Republicans in Washington and around the country yesterday said Scott Brown’s victorious Senate campaign in Massachusetts is a harbinger of a broader party surge, calling it a repudiation of President Obama’s agenda that gives them renewed confidence for the 2010 midterm elections.
Senate race coverage The race between Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley has provided an extraordinary boost to the national Republican Party, with GOP officials pointing to an increase in fund-raising, the recruitment of strong candidates, and renewed enthusiasm among the party faithful.
At the Washington headquarters of several Republican Party organizations yesterday, much of the talk was about recruiting candidates to run competitively for US House seats this fall in Massachusetts, and in helping to bolster financing of many House and Senate races across the country.
“If Democrats can’t sell their agenda in the bluest state in the country, they can’t sell it anywhere,’’ said Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, referring to Massachusetts. “To that end, it will have a significant ripple effect on campaigns across the country.’’
While there has been much publicity in recent months about the activism of “tea party’’ members, many of whom are conservatives, Brown’s effort in Massachusetts has underscored that many moderate and independent voters may be up for grabs in this year’s midterm elections across the nation.
Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that Democrats should be worried about protecting their seats across the country. He said that polls show Republicans are running strong in efforts to capture a number of seats now held by Democrats.
