Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Off the strength of his large win at the Democratic convention, Deval Patrick has moved into the lead in a Democratic gubernatorial primary trial heat three-way race against Tom Reilly and Chris Gabrieli, with Patrick receiving 35% vs. 22% for Gabrieli and 19% for Reilly. In general election trial heats pitting each of the three Democrats against Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, Independent Christy Mihos, and Green Rainbow candidate Grace Ross, all three Democrats maintain slight leads.

Dem Primary: Patrick v Gabrieli v Reilly

      Now                      35%       22%        19%
  May, 2006             15%       25%        37%
March, 2006           21%         8%        43%

Patrick not only recieved the overwhelming endorsement of the state Democratic convention in June, after winning the lion's share of delegates at the party caucuses in February,  but he has picked up the endorsements of, among others, U.S.Representatives Jim McGovern, Mike Capuano, Barney Frank, John Olver and John Tierney, as well as the Massachusetts chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, Democracy for America, Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, and 42 state legislators.

Prior to announcing his candidacy April 2005, Patrick was best known for his service as head of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in the Clinton administration. He later served as general counsel and a senior executive at Coca-Cola and Texaco. He had been a partner at two Boston law firms and lawyer for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund. Patrick's grassroots campaign reports having over 5,000 volunteers and raising more than $3.7 million, including more than $700,000 raised through the campaign's website, www.devalpatrick.com.

Running contrary to the inside-the-beltway conventional wisdom, he is unquivocally and passionately pro-choice and pro marriage equality.  He is also the first African-American to run for governor of Massachusetts.

Although races that could determine the control of the next Congress have received the most attention from political junkies and the media, Patrick's candidacy is changing how politics is done in the state forever, and if he wins the primary, will very likely be one of the most influential and talked about campaigns in the country this fall.