Ben Downing: dark horse and underdog

Political junkies who can’t get enough of elections may get one more.

As widely reported, Senator John Kerry will likely be appointed to fill the secretary of state position soon to be vacated by Hillary Clinton, and that will set up a special senate election in late spring or early summer.

One local elected official, State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield), has indicated he’s considering that race. If he enters the contest and wins both the Democratic primary and the general election, it would be one of the most remarkable political achievements since an obscure Georgia governor by the name of Jimmy Carter beat all comers and was elected president in 1976.

The 31-year-old Downing was first elected to the State Senate in 2006. He defeated some better-known rivals as the only Pittsfield candidate in the Democratic primary and won easily over Republican Matthew W. Kinnaman and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Dion C. Robbins-Zust in the general election.

He has been unopposed in his three elections since then and sits comfortably as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy and chair of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy.

If he wanted, he could probably hold his State Senate seat for the rest of his life and, perhaps, one day, ascend to one of the top jobs in that body, making him one of the most influential elected officials in the state.

But before he opted for re-election, Downing flirted with running for the newly-configured 1st Congressional District seat won in November by Congressman Richard E. Neal, so it’s clear he’s been thinking about higher office for a while.

Downing may be inspired by the successful run of former State Sen. Scott Brown, who seemingly came from out of nowhere and beat Attorney General Martha Coakley in the special U.S. senate election to fill Edward Kennedy’s seat three years ago.

But when Brown won, he was 20 years older than Downing is now and had experience as an assessor, selectman, state representative, state senator and National Guard officer. He also had the strong support of the Tea Party, which was just hitting its stride as a force in American politics.

Downing doesn’t have such extensive experience and there’s no large group of activists or true believers ready to storm the state for him.

First he’d have to win the primary

Besides, he would have to win a Democratic primary battle before getting the chance to run in the general election, and the growing list of possible primary candidates contains some names that do excite party activists.

No fewer than four sitting members of Congress are said to be mulling a run: Michael Capuano, Edward Markey, Nicki Tsongas and Stephen Lynch. A Kennedy is being mentioned – the late senator’s son, Teddy Jr. Other folks who may harbor aspirations for the office include Coakley, United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz and outgoing State Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez, among others.

Nearly all of these potential candidates have money in the bank, a famous name, statewide exposure and/or significant achievements.

Capuano has a half-million dollars in his federal campaign account, Lynch has three-quarters-of-a-million, and Markey has a whopping $3.1 million. Tsongas and Kennedy have well-known names, and Coakley is a statewide office holder and has made the run before.

Ortiz and Gonzalez would be darker horses, but not as dark as Downing, who has no money in a federal campaign account and hasn’t had to raise a lot of campaign funds in general. He’s from a well-known local political family – his late father, Gerard Downing, was the respected Berkshire County District Attorney – but the son has little in the way of statewide recognition or notable legislative accomplishments.

And he will likely be dogged in the primary by labor activists who are still upset and puzzled by Downing’s sponsorship of a bill that would have relieved Cranwell Resort and Spa of paying millions in tip money to its employees. Downing eventually withdrew that bill, but the damage had been done.

In the event that Downing could somehow survive what’s likely to be an expensive and highly competitive primary, he would still face the likes of outgoing Sen. Brown or former Gov. William Weld in the general election, proven vote-getters with long careers and the ability to raise lots of money.

If a candidate can be considered both a dark horse and an underdog, then Ben Downing is that candidate.

And if he runs and wins he might want to start thinking about even higher office. After all, look at Jimmy Carter.

Posted by Bruce Garlow on December 20, 2012. Filed under Berkshire Beacon Hill Spotlight,Columns,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry