Fall River Herald News – Bielat, Kennedy spar on aways to achieve the American Dream

With less than a month remaining until voters decide the 4th Congressional District’s next representative, the two candidates seeking the seat attempted to lay out their differences Wednesday and explain how they will help citizens achieve the American Dream.

With the MassINC and Commonwealth Magazine-sponsored debate focused on the American Dream theme, each candidate noted it will take more than politicians to lead to improvements and help Americans find stable footing.

Brookline Patch – Kennedy Agrees to One More TV Debate

One more debate added to the schedule for the Mass. Fourth District race, Boston.com reports that Joseph Kennedy III agreed to meet his opponent one more time. The debate will be Oct. 24, on Fox 25. 

The first of the debates was broadcast Sept. 30, and took place at the  WCVB-TV 5 studios in Needham. Kennedy and Bielat are slated to face off in MassINC’s “American Dream” forum in Fall River tonight, Oct. 10, and at Wellesley College for a League of Women Voters debate on Oct. 15. 

WPRI – Congressional Candidates Face Off in Mass.

Democrat Joseph Kennedy III and Republican Sean Bielat are both looking to succeed Congressman Barney Frank.

Policymic – Mass Senate Race: Brown Warren Debate Schedule and Polls
Another day, another poll in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts between Republican Senator Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Conducted by WBUR and Mass. Inc, the poll — the tenth independent survey taken in the last month — shows Brown leading the Harvard Law professor by four points among likely voters 47% to 43%.

Boston Globe – Joseph Kennedy III, under pressure, agrees to another televised debate with Sean Bielat

Democratic congressional candidate Joseph P. Kennedy III, under pressure to agree to more debates, has scheduled another televised faceoff with his Republican opponent, Sean Bielat.

Kennedy and Bielat have also agreed to two debates that will not be broadcast as widely: a MassINC forum in Fall River Wednesday, which will be broadcast on local TV and radio; and a League of Women Voters forum on Monday in Wellesley, which will not be broadcast.

Boston Globe – Brown retakes lead from Warren in new poll

US Senator Scott Brown has regained a lead over Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren in a new WBUR-MassINC poll, after a string of polls showed Warren with the lead. The poll is the first since Brown and Warren’s second debate at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Oct. 1.

America Now – Polls are mixed ahead of third Senate debate

One day before Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren will face off against Sen. Scott Brown, new numbers are showing just how tight the race really is.

A new poll out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds Warren holds a narrow lead of 48 percent to 46 percent among likely voters.

But a different poll released today by WBUR and MassINC finds Brown in the lead 47 percent to 43 percent.

WBUR Poll: Brown Leads Warren By 4 Points
A new WBUR poll (PDFs — topline, crosstabs) finds a turn in the U.S. Senate race. Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown now leads his Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, 47 to 43 percent. The survey of likely voters, conducted Oct. 5-7, has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

Talking Points Memo – Poll: Brown Overtakes Warren, Leads By 3 In Massachusetts

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) has taken the lead in the marquee U.S. Senate race playing out in Massachusetts, according to a new poll out Tuesday.

The latest survey from MassINC Polling Group shows Brown leading Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren among likely Bay State voters (including leaners), 48 percent to 45 percent.

Examiner – Republican Senate majority likely on election day
A WBUR/MassINC poll released today shows Republican Senator Scott Brown leading 48 percent to 45 percent over Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren in the Massachusetts senate race.

Fall River Herald News – No more seats for Kennedy, Bielat debate on Wednesday
Seating for Wednesday’s debate between Republican Sean Bielat and Democrat Joseph Kennedy has been closed.

Fall River Herald News – Kennedy-Bielat debate all booked up

No seats remain, but a waiting list has been started for an Oct. 10 senatorial debate between Republican Sean Bielat and Democrat Joseph Kennedy III.

Hosted by MassINC, Commonwealth Magazine, The Herald News and The Taunton Gazette, the debate is one of three scheduled between the two candidates seeking the 4th Congressional District seat.

Bangor Daily News – Republicans cheer internal poll showing Maine’s Senate race tightening

Charlie Summers’ Senate campaign and the Republican party’s Senate campaign arm are cheering the release of polling data this week that show independent former Gov. Angus King’s lead in the race for Maine’s open U.S. Senate seat tightening to a four-point advantage over Summers.

