A Week of Key Debates, Endorsements

Just a little more than two weeks until the primary election to see which Democrat and Republican will go head to head to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by John Kerry’s appointment to Secretary of State. Monday night, U.S. Congressmen Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) and Edward Markey (D-Malden) met in their second debate which contained few fireworks. The debate, held at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and sponsored by the college and the Boston Herald, lasted about 45 minutes and touched a wide variety of issues on which the two Democrats mostly agreed. On Wednesday night, it was the Republicans’ turn as they went face to face in the WBZ-TV studios moderated by the station’s Jon Keller. Former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, State Rep. Dan Winslow (D-Norfolk) and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez debated issues of gun control and health care, but mostly spent the debate trying to differentiate themselves from one another. Boston Herald Endorses Lynch & Winslow The Boston Herald announced its endorsements for the April 30 primary last week, endorsing Lynch for the Democratic ticket and Winslow for the Republicans. The Boston Herald endorsed Lynch saying he “remains a man of conscience and independence.” Of Lynch, who was elected to Congress in 2001, the endorsement said he “has never forgotten his blue-collar, Southie roots.” The paper also says Lynch has “enough experience to understand how business is done in Washington, but remains enough of an independent thinker to see the benefit of, say, building the Keystone XL pipeline — with its promise of energy and jobs.” On the Republican side, the Herald endorsed Winslow calling him a problem solver and “a breath of fresh air in a stale old Washington.” The endorsement praised Winslow for bringing a host of bright ideas to Beacon Hill since his 2010 election and for winning bipartisan respect and scoring several successes while in office. The primary is scheduled for April 30 with the special election to be held June 25. South End Patch

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