The race to fill the Senate seat of John Kerry, D-Mass., is heating up at the two opponents are scheduled to meet in their first debate on Wednesday evening. Democrat Edward Markey, a 36 year veteran of the House of Representatives, will face off with Republican Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy SEAL and political newcomer, according to the Associated Press.
While the debate is obviously important for both candidates it is seen as pivotal for Gomez, the Republican is 12 points behind in a state that rarely sends Republicans to Washington. Gomez likes to paint himself as a new and different option to Markey, the Washington veteran.
"I'm going to speak from the heart and I'm going to convey the following message: This election is about the future, not the past," Gomez told the Associated Press. "It's about having new ideas and fresh ideas as opposed to old and stale ideas."
Markey has taken to the offensive despite holding a rather comfortable lead. In the lead up to the debate Markey has run two new ads attacking Gomez. Gomez has been trying to fashion himself as a "new kind of Republican" as an effort to lure independent voters in the Bay State, in a new television spot Markey refutes Gomez's claim.
"Gabriel Gomez may call himself a 'new kind of Republican,' but his opposition to banning assault weapons, support for raising the retirement age and willingness to support Supreme Court justices who would vote to repeal Roe v. Wade and ban women from having the right to choose are proof he'd be a puppet for the national Republican Party in Washington," Andrew Zucker, Markey's campaign manager, told the Boston Globe.
Gomez supports same-sex marriage and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, distancing himself from the Republican Party as whole.
"It is very likely that a few months from now many of the Republicans in Washington will consider me to be a pain in the butt. I'm OK with that," Gomez said in a statement. "I guess that's how I define being a new kind of Republican."
Jeffery Berry, a Tufts University political science professor, told the Associated Press that the key for Markey is to convince voters that he isn't out of touch with them after spending so much time in Washington. Gomez is going to need to show that he is qualified to do the job.
"He needs to create an image of someone who is knowledgeable about the issues," Berry said. "He's had trouble getting beyond platitudes when asked direct questions. He needs to project something more than just that he's just a good guy with a good biography."
The two will meet twice more after Wednesday in the lead up to the June 25 election.
