MA Attorney General Race Deadlocked Heading Toward Primary

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Warren Tolman

While much of the attention on the fast-approaching Massachusetts primary has been on the Governor’s race, the battle for attorney general has been gathering a lot of interest due to the closeness of two candidates in recent polls.

Two recent polls –the Boston Globe poll and the Suffolk-Herald poll – show that Democratic candidates Warren Tolman and Maura Healey are virtually tied in a poll of likely voters, with the Suffolk-Herald poll showing a six-point advantage for Tolman and the Boston Globe poll showing the two candidates tied with 30-percent of the vote each.

“This is going to be a very interesting race,” said Tobe Berkovitz, Associate Professor of Advertising at Boston University. “Tolman is so well connected to labor organizations, which could have a huge effect on voter turnout. This compares to Maura Healey who has a more of an independent resume. With that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Healey beat Tolman in the end.”

While many feel that Tolman has stronger ties to organizations that will help with his voter turnout, has the higher profile, and has raised more money than his competition, Healey also has a strong background, having worked under current Attorney General Martha Coakley for seven years. The two opponents will square off on September 9th during the Massachusetts primary.

Story vs. Policy

Since the two candidates agree on many of the same issues and the polls show a close race, some political analysts feel that the winner could ultimately be decided on their background.

Tolman may have a larger push with his policies and more name recognition as a former State Senator, but Healey has also served as an assistant Attorney General and has a much more interesting back story as being an openly gay woman who helped to spearhead the state’s challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and having never previously ran for office.

“This is truly a race of hearts verses minds,” said Erin O’Brien, Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Boston. “Tolman is more of a progressive candidate and appeals more through his policies while Healey has much more interesting personal biography. This battle could come down to the biography of Healey against the policies of Tolman.”

Similar but Different

Maura Healey

While the two candidates for Attorney General agree on a variety of topics like strengthening gun laws and preventing sexual assault, Tolman and Healey are both focusing on different aspects of the issues, in an effort to differential themselves from each other.

One of Tolman’s largest focal points for his campaign has been to mandate smart technology on all new guns. Other key points of his campaign message include developing best practice for college campuses in regards to sexual assault and taking direct action to help to stop opioid overdoses and abuse.

“I am the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, willing to use the Attorney General’s Office to mandate smart gun technology on all new guns sold, something the Attorney General can do under existing state law,” Tolman told GoLocal in a Guest MINDSETTER™ piece. “Every hour of every day somewhere in America, a young child suffers a gun injury. It has been 18 months since Newtown. We've seen 74 school shootings and 52,000 deaths to gun violence since then. I won’t wait any longer to take action to prevent gun violence.”

While Healey believes in fighting for many of the same issues, Healey has been focusing on equal rights and fighting for the rights of citizens in Massachusetts.

“We need an Attorney General ready to fight for equal rights. I’ve been part of that struggle for years,” Healey told GoLocal in a Guest MINDSETTER™ piece. “I worked with the legislature to craft a law protecting women accessing health care services and helped defend that law in court. Later, I oversaw the state’s early work arguing against Hobby Lobby’s efforts to use religion to deny health coverage for women. Now, in the face of a Supreme Court chipping away at women’s rights, I’ll make sure every woman in Massachusetts can access the care she needs.”