The Horse Race

10/28/20-- In the run-up to the 2020 election, the drama of U.S. congressional races pretty much ended with the primaries. But, there's still news to be made this week, and Gov. Charlie Baker brought all eyes to Ballot Question 2 Tuesday when he and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito issued a joint statement coming out against ranked-choice voting. "At a time when we need to be promoting turnout and making it...

10/22/20--With the 2020 election just days away, Jenn, Steve, and Stephanie have a lot to discuss. And that starts with a much needed recap of this week's cringe-inducing episode of The Bachelorette. In even more unsettling news, the Trump administration has been administering an onslaught of attacks upon Dr. Fauci, the CDC, and the media. "It just doesn't make any sense, does it?" Steve asks. Jen...

10/14/20-- While Stephanie Murray could not make it on The Horse Race this week, she did not fail to bring us the content that really matters. By this of course we mean her Bachelorette recap complete with a #MApoli connection. The bachelor Stephanie had her eye on was, "Certified Harvard Guy" Bennet Jordan. She ran his name through the FEC database and nothing came up, but because he’s 36 - 37 ye...

10/8/20--Only a week has passed since Steve, Jenn, and Stephanie gathered in the virtual pod studio, but so much has changed. Of course, President Trump's positive COVID-19 test rocked the country and world, and the administration's ever-changing reports on the timeline of Trump's infection have left Americans wondering when he was officially infected and who else (besides the at least 34 staffers...

10/1/20-- After the most chaotic and uncomfortable presidential debate the country has ever seen, Jennifer, Steve, and Stephanie gather in the virtual bunker to share their thoughts and reflect on the reactions of #mapoli members. Jennifer said, “The president gave a lot of troubling answers on a lot of topics that are extremely consequential and dodged a lot of important questions.” Perhaps the m...

9/24/20-- This month has proven to be a sad one for the courts both here in Massachusetts and nationally, with the passing of Justice Ralph Gants, and more recently, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Jenn, Steve, and Stephanie discuss the commonality between Governor Charlie Baker and President Donald Trump -- appointing a significant number of justices. In Boston news, city councilor And...

9/17/20-- This week brought news that Ralph Gants, the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court died suddenly at the age of 65. Gants was an advocate for racial justice, whose call for Harvard to explore racial inequities in the Massachusetts criminal justice system resulted in the publication of a report just last week. As Stephanie and Jenn note, Governor Baker will appoint two...

9/9/20--The primary election is over in Massachusetts, and that usually means most of the drama has come to a close, as the most competitive races are done. But on Monday, an announcement from an unlikely source arose regarding a certain 2021 competition. The Boston Globe reported Boston Mayor Marty Walsh saying City Councilor Michelle Wu called him to let him know she would be running for Mayor i...

9/3/20-- Tuesday was primary election day in Massachusetts, and history was made as more than 1.5 million ballots were cast, making this the busiest state primary election in 30 years, in terms of raw votes. The U.S. Senate race was itself historic, in that challenger Joe Kennedy III was defeated by incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, making JKIII the first Kennedy in the political dynasty to lose an electi...

8/27/20--It's the final episode before the Sept. 1 primary election here in Massachusetts, and Steve, Stephanie, Jenn, and a special guest have a lot to talk about. They begin with the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate. Horse Race co-host and Politico Massachusetts Playbook author Stephanie Murray has been covering it exhaustively. What stuck out to her in her coverage is that this race does...

8/20/20--It's the final day of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention. Joe Biden is officially the Democratic nominee for President, and guests this week join us to discuss the highs and lows. First though, co-host and Politico Massachusetts Playbook author Stephanie Murray gives us the rundown on the U.S. congressional races heating up here in Massachusetts. In the Massachusetts 1st Congr...

8/13/20-- After much anticipation, Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden has officially announced his 2020 running mate: California Senator Kamala Harris. This is a historic selection in a number of ways. Harris is the first Black woman to be on a major party’s presidential ticket. And because Biden has said if he is elected in 2020 he would not run for a second term, Harris would be well-p...