Polling experts say it’s important to recognize the Republican group’s poll for what it is in evaluating the results. But even if its specific results differ from other recent surveys’, experts say it points to the reality that Maine’s Senate race has become a competitive one.

“Other polls are showing this race tightening up, too,” said Steve Koczela, president of Boston-based MassINC Polling Group, which conducted a public survey of the Senate race in mid-June after the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Salem News – Tierney or Tisei? 2 independent polls differ widely

Political polls aren’t much different than New England’s autumn weather: if you don’t like the climate out there, wait a few minutes.

Just two weeks earlier, a Mass Inc. poll, conducted Sept. 8 through Sept. 10, had Tierney ahead by 7 points among likely voters — 39 percent for Tierney, 32 percent for Tisei, with 22 percent undecided.

Masslive.com – Emotions high outside Tsongas Center in Lowell as Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren take stage for 2nd debate

With more than 4,500 in attendance to see Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren take the stage in their second debate, the real passion was found with the hundreds of supporters camped outside the Tsongas Center at the UMass-Lowell campus.

A WBUR/MassINC Polling Group survey of 504 likely voters released on Monday concluded that voters prefer Warren over Brown, 46 percent to 44 percent, although the lead is within the poll’s 4.4 percent margin of error.

Wicked Local Wareham – Light edge to Warren over Brown in latest poll
A WBUR poll conducted after Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Scott Brown held their first debate showed Warren with a two-point edge over Brown, a margin within the poll’s 4.4 percent margin of error. The poll of 504 likely voters, conducted by the MassINC Polling last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, showed Warren up 46-44, with 9 percent of those surveyed undecided.

NECN – Tisei leads Tierney in new poll

Posing for pictures and shaking hands during a day of retail politicking at the Topsfield Fair, it was easy for Republican congressional candidate Richard Tisei to have a smile on his face: A new Boston Globe poll showed him opening up a surprising 6-point lead over incumbent eight-term Democrat John Tierney.

However, the poll also showed a whopping 30 percent of voters undecided – indicating that what is by far Republicans’ best shot at knocking out one of the state’s all-Democrat delegation is certain to be a bruising, contentious contest for the last five weeks.

MassINC polling president Steve Koczela said differences in how he and the Globe/University of New Hampshire worded the poll may account for the much higher undecided count in this poll than the MassINC poll.

National Journal – Warren Edges Brown in Another Poll
A second poll in as many days shows Democrat Elizabeth Warren with a slight lead over Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., propelled by President Obama‘s 2-to-1 advantage in the Bay State. Warren leads Brown, 49 percent to 45 percent, in the poll, conducted by the MassINC Polling Group for Boston’s NPR affiliate, WBUR-FM. Warren’s edge is within the poll’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points.

WBUR – Warren Maintains Narrow Lead In Latest WBUR Senate Poll
The latest WBUR poll of 504 likely voters (PDFs – topline, crosstabs) finds a still tight race between Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, with Warren leading Sen. Brown by two points, 46 to 44 percent. The survey, conducted Sept. 26-28 by MassINC Polling Group, has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

Talking Points Memo – Two New Polls Show Warren Leading Brown In Mass.

Elizabeth Warren continues to hold the lead over Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) that she built in the weeks following the Democratic National Conventio, a pair of new polls show.

A new survey released today that was conducted by MassINC Polling Group and commissioned by Boston public radio affiliate WBUR shows Warren holding a 4-point lead over Brown among likely voters (including leaners), 49 percent to 45 percent.

Hamilton-Wenham Patch – Regional Student: First Congressional Debate Offers Voters a Clear Choice

On Thursday afternoon, the voters of the Massachusetts Sixth Congressional District were given their first chance to see the Congressional candidates spar on a variety of issues at North Shore Community College in Lynn – hosted by MassINC.

WGBH – John Tierney Versus the Media

As Congressman John Tierney seeks re-election, family may be his biggest liability. Last year, Tierney’s wife spent a month in prison after she was convicted of helping her fugitive brother file false tax returns — and Tierney’s family ties have loomed large in media coverage of his race against Republican Richard Tisei. Now Tierney seems to be sending the press a message: back off.

CommonWealth magazine editor Bruce Mohl disputes that. Mohl moderated the September 27 debate and helped craft its structure.

