For Barney Steverman, the 2010 election comes down to two words: No incumbents.
“There isn’t a Democrat that I would vote for today,” said Steverman, an 86-year-old registered Democrat and World War II veteran who is supporting Republican Charlie Baker in his bid to unseat incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick (D).
“As far as Beacon Hill goes, it’s the same old, old, old,” Steverman said, noting that speaker after speaker of the state House has been brought up on criminal charges. “That’s why I say, no incumbent for me. I want a complete change.”
Voters such as Steverman are just the kind that Baker will need to reach out to if he is to succeed against Patrick — and with less than two weeks until Election Day, the Republican is doing everything he can to rally those voters.
The question for Baker — as well as for Patrick and the other major player in the race, state Treasurer Tim Cahill, a former Democrat running as an independent — is whether that anti-incumbent sentiment will be enough to turn Massachusetts red again, nine months after Sen. Scott Brown’s (R) come-from-behind win in the special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D).
Full Story: The Fix – Incumbency at issue in Massachusetts race – The Washington Post