Can someone here explain how Elizabeth Warren is polling behind Scott Brown?

[Jamaal510]

Isn't Massachusetts supposedly a deep-blue state? I'm baffled about how Obama is the clear favorite over Romney there by double-digits, yet Warren has been polling behind Brown.

[msongs]

1. maybe a matter of image and perception instead of content? nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. CU $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CU

[silvershadow]

3. That is the single biggest threat we have now I think...Amend now!

[Blaukraut]

5. Actually, not in this case. EW and SB have an agreement: no 3rd party ads

There are simpler explanations.

1.Scott Brown is running an excellent campaign. You would never know he is a Republican just by watching his ads. Very personal, nothing political, appealing to the working class MA voter.

2. Elizabeth Warren's campaign, otoh, is not achieving the one thing that she needs to achieve, and that is getting MA voters to 'know' her as a person. She needs to run ads that introduce her. Her liberal credentials and where she stands on issues are already known.

3. This is something beyond EW's control. The majority of registered voters here in MA are Independents. However, probably 75% of these so-called Indies are really Republicans who just won't admit it until they hit the voting booth.

4. Massachusetts folks hate it when their elected officials see their office as merely a stepping stone to bigger and better things. And with (imo) too many out of state calls for 'Elizabeth Warren 2016' and more money raised from outside sources than from MA residents, it does raise a red flag. Scott Brown probably has more higher office aspirations than EW, but he has managed to bamboozle the people here into thinking he loves being our 'senatah' and nothing more.

5. Finally, Baystaters are disgraceful when it comes to electing a women.

[Mass]

7. Thanks, I agree.

I would say she also needs to start talking to independent voters and understand that this is not a DFA primary and start talking about local issues (the ad by Scott Brown about fishermen is effective, as are others who relates to Massachusetts).

[MBS]

16. yup, you got it! n/t

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. great insights - thanks!

[unhappycamper]

9. I like everything about Warren EXCEPT

her stance on Afghanistan and war.

[pipi_k]

11. Probably true...

5. Finally, Baystaters are disgraceful when it comes to electing a women.

Except for one woman we were totally right not to elect, I don't care if she was Republican or Democrat (although granted she was a Republican), and that was Kerry Healy.

She might have won but one a very stupid thing she said during her campaign.

She proposed taking elderly people out of their homes...the homes they've lived in for decades...and placing them in assisted living, or maybe elder communities in order to free up housing for REAL families.

Her meaning was clear...one person should not be taking up space in a big old house that could better be used to house families with kids.

Don't know why she didn't realize it would piss a whole LOT of people off...Democrats and Republicans alike.

She screwed herself with one stupid move.

[chelsea0011]

13. His "on the road ads" may seem silly but they are effective, I think.

He never says he is a republican and it is always about the "Washington" problem. And he seems sensible and down to earth. Warren, on the other hand, keeps lecturing us with her ads about Wall Street. Now, I agree 100% with her and can see right through Brown, my former state legislator, but she really needs to come through as more personable or this election may go the Coakley way even if Obama wins MA by 15-20%.

[0rganism]

14. so it's Coakley all over again? bummer.

We really need this pick-up if we have any hope of keeping the senate.

[MBS]

15. good analysis!

And I agree with you completely about the MA independents.
I hope the campaign gets on the ball. The thought of MA voters falling for the shallow Scott Brown and his misleading ads is just plain depressing.

[krhines]

4. What The Hell Massachusetts??????

I will be very up set if she doesn't win. She is far and away one of the best politicians we could/do have. Plus I am planning on voting for in 2016. I think it would be almost mandatory for her to win to be able to do that, right?

[dreamnightwind]

6. I've been wondering the same thing. Loved her speech yesterday!

[pipi_k]

10. Having lived here for nearly

60 years, I can tell you that Massachusetts is not nearly as "deep blue" as people might think.

In any event, I think you'd have to actually ask the people who are being polled why they're choosing Brown over Warren. I have no idea. My best guess is that he's pretty much a known entity by now who hasn't done as many horrible things as some were afraid he would do.

I mean, I can't in all honesty say he's been a disaster for the state.

Although I will be voting for Warren in November.

[Blaukraut]

12. That's just it! All politics is local!

This is why Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry kept winning reelections. They ran local campaigns. The MA voters felt that those two could bring home the bacon, and they have. This is why Brown is appealing, as well. People here don't think about the Senate makeup, and how Brown's reelection will impact national legislature. They see the fisheries ad and think: "This guy is going to take care of our needs and issues".
This is where Elizabeth Warren is failing. She is running a national campaign, and needs to get a bit more into the local weeds by relating her issues to how they will impact us locally. Plus, as I've mentioned above, introduce Elizabeth some more. We've already met Professor Warren.

[MBS]

17. Thanks for correcting the "deep blue" image.

A few years ago, someone said that MA (outside the liberal bubbles of Cambridge and the Berkshires) was "Democratic, but not liberal."
As I watch this senate race, I keep thinking about that.
So I've never bought into the "deep blue" Conventional Wisdom. Though if MA falls for those slick ads, I'd also start to question the ability of MA voters to think.

[pipi_k]

18. Even the Berkshires

isn't all that liberal, really.

I was almost positive, two years ago, that Martha Coakley would beat Scott Brown and that even if the people out Boston way voted for him, there would still be lots of people out my way who would not vote for him.

When the results came back...holy cow!

Cities and towns I would never have expected to vote for Brown did. Some by slim margins, others by overwhelming margins.

I honestly wondered if the people here had gone insane...or someone had spiked the water supply.

But I could sort of understand what happened. He ran under the guise of being an Independent. Well, we Massachusetts-ians pride ourselves much of the time with being independent spirits. So yeah...after some thought I could see why he appealed to lots of people.

[Stardust]

19. I'm thinking that Massachusetts is bi-polar. There's no other explanation...

[chelsea0011]

20. Things may start to change. She is starting a new series of ads on 9/14 and

the first one is out and has already got under Scott Brown's skin. She is going after his voting record and has one of Mickey Ward's early trainers. Mickey Ward is the real boxer from the Mark Wahlberg movie, The Fighter. So, for those thinking she isn't connecting with blue collar voters, this is the first of hopefully more ads. And, after seeing Scott Brown's reaction on the local news, he appears to be a bit thin skinned.

[valerief]

21. She isn't! nt

[polmaven]

22. Not any more, she isn't.

and after tonight's debate, she may well gain more ground!