Can Loughlin Catch up with Cicilline?
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Republican John Loughlin trails Democrat David Cicilline by a daunting 19 points in the latest poll—can he close the gap in less than a month? One politician to whom Loughlin often compares himself also was significantly behind in the polls close to his election—Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.
Between January 2 and 6, 2010 a Boston Globe poll showed Democrat Martha Coakley ahead with 50 percent support, compared with just 35 percent for Brown. Five percent supported libertarian candidate Joseph Kennedy and nine percent were undecided. Brown ended up winning on January 19, with 52 percent of the vote, to Coakley's 47 percent.
Cicilline: No Comparison Between Two Races
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut yesterday, the Cicilline campaign rejected any comparisons between the special election that Brown won earlier this year and the First Congressional District race. Cicilline campaign manager Eric Hyers said there was no comparison between the current race and a special election in a different state—in the middle of January.
He also said the two candidates have different politics. “John Loughlin is way way out of the mainstream in a way that I don't think Scott Brown was in that election,” Hyers said. “I don't think it's fair to compare the candidates.” He cited Loughlin’s positions on Social Security privativation, tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs, and his views on climate change.
Loughlin 'Out of the Mainstream'
“We're going to make sure that voters know who John Loughlin is and who David is and we're going to make sure that folks know how extreme and how out of the mainstream John Loughlin is,” Hyers added. “There is no complacency. …We are literally running this race as if we were tied.”
Like Cicilline, Loughlin’s campaign downplayed the role of the polls. “We're not paying close attention to the polls,” said Campaign Manager Cara Cromwell. “We're confident that as people tune into the race, they'll reject Mayor Cicilline and his big spending ways. If they want to set a new course for America, cut out wasteful spending and reduce debt, they will vote for John Loughlin.”
So far, Loughlin is behind in fundraising too. By the end of August he had amassed $469,535, but that was still far less than what Cicilline had collected to date—$1,352,857.
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