That’s pretty much the situation in Massachusetts, as summarized by Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, MA GOP throwing in the towel on Kerry seat?
Is Massachusetts still in play for elections on the state-wide level? If you asked anyone in the heady days of the 2010 cycle after Scott Brown shocked the nation, you’d probably get a lot answers in the positive. (Or at least a strong maybe.) But plenty of water has passed under the bridge since then, along with an election which certainly didn’t provide Northeastern Republicans with much reason for confidence. That general air of pessimism seems to have taken over the GOP in the Bay State as they prepare for a special election to fill John Kerry’s seat in the upper chamber, since it’s hard to find anyone of any standing who is interested in the job.
I hate to say it, but Chris Cillizza might be right that Republicans should give up on the Northeast as part of a broader strategy. He was talking about presidential electoral votes, but I think the logic applies to most statewide races as well (although many congressional districts are in play), How Republicans can solve their electoral-vote problem:
Give up on the Northeast: Part of knowing how to win is knowing where not to fight. Any time (or money) a Republican presidential candidate spends in the Northeast is largely wasted at this point. Take New Hampshire. Yes, it’s a state that has shown a willingness to vote for Republicans at the presidential level in the not-too-distant past. (George W. Bush carried the Granite State in 2000.) But to reach the southern part of the state means buying television time in the pricey Boston media market, a prohibitive cost for New Hampshire’s four electoral votes. Or think about it this way: The six states that make up the Northeast (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island) have a total of 33 electoral votes. Texas has 38 electoral votes by itself.
I do think the Northeast is pretty hopeless. Not just for Republicans, but for the population in general. Those who would vote for Republicans are moving away, including lower level traditional financial jobs which are being shipped elsewhere in the country and hedge funds and other top tier companies fleeing for lower tax states.
What’s left behind increasingly are people who cannot be convinced to vote for anything other than bigger government.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY