MA-10: Bill Delahunt Will Retire

Given what’s transpired in recent weeks, this news is not terribly surprising:

Representative William Delahunt will not seek re-election to Congress, the seven-term Democrat will announce tomorrow, ending a nearly 40-year career in elected office and giving Republicans hope of capturing the seat, which stretches from Cape Cod to the South Shore.

“It’s got nothing to do with politics,” the Quincy Democrat said today. “Life is about change. I think it’s healthy. It’s time.”

The 68-year-old lawmaker said he has been considering leaving the House for several years, but was talked out of it two years ago by the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who convinced his friend he should stay and help President Obama with his first-term agenda.

The tenth is MA’s least-Democratic CD, going for Obama by just a 55-44 margin. (Kerry and Gore both posted similar numbers here.) Meanwhile, SSP numbers guru jeffmd estimates that Scott Brown absolutely dominated here, winning by about 60-40. So you can see why the GOP thinks it has a shot here. State Rep. Jeffrey Perry is already in the race, and former state Treasurer Joe Malone and state Sen. Robert Hedlund are weighing runs. Undoubtedly plenty of Dems will also give this contest some thought, and I’m sure we’ll here more from the interested parties soon.

(Hat-tip: Political Wire)

43 thoughts on “MA-10: Bill Delahunt Will Retire”

  1. I’m sorry but I am not going to take someone seriously who says it’s not about politics when it’s the worst political environment for them in a decade. The Democrats choosing to retire this year without serious health concerns are selfish and don’t want to lose, to say otherwise is disingenuous.  

  2. for working hard for the team Congressman. Gosh if these geezers think they actually have to work to keep there seat they run away like cowards. Seriously I hate seeing all of these wimps!  

  3. Delahunt did a lot of good things for House Dems.  He was actually a part of the Tim Ryan/Kendrick Meek/Wasserman Schultz quartet.  I thank the gentleman for his service, he could have retired soon.  I am sure he could have retired sooner so maybe it was a tough race that frightened him.  

  4. I’m not convinced that GOPers could pull the same trick twice in this district. First reason being that the nominee will be a local figure, not an outsider like Coakley. It’s also MA which still counts for at least something. The bench is strong and the infrastructure is there to help the right candidate win.

  5. …if he wants to retire thank him for his service and move on. This pissing and moaning every time some elected official makes a career decision that “is not in the best interest of the Party” gets real old.  

  6.   Delahunt lately has been getting pounded lately because of his role in the Amy Bishop case and the use of his campaign funds. It might be better to have a fresh face on the ballot. I know the district is one of the more GOP leaning districts and Scott Brown won by a large margin, but I still think you have to give who ever the Democratic contender is a slight edge.  

  7. Don’t leave MA-10 for dead quite yet.

    MA Democrats have a very strong candidate in State Senator Rob O’Leary, D-Cape & Islands District.

    O’Leary has already announced that he is running if Delahunt doesn’t

    http://news.bostonherald.com/n

    Rob O’Leary is going to be a force. His State Sen District overlaps 100% with MA-10, covering about 1/4 of it. What’s more, it’s the most conservative 1/4; Barnstable county (Cape Cod) plus Dukes county (Martha’s Vineyard) and Nantucket.

    In fact, O’Leary is the first Democrat to represent Cape Cod in the MA State Senate since the Civil War.

    This will be a race, no doubt about it, but we have a very real shot of holding this one.

  8. Even if we retain this seat. I think the conventional wisdom had the legislature putting Olver and Neal into one district (no growth in the Western parts of the state at all), but with a freshman congressman representing the 10th I wonder if an Olver/Neal battle will be avoided.

  9. Yes, this is Obama’s worst district in MA (although he still won it comfortably) and Brown dominated in the special election, but one: Democrats are not going to take MA for granted again (at least in this election cycle) and two: while the GOP actually has a decent bench in this district the Dem bench is even stronger. I know nothing of this O’Leahy guy (primarily because I don’t live in MA!) but if he is running then he would have a good edge against any Republican running. This is still a D+5 district so the Republicans would both need an exceptionally strong candidate and for the Dems to have a an less than ideal one. To be frank I’m not really worried about this one, we have several other open seats that are going to be very difficult.

  10. I drew this up quickly in Dave’s app, just to show that it could be done.  (Not to say that it should be done.)

    Cyan is Lynch’s 9th. Red is Frank’s 4th. Purple is McGovern’s 3rd. (rather all of those are “the people’s districts” but you know what I mean)

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