The Horse Race

3/18/20-- The spread of coronavirus has continued to ramp up across the state and the nation at large, and lots of people are switching to remote work. That includes us over at Horse Race Global Media HQ, so bear with us as we transition away from the comfort of our cozy podcast studio and wrangle with the technology that allows us to conduct interviews from a distance. Our first guest is Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, who updates us on how the Council operations have changed, and what it's like trying to connect with constituents in a time when connecting in person is medically inadvisable, but people are concerned and have many questions for local leaders. Next, Representative Jon Santiago serves the 9th Suffolk District of Massachusetts as both a member of the House of Representatives as well as an emergency room doctor for Boston Medical Center. He gives us a sense of what people -- both patients and fellow physicians -- are concerned about, as well as what policy ideas are circulating on the state and federal level to ensure the needs of our most vulnerable populations are met.

3/11/20-- This week on The Horse Race, we're celebrating International Women's Day with an all-female cast. We begin with the scary news of the ever-growing novel coronavirus that has now been officially dubbed a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Here in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker has declared a state of emergency, and as Politico reporter Stephanie Murray can attest, candidates campaigning for office are taking measures to limit human contact and reduce risk. WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka drops by talk about her recent coverage on the individual and state-level responses to the virus outbreak. Stores are suffering wipeouts of necessities like canned goods and toilet paper as consumers stock up for potential quarantine. But, she mentions, people she's spoken to are not exhibiting an attitude of panic, but rather an eagerness to be prepared. Meanwhile, the MBTA announced it will be cleaning and disinfecting its vehicles every four hours to tamp down on the spread of the contagious illness. Next up, Nina Liang, Quincy City Council President and executive director of Emerge Massachusetts makes a reappearance on The Horse Race, this time to talk about the national and state climate surrounding women in politics. Elizabeth Warren supporters were vocal about feeling dejected when the Massachusetts senator declared her withdrawal from the presidential race, and many of them pointed to the issue of sexism and the constant nagging buzz in Warren's ear that she didn't possess electability, a critique that's been widely branded as sexist on its face. Liang talks about the future of women in politics and what Emerge, an organization dedicated to aiding Democratic women who want to run for office, is doing about it. Finally, BFF of the pod and newly elected President of the Massachusetts State House Press Association Katie Lannan brings us an update on the new role as well as how the organization and the state legislature is doing in terms of gender parity.

3/5/20-- Super Tuesday has come and gone, and The Horse Race team is breaking down how it all unfolded. This week on our very special live edition, however, the Horse Racers were not the sole hosts! Gina Christo and Wilnelia Rivera of the Deep Democracy podcast served as special guest co-hosts, bringing insight and no shortage of hot takes to the conversation. Later, Will Rasky of Rasky Partners joins the discussion. He serves as an advisor to Unite The Country, an independent expenditure group supporting Joe Biden, and had a few things to say about the wild ride that has been Biden's ranking in the Democratic primary.

2/26/20-- Super Tuesday is now less than a week away, and once those results are in (which we will be breaking down at our live podcast the following Wednesday--register at thehorseracepodcast.com), we will likely have a much better understanding of what the path to the nomination may look like. Our home state of Massachusetts is of course one of the 14 states participating in Super Tuesday, and Bernie Sanders is gunning for the 91 delegates the state has to offer. The Sanders campaign is putting on a 4-day music and canvassing festival known as Berniepalooza in Worcester starting Friday. Plus, Sanders rallies are set to take place in Springfield Friday and Boston Saturday. If Sanders is successful and wins the majority of Massachusetts delegates, that will leave a mark on home state Senator Elizabeth Warren's campaign. Joining as a guest on The Horse Race today is member of the Boston Democratic Socialists of America, Beth Huang. Boston DSA backs candidate Bernie Sanders, and Huang recently co-wrote an article on the subject of a potential contested convention--something Sanders has been vocal about opposing. Her tweet accompanying the article reads, "We will primary every superdelegate and take mass direct action if the DNC steals the nomination from Bernie Sanders."

