Martha Coakley

WORCESTER - If a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat were to open up, Worcester County Sherriff Guy Glodis said Thursday that he would expect, and look forward to, a crowded and spirited Democratic field running for the seat.

Glodis, who is said to have one of the largest political machines in the state, told PolitickerMA.com at the Democratic State Committee meeting Thursday that it is "very premature" to speculate about who would run. But in the event the U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston) were to be tapped for a post in the Obama, Glodis said there are some pols that would already be serious contenders.

"I think you have [Attorney General] Martha Coakley, who would be a very strong candidate," Glodis said. "[Congressman] Steve Lynch has represented labor and has a great base in Suffolk. And some people say [Congressman Michael] Capuano and [Congressman Bill] Delahunt. I think all four of them would automatically be considered frontrunners."

A day after her first argument before the Supreme Court, Attorney General Martha Coakley acknowledged being somewhat nervous but said she had anticipated most of the questions the justices asked.

In a phone interview with PolitickerMA.com on Tuesday, Coakley said that she had travelled to Washington, D.C., Sunday to make sure she was ready for the arguments on Monday. "It is my first time arguing in front of the Supreme Court," she said. "As you might imagine, it's a little nerve wracking."

Adding to the pressure, the taxi she was riding Sunday night was in an accident.  But once she got in front of the justices on Monday, Coakley felt more at ease.

"It was amazing to me how close you are to all the justices," Coakley, who was formerly Middlesex County's District Attorney, said. "In that sense, its conversation. I liken it to the bar examine, you get asked a lot of questions in a short amount of time and you're not sure how you did."

Coming off of a significant re-election victory Tuesday night, state Sen. Scott Brown said Wednesday that he is often a target of Democrats because he is vocal in his efforts to hold their leadership accountable and that he would consider running for statewide office if the right situation presented itself.

Brown trounced his Democratic challenger, Sara Orozco, by more than 14,500 votes in the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District, according to the Boston Globe. Brown said he received more votes in some towns in the district than Democratic President-elect Barack Obama or U.S. Sen. John Kerry, another Democrat.

Brown, of Wrentham, was a target for Democrats this year, as several elected officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Milton), campaigned for Orozco. Brown said Democrats go after him because he has vocally taken on their decisions in managing the state.

"The [Democratic] party has to go after somebody and if they can pick out a high visibility Republican it gives them more credibility," Brown told PolitickerMA.com. "It wasn't that they thought [Orozco] had something to offer, it's because I was out there beating the drum, criticizing them for all the things they have done."

U.S. Sen. John Kerry and Gov. Deval Patrick are both top prospects for roles within a potential Obama administration, which now appears increasingly likely. But Patrick, struggling in the polls, arguably has more riding on such a move than Kerry and may very well want to join an Obama administration rather than face re-election in 2010. Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, who has been fundraising hard all year, would then assume the corner office. This scenario would also be great for Martha Coakley, the super ambitious attorney general. On the Republican side, Harvard Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker is considered the most likely to run for governor.

BOSTON - Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday night she is "cautiously optimistic" that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will win Tuesday night and that if U.S. Sen. John Kerry were to be tapped for a spot in his administration she would consider running for his seat.

In an interview at the Massachusetts Democratic Party's election night party, Coakley told PolitickerMA.com that she believes many Bay State pols would eye the U.S. Senate if Kerry were to vacate his seat.

"I think any elected politician if asked that would say he or she would look at it," Coakley said. "I am most interested in serving the public in a place where I think I can be an effective advocate. Being attorney general, I think we've made some good inroads there. The Senate is also a place where I think you can be an effective advocate, whether that works for me is something I'd have to decide. But I can't say that I wouldn't be interested."

The group opposing Question 2 on the ballot Tuesday announced Saturday that former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn has come out against the ballot measure.

The Coalition for Safe Streets said the Massachusetts Catholic Conference mailed a letter Flynn wrote denouncing the ballot measure to 2,200 statewide parish communities.

Question 2 would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

In the letter, Flynn wrote that marijuana is a gateway drug. Question 2's success, Flynn also wrote, would weaken the state's drug laws and send the wrong message to children.

With the election just three days away, here is a breakdown of the races PolitickerMA.com is watching.

U.S. Senate: Republican challenger Jeff Beatty has been relentless in his attacks on U.S. Sen. John Kerry for, among other things, his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Kerry, a Boston Democrat, has repeatedly parried those charges by pointing to the due diligence he did leading up to the vote, including a conversation with then Secretary of State Colin Powell, which he says was influential in his decision to vote for the resolution. Beatty has also been critical of Kerry's vote for the Wall Street bailout and has raised questions about Kerry's ties to insurance lender AIG. Kerry has been quick to rebut Beatty's charges though, and Beatty has yet to make a dent in Kerry's substantial lead (30+ points) in the polls. So much so, that Kerry is campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in New Hampshire on Saturday and is appearing as a surrogate for Obama on Meet the Press this Sunday. Can Beatty earn more than the 31 percent Kerry's primary challenger, Ed O'Reilly, received? Is that 31 percent the anti-Kerry base?

Question 1: This ballot question, which once looked like it would be an exciting one to watch, could end up being a dud on Election Day. The Coalition for our Communities, the organization opposing the measure that would abolish the state income tax, has spent significantly more money (TV ads, radio ads, etc.) to defeat the measure than the Committee for Small Government, the organization behind the question, has spent on trying to get it passed. The most recent 7News/Suffolk University poll showed undecideds breaking against the measure, with 59 percent of respondents saying they oppose it, 26 percent saying they support it and 14 percent saying they are undecided. The supporters of the measure hope to capitalize on Bay State voters' discontent with Beacon Hill, which raises the question of how recent events could influence the vote. Will Gov. Deval Patrick's recent budget cuts help or hurt this question's chances? Could state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's arrest on corruption charges sour voters opinion of Beacon Hill to the point where they no longer trust the state government with their tax dollars?

Attorney General Martha Coakley said Friday that Question 2, the ballot measure that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, sends the wrong message to children and adolescents.

Coakley, a Medford Democrat, was speaking at a conference with legal officials and school officials in Somerville.

"Decriminalization of marijuana will send a message to children and young adults that it is okay to use and abuse illegal substances," Coakley said, according to a statement. "Not only is there a direct link between marijuana use and juvenile crime, but marijuana use is also the primary cause for adolescent inpatient substance abuse treatment. Those of us in the law enforcement community, and perhaps more importantly, those who work directly with children and teenagers, are gravely concerned about the impact any decriminalization will have on our youth."  

Congressman Michael Capuano (D-Somerville)

CAMBRIDGE - Congressman Michael Capuano, a Democrat who is frequently named by political insiders as having high political aspirations, declined to rule out a run for the U.S. Senate should the opportunity present itself.

In an interview with PolitickerMA.com this week, Capuano, of Somerville, said he wouldn't rule out running but carefully qualified his answers by saying that he wasn't focused on the possibility.

"Who in their right mind would ever close the door on anything," Capuano said. "Anybody that tells you they have closed the door is either lying to you or lying to themselves. At the same time, that's not the same thing as saying I've got it all planned out, because anybody that's done that is crazy too. The answer is somewhere in the middle."

While she nearly matched him in fundraising for the corner, Democratic challenger Sara Orozco headed into the final weeks leading up to Election Day at a large financial disadvantage to incumbent state Sen. Scott Brown, according to their filings with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

Brown, a Wrentham Republican, raised $38,620 from the end of August to Oct. 17, finishing the period with more than $96,500 in his campaign bank account.

Orozco, of Needham, raised nearly $36,600 during the same period, but finished with $10,260 in her campaign coffer.