momentum going into the fall and his ability to score more Republican seats.

If Brown loses, Democrats will be able to say Romney has no hope in November because this was a good district for the governor, DiNatale predicted. If he wins, it will be easy to spin away the significance, he said.

"In reality, this seat could be a pyrrhic victory, because it's already a heavily Republican" district, DiNatale said. "Jacques was the exception, not the rule. It may actually set Romney up for a greater fall in the fall by raising expectations."

That's because turnout in November should be heavily Democratic, especially if Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry is the Democratic presidential nominee, he said.

The state Senate set the date of the special election so it would coincide with the presidential primary. Republicans objected, saying the Democrats knew their party faithful would be turning out to vote. The state Republican Party challenged the date, but it was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court.

The same court set off a firestorm nationally with its ruling in November that gay couples should have equal rights to marriage. Lawmakers convened a constitutional convention last month to consider a proposed amendment that would ban gay marriage and overturn the SJC's ruling.

Legislators are set to reconvene March 11, but the new senator is not expected to be sworn in by then. If deadlock occurs agin, the gay marriage issue could be taken up in July, according to Charles Rasmussen, spokesman for House speaker Thomas M. Finneran. That decision is up to Senate President Robert E. Travaglini.

Lisa Kocian can be reached at 508-820-4231 or lkocian@globe.com.

This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 3/3/2004.
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