Sure, I far prefer living in Massachusetts when it comes to public policy. State commitment to universal healthcare, prioritization of funding for k-12 education, movement to make registering to vote – and actually voting – easier. But when it comes to the general election, I am bored.
Ayanna Pressley and Mike Capuano kept it interesting for a while. An in-party primary election contest where the incumbent is not in some sort of legal or ethical trouble versus a popular city councilor? A race that pulls on long-standing notions of who belongs and who should run in Boston? Count me in. Heck, count every political observer in Massachusetts in as well as most of the Democrats in that District. Good stuff.
But that moment has passed. Pressley won big and doesn’t even have a Republican opponent in the general election.
Looking elsewhere for some election mo-jo turns up nada. There is zero doubt who will win the Governor’s race. In a poll released on Halloween, Charlie Baker is up over 40 points over Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez. Yes, there is a story there on how Charlie Baker manages to – technical terms here – crush it despite the fact Republicans far trail both Democrats and residents who identify as “unenrolled” in the Commonwealth. But, let’s be honest. That story has been done. And done again. And then repurposed… again.
Don’t look to other races for closing day excitement. In the same WBUR poll, sitting Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren commands a 20 plus point lead over Republican State Representative Geoff Diehl. Every congressional race is decided. Most are not even being polled. It’s not a blue wave in Massachusetts – it is the blue norm. Republicans did not even field a candidate in four of the nine congressional districts.
This is the closest thing we have to rock ‘n roll in the general election is Issue 1. But that’s not because people are vehemently divided on the issue – residents want safe nurse to patient ratios. Rather, the question has been is this the way to go about it? Is the ballot issue well-written – no, it is not. Did the Massachusetts nurses have another option? Not really as hospital interests own Beacon Hill. So as a story of how spending in politics can shift public opinion, Issue 1 has it. But, again, that story is, sadly, well-known. My guess is Issue 1 is defeated and it becomes yet another case of how advantaged groups like the American Hospital Association wield disproportionate influence in politics because, well, money talks on Beacon Hill and in public opinion formulation.
So what are Massachusetts voters anxious about as we close in on November 6th? Will canvassers be spending closing days sans sleep, full on pizza, and working the phones? How late will voters stay up to see the returns? Answers: no meds necessary, diets will remain in-check, and normal bedtimes all around.
If Massachusetts residents are happy with the policy outcomes in the Commonwealth, and by most indicators they are, then perhaps the lack of competitive elections for executive and federal offices does not matter. But in an era of increased cynicism and dissatisfaction with the direction the country is going, Massachusetts residents experience little of the excitement of closing days of an election. We are not contacted over-and-over again to get to the polls. Part of being in a functioning democracy is being actively engaged and mobilized — Massachusetts’ residents just don’t experience this with anything near the frequency of those in battleground states. Seeing your vote as crucial, valued, and vital doesn’t happen in the Bay State — we don’t feel it come election season.
Perhaps I am romanticizing. Heck, I know I am but I miss the innumerable phone calls of living in Ohio. I want to vote in Ohio’s Sherrod Brown v. Jim Renacci Senate race. I want it to be down to the wire in the Governor’s race like it is in Ohio. I want to go to work with bags under my eyes because I stayed up until 3am refreshing for returns. It makes you feel like you’re in the game and your vote can tip the balance.
Now for the other 340 or so of the days of the year I far prefer the policy advantages of being in Massachusetts. But, in early November, this Bostonian misses her Buckeye roots.