2/19/20--We're coming at you today sandwiched between two debate nights. The first was yesterday's face-off between U.S. Senate candidates Congressman Joe Kennedy III and incumbent Ed Markey, and tonight's is, of course, the Democratic Primary Debate on the Las Vegas stage, where candidates Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. First, Jennifer and Stephanie recap last night's U.S. Senate debate hosted by WGBH. The two Democrats share most of the progressive views, and as Jenn noted, neither candidate voiced a succinct and definitive reason as to why he stands out in this race. "Both of these folks have been doing their, sort of, press tour about why Markey thinks he should keep the seat and why Kennedy thinks he should get it, but they didn't, either of them, really seem to have a short, quick, clean answer even after all of this time," Jenn said. -- Laws mandating that mental health be treated with the same level of seriousness and coverage as physical health have been on the books for 20 years now. But state lawmakers are now calling out a lack of regulation that has kept mental health on the back burner for decades, leaving many people with mental illness struggling. And last week, the Senate passed the Mental Health ABC Act. Steve sat down with Senators Julian Cyr and Cindy Friedman, two of the people responsible for the bill. Friedman said of the mental health parity laws that were first established 20 years ago, "I believe that the way that we enforced it was very general, and I think that what we saw is that it was just a lot of self-reporting." With the new legislation, Friedman says, "What we've done is say, 'Okay, we're really serious.'" Under the new bill, carriers would be responsible for reporting that they comply, and, as Friedman explains, "They have to show us, for instance, what the process is for determining whether a medical surgical benefit is covered versus what the process was for a similar mental health benefit." Cyr has had his fair share of mental health struggles and said that outpatient mental health therapy has been helpful in both managing his anxiety and "in helping me do things I never dreamed I could." Cyr himself has not been able to get consistent insurance coverage for his mental health care. "I'm probably one of the most savvy consumers you can imagine. I'm a 34-year-old State Senator. I know how to navigate bureaucracies and systems," Cyr said. "If I can't do this, imagine how many other people in the Commonwealth can't get the care they need and deserve."

2/12/20-- The day we've been talking about for months has come and gone: The New Hampshire Primary. It presented few surprises if you've been paying attention for the past couple of weeks. Pete Buttigieg won the Iowa Caucus, and Bernie Sanders has enjoyed first-place polling status in the state. Sanders came out on top with 25.7% of the vote with Buttigieg right behind at 24.4%. Amy Klobuchar pulled out a startling third-place finish with 19.8% and six delegates. Neither Elizabeth Warren (finishing fourth) nor Joe Biden (fifth) who've previously enjoyed instances of high popularity this campaign won a single New Hampshire delegate. Last week, after the release of new data from The MassINC Polling Group on Massachusetts residents' opinions on climate change , we talked a lot about net-zero carbon emissions. The goal of net-zero by 2050 is one shared by the Massachusetts Senate, House, and Executive Office. And during MPG's poll release event, Secretary Katie Theoharides of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs emphasized the importance of this science-based target. But we didn't delve into what exactly net-zero emissions by 2050 means nor what steps we can expect will be taken to get us there. For that, Steve spoke with Eugenia Gibbons, Policy Director for the Green Energy Consumers Alliance. "We have to reduce those emissions as quickly as possible," Gibbons said. "The first way you do that is to try to eliminate the amount of emissions you're putting into the air through your human activity, but then net-zero is achieved when you allow for other strategies to absorb the remaining carbon from the atmosphere so you can get to a place where there's zero." Steve brought up the debate swirling about whether to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we should rely on existing sources of energy like natural gas as an interim step to ultimately get us to completely clean renewable energy. "The science tells us where we need to be. and we don't have anymore time to waste," Gibbons responded. "We do need to stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure, and we do need to be looking at ways to accelerate adoption of clean alternatives. And the longer we take to do that, the harder it's going to be to get to where we need to be."

