The State of the Bay State

Being a Republican in Massachusetts is not exactly illegal. But it is also not particularly honorable or, for a politician, useful. Decriminalized maybe captures the flavor. Registered Republicans account for 15 per cent of the electorate, a dim third behind Democrats and Independents. The last Republican elected statewide was Edward Brooke, who lost his Senate seat in 1978. Reagan carried the state in 1980, but only because John Anderson ran super-strong there, and even then his margin was less than three thousand votes.

The scraps are hotly disputed nevertheless. Six years ago, the nominations for governor and senator were sharply contested, and there was another fight for the gubernatorial nomination in 1982. About the only thing that was free for the asking was the privilege of running against the almighty himself, Ted Kennedy. The lucky man turned out to be a first-time candidate, Raymond Shamie, who was, of course, trounced, though by a smaller margin —61 to 38 per cent—than any other opponent since Kennedy’s first election. Now Shamie wants another crack at the Senate.

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Being a Republican in Massachusetts is not exactly illegal. But it is also not particularly honorable or, for a politician, useful. Decriminalized maybe captures the flavor. Registered Republicans account for 15 per cent of the electorate, a dim third behind Democrats and Independents. The last Republican elected statewide was Edward Brooke, who lost his Senate seat in 1978. Reagan carried the state in 1980, but only because John Anderson ran super-strong there, and even then his margin was less than three thousand votes.

The scraps are hotly disputed nevertheless. Six years ago, the nominations for governor and senator were sharply contested, and there was another fight for the gubernatorial nomination in 1982. About the only thing that was free for the asking was the privilege of running against the almighty himself, Ted Kennedy. The lucky man turned out to be a first-time candidate, Raymond Shamie, who was, of course, trounced, though by a smaller margin —61 to 38 per cent—than any other opponent since Kennedy’s first election. Now Shamie wants another crack at the Senate.