Though the election is still a year away, the race for the Massachusetts seat in the U.S. Senate is already heating up between incumbent Scott Brown (R−Mass., LA '81) and front−runner Democratic candidate and Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren.
Brown came under fire from women's rights groups and Democrats for comments he made on a local radio show earlier this month in response to a quip comment from Warren during the Oct. 4 Democratic primary debate. During the debate, in response to a question about how she paid for college in comparison with the senator, Warren said, "I kept my clothes on," to which Brown replied during the radio interview, "Thank God."
Brown has refused to apologize for his remarks, defending his modeling career as something that helped pay his tuition.
"I didn't go to Harvard, you know, I went to a school of hard knocks, and I did whatever I had to do to pay for school," he said during the Oct. 6 interview on WZLX−FM.
The Massachusetts Republican Party criticized Warren for her remarks.
"Its unfortunate that Warren decided to disparage the way that Senator Brown earned a living to pay his way through college," Massachusetts GOP Communications Director Tim Buckley told the Daily.
The scuffle pointed to the images that the two candidates have tried to cultivate, Tufts Democrats Speakers Coordinator Seth Rau, a senior, said. Brown has attempted to define himself as a blue−collar ally who will protect voters against big government while painting Warren as elitist, and Warren has aimed to convince the public she will protect them against big interests, according to Rau.
"They're both trying to spin two competing messages, and both will appeal to their respective bases," Rau said.
Brown's image has remained unscathed in the eyes of Massachusetts voters despite last week's episode, according to Buckley.
"He continues to appeal to a wide range of Massachusetts voters. Folks see him as a problem solver, as someone they can relate to," Buckley said.
"Image is important," he added. "But so are results."
Un−enrolled voters, or voters who are not affiliated with a party, will play an important role in the 2012 election, Brown's Campaign Manager Jim Barnett said in an Oct. 3 internal memo. Un−enrolled voters make up approximately 50 percent of the Massachusetts electorate, Rau noted.
"A large proportion of Democratic general election voters will be more moderate and conservative ethnic and working−class voters who appreciate Scott Brown's common−man appeal and common−sense policies," Barnett said in the memo. "They helped deliver victory to Scott in 2010 and will be a key group within Scott Brown's winning coalition in 2012."
Rau pointed out, however, that because Democrats heavily outnumber Republican voters in Massachusetts, the un−enrolled voter category could be less important than in years past if more Democrats come out to vote.
"If the Democratic base shows up, [Brown's] win among the un−enrolled voters won't matter," Rau said, noting that in such a scenario, the Democrats would have enough votes to elect Warren.
Rau added that for Warren to be successful in the race, she must increase her public profile.
"She needs to go to town halls, diners ... She needs to have an active presence in local Massachusetts ... If she does, I think she will be the next senator," he said.
Rau predicted that the Democrats would make the Warren campaign about national issues in order to play off of the fear of a future Republican−controlled Senate in order to galvanize the state Democrats to vote. Republicans, he said, will localize the race in part by proving that Brown has authentic roots in Massachusetts while Warren, born in Oklahoma, doesn't.