Wicked Local Newton – Kennedy, Bielat trade jabs during first debate

Democrat Joe Kennedy III and Republican Sean Bielat heated up the Fourth Congressional District race during a Sept. 27 debate on WCVB’s “On the Record,” where Bielat attacked Kennedy’s qualifications, while Kennedy touted his efforts to reach out to voters and give everyone “access to opportunity.”

Kennedy and Bielat will attend MassINC’s “American Dream” debate in Fall River on Oct. 10 and the League of Women Voters’ candidates night at Wellesley College on Oct. 15.

Lowell Sun – Tierney, Tisei clash in first debate

U.S. Rep. John Tierney linked his Republican opponent, Richard Tisei, to “extremist” Republicans, while Tisei described Tierney as a shill for Washington Democrats Thursday in their first debate in a hotly contested 6th Congressional District campaign.

The debate also featured Libertarian candidate Daniel Fishman. The event was sponsored by Commonwealth Magazine and held inside a packed gymnasium at North Shore Community College.

Boston Globe – Tierney, Tisei keep it civil in first debate

US Representative John F. Tierney and his Republican challenger, Richard R. Tisei, sparred Thursday over taxes and Washington gridlock in a surprisingly civil debate that was notable for what was never mentioned: how much Tierney might have known about the illegal gambling ring that was run by his wife’s brothers.

Controversy surrounding the gambling ring has made the race one of the most competitive and bitter in Massachusetts. A Republican political action committee that backs Tisei is running ads demanding that Tierney, an eight-term Salem Democrat, “man up and tell the truth — the whole truth,” about the gambling business.

But in their first debate, Tisei, a former state senator from Wakefield, did not mention the issue. Speaking to reporters after the debate, he said he wanted to respect the organizers at MassINC, a think tank, who wanted to keep a strict focus on jobs, the economy, and the middle class. Still, MassINC officials said the candidates were free to bring up any issue.

Boston Herald – Richard Tisei keeps family scandal out of debate with John Tierney

Things got testy, but the involvement of U.S. Rep. John Tierney’s family in an illegal gambling ring never came up during a one-hour-plus debate yesterday with the Salem Democrat and Republican challenger Richard Tisei.

At the outset, moderator Bruce Mohl, the editor of MassINC’s CommonWealth Magazine, said his organization had done some “soul-searching” after reports the Tierney campaign had threatened not to do the debate if a section allowing the candidates to question each other was left in.

But the organizers decided to stick to the agreed-upon format, he said.

Wicked Local Saugus – Tierney, Tisei lock horns at Lynn debate

U.S. Congressman John Tierney shared a stage with both of his opponents in the fight to keep his seat for the first time on Thursday afternoon, as he traded sharp political barbs with Republican Richard Tisei and Libertarian Daniel Fishman over Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and creating and keeping jobs.

The debate took place at the McGee Center on the Lynn campus of the North Shore Community College. It was sponsored by CommonWealth Magazine and moderated by that magazine’s editor, Bruce Mohl.

WBUR – Tierney, Tisei Face Off In Testy 6th District Debate

The candidates in the 6th Congressional District, on the North Shore — including Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney and his Republican rival, Richard Tisei — debated for the first time in Lynn Thursday.

The debate was contentious nearly from the start. Tierney’s campaign had asked the organizers, CommonWealth magazine and moderator Bruce Mohl, not to allow direct questions between the candidates, but early and often Tierney then proceeded to address Tisei directly.

The Daily Item – 6th District rivals square off in feisty Lynn debate

U.S. Rep. John Tierney and Republican Richard Tisei drew cheers and some boos from a North Shore Community College audience that listened Thursday as the pair jabbed at one another over campaign financing, tax cuts and bipartisanship.

North Shore Community College hosted Thursday’s debate sponsored by MassInc., Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, Lynn Business Partnership and the North Shore Latino Business Association.

Gloucester Times – Congressional rivals face off over range of issues

Despite focus this week on the candidates’ tax returns and Congressman John Tierney’s ongoing family woes, neither issue arose yesterday as Democrat Tierney, Republican Richard Tisei and Libertarian Daniel Fishman met in debate for the first time during this 6th Congressional District race.

Moderator Bruce Mohl, editor of Commonwealth Magazine, asked the crowd at the onset to remain silent, which lasted a brief time before temptation prevailed and vigorous applause and jeers became commonplace.