7/30/20--As election season bears down upon us all, applications for mail-in ballots should now have officially arrived at the residences of all registered Massachusetts voters. Biden said he will make his VP selection next week. Elizabeth Warren’s name has been bandied about as a potential pick, and if that ends up being the case, look out for what could be a very interesting special election. A...

7/23/20--While co-host Stephanie Murray is off for a much-deserved vacation this week, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith have plenty to talk about both in national and statewide politics and policy. President Trump signed a memo on Wednesday instructing the Commerce Department to leave out unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. from the census report that determines distribution of Congressiona...

7/16/20-- This week in #mapoli coverage begins with a national news item with a Massachusetts connection. The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a proposal to bar current international students from studying in the US if all their classes are taught online. They would have been asked to either transfer to institutions with at least one in person class or self-deport. This happened during a...

7/8/20-- This week brings more news out of the Supreme Court where two decisions were made in favor of religious interests. Our in-house legal analyst Jennifer Smith breaks them both down. Also this week, Governor Charlie Baker announced free, on-demand COVID-19 testing would become available to residents of 8 communities that have been hit especially hard by the disease. Jon Hillman and Wilnelia...

7/2/20--It’s almost the 4th of July, though if we’re going by the amount of fireworks set off, it’s been 4th of July for several weeks now. There’s also reason for celebration because it’s Poll Release Day. Steve Koczela & co. at The MassINC Polling Group have new data on Massachusetts parents of K-12 students and their experiences with remote learning. But first up, we bring you the latest headli...

6/24/20--A state report was released today on the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home that was the site of a deadly coronavirus outbreak. 76 people, more than a third of the veterans residing at the home, died of COVID-19-related causes. The report found that leadership at the state-run home made “substantial errors” that “likely contributed” to the death toll. Investigations from the Massachusetts Department...

6/19/20--As we near the official start of summer, Massachusetts continues with Phase 2 of its reopening plan, with malls and hotels open for business, as well as restaurants for outdoor dining and drinking. No sign yet that Massachusetts will need to backtrack on the reopening, as state officials confirm downward trends continue on each of the four key coronavirus metrics they're tracking. In Supr...

6/10/20-- New data from The MassINC Polling Group show that many Massachusetts renters and homeowners are struggling to make housing payments due to the financial burdens of the coronavirus crisis. MPG President Steve Koczela points to the key finding that people under the most economic strain during the pandemic are also much more likely to be in a household with COVID-19 themselves. Huge dispari...

6/3/20--This week we're bringing you a slightly different version of The Horse Race, a one-on-one conversation between our host and former Dorchester Reporter news editor Jennifer Smith, and Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell. Jenn and Councilor Campbell discuss the protests against systemic racism and police brutality that have broken out in cities all over the world, including Boston, in resp...

5/28/20--As Massachusetts businesses begin to reopen, how are residents thinking about their transportation options? New data from The MassINC Polling Group shows that residents are leery about utilizing transit options that involve proximity with others, such as buses and trains. Bay Staters are more amenable to the idea of using solo transportation modes -- walking, bicycling, and driving their...

5/21/20-- The coronavirus is leaving nothing untouched these days, and that includes our beloved horse racing. We mean that literally, as it was announced the Belmont Stakes, rescheduled and shortened for June 20, will serve as first leg of Triple Crown. No spectators allowed, for obvious reasons. In #MAPoli news, Governor Baker released details this week about Massachusetts' reopening, leaving ou...

5/13/2020--We're back with another live edition of The Horse Race Happy Hour Livestream which you can watch here: https://www.facebook.com/massincpolling/live We begin with Governor Baker's 4-phase reopening plan that illustrates a very basic roadmap of how businesses will begin to open up shop once again. Baker's plan, which he announced on Monday, is short on details and leaves business owners w...

5/7/20--On today's episode we're joined by special guest Irene Li, co-founder and owner of Mei Mei in Boston. She talks about the response to the coronavirus pandemic in the restaurant industry at large, and how things look for her eatery in particular. “We know that we are going to weather this thing, even though we don’t know what the other side will look like.” Mei Mei is one of many Boston res...