Everyone Raises Money Off the Massachusetts Senate Poll

Last week’s Senate poll seemed to contain more good news for one Senate candidate than for the other, and yet, both Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez seem eager to make sure their supporters hear about it. The Public Policy Polling results showed Gomez just four percentage points behind Markey. The poll still portrayed Markey as the favorite, but Gomez seemed to be much closer than pre-primary polls would have suggested. This prompted the Markey campaign to strike fear into the hearts of their base, sending out an email to supporters Saturday saying:

I’ll tell you what’s happening in right-wing Super PAC land right now: Guys like Karl Rove are looking at this poll and thinking, “Can I spend enough money to steal this seat?”

I don’t know how much they’ll end up spending, but May is our only chance — the special election is in June, and it will be too late. We need $100,000 this month. Contribute right now.

Let me put this in context: In the 2010 special election, Scott Brown was down by 30 points and went on to win. Our opponent is within 4.

Brown did start out further behind, but we’d argue he had some advantages in his race against Martha Coakley that Gomez won’t have. At any rate, Gomez’s team felt the poll contained must-read news for their supporters as well. Campaign manager Jill Neunaber wrote in an email:

No matter how you cut it, Gabriel is well within striking distance. We CAN win this race but we need your help TODAY!

Please contribute today to make sure the Democrats know we’re serious.

That’s not to say this kind of twinned fundraising plea is a rarity. Fundraising off good news for one team can often mean fundraising off bad news for the other, provided both campaigns can convince donors that the race is competitive.