2/3/20-- Earth Day is not for another two months, but there's a lot of talk circling climate change in Massachusetts these days. Steve and Jenn break it down today with special guests, but first, an incident involving national horse race polling broke over the weekend that we at The Horse Race have a duty to address. A Des Moines Register / CNN poll surveying likely Democratic Iowa Caucus-goers was pulled before it was set for release Saturday night. According to Politico, a call center interviewer enlarged the question's font on their monitor, potentially cutting off some candidates' names in a randomized list following a question. Lis Smith, a senior adviser to Pete Buttigieg's campaign, announced the campaign had heard from a survey participant telling them not every candidate running was named when the interviewer asked who the participant supported. The incident prompted an empathetic response from Steve, our resident pollster here on the pod and president of The MassINC Polling Group who called the news "sad." "Polling involves dozens or even hundreds of things that you have to make sure are right, and they're all small things, and they're almost always all right because they're cut and paste from previous polls and that sort of thing. But something can go wrong, and something did go wrong here." The most recent poll conducted by The MassINC Polling Group avoided that fate, luckily. And it sheds new light on how Massachusetts residents think about climate change. First and foremost, the statewide poll of roughly 2,300 Massachusetts residents found that a majority of them see climate change as a serious challenge and are already feeling its impacts. There's a notable shift happening now in public opinion on climate change, which Steve can attest is rare. "On so many public opinion issues, it's just stable," he said. "The most visible example is Donald Trump's approval rating. This wild storm of stuff happening in national politics, and... nothing changes." On the issue of global warming, however, this poll finds 53% of Massachusetts residents say it is a high priority. That's a jump from 32% as recently as 2014. "This is one which reminds me more--potentially more-- of marijuana legalization opinion or same-sex marriage opinion where just inexorably over a period of years, stuff goes from one reality to a completely different reality." Find the detailed report at massincpolling.com/the-topline. Turning now to Beacon Hill, Steve and Jenn make their way to the State House to speak with Senate President Karen Spilka and Senator Mike Barrett about the trio of climate bills passed by the state Senate last week. They include, among other things, the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, which, Sen. Barrett describes as, "a very ambitious goal." He said, "It puts Massachusetts right where the United Nations body wants the world to be, and in that sense we are offering world leadership." Senate President Spilka said of the legislation, "We recognize that people across the state are asking us to take action, so we strengthen our goals and our requirements for down the line." Plus, Spilka provides a look ahead at the Senate's next big priority: mental health.

1/29/20--Believe it or not, we are less than a week away from the Iowa caucuses, and the podcast bunker is filled with anticipation. Especially because after Iowa comes New Hampshire, and after New Hampshire, Super Tuesday when we all get to exercise our right to vote and revel in the democratic experience. In other news, the impeachment trial continues, and we turn to our very own pollster Steve Koczela to break down what voters think about whether Senators should call former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify during the trial. This comes after revelations that a book manuscript written by Bolton contains evidence that would incriminate the President. Stephanie Murray has just returned from New Hampshire, where she covered an Elizabeth Warren canvassing event and met campaign surrogates who connected with Warren after being victimized by the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. They shared their story with Stephanie. Finally, we turn to the most vocal advocate for an east-west rail link, State Senator Eric Lesser, whose high hopes for the potential project include improving the congestion crisis in Eastern Massachusetts and stimulating the economy in Western Massachusetts.

1/23/20--On Tuesday night, Governor Charlie Baker delivered his annual State of the Commmonwealth address, promising aggressive action to address climate change, a partnership with vocational schools and, in a breakaway from his usual stance, additional funding for the MBTA to the tune of $135 million. Stepping right into the chaos of Budget Day, Steve and Jenn drop by the State House to grill reporter and BFF of the pod Katie Lannan about what's inside the proposed state budget. Later, Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, discusses the status of the ROE Act as well as the national threats to the landmark reproductive rights decision Roe v. Wade, which celebrates its 47th anniversary this week.

1/15/20--Tuesday's Democratic debate left Steve and Stephanie with little to discuss save a symbolic handshake snub that points to a breakdown of the Warren/Sanders alliance. The pact between the two Senators had previously established a no-attack zone. But news broke Monday that the Sanders campaign allegedly dispensed a canvassing script to staffers containing talking points that were negative toward Warren. She made a statement later that day claiming Sanders had said in a private meeting in 2018 he didn't think a woman could win the presidency. Two days later, tension was palpable between the two, not just during the debate, but afterward, as seen by an attempted handshake from Sanders to Warren, which she ignored. The gloves are off, and these ungloved hands are not shaking. This week's Horse Race guests tackle the thing all of us (who are eligible) will be doing come November: voting! With just weeks until the New Hampshire primary, one Massachusetts-based group is focused on getting Independent voters in the Granite state to vote blue. The group, known as the Welcome Party, it partners with a local Democratic political incubator called the Blue Lab. Scott Ferson, founder of The Blue Lab, drops by The Horse Race. He says the purpose of the group is to engage Independent New Hampshire voters to vote in the primary, which he says, will make them more likely to vote in the general. Next, Evan Falchuk of Voter Choice Massachusetts gives us his take on why Ranked-Choice Voting is the right choice for the Commonwealth. Come November, voters in the state will vote on a ballot question to determine whether to implement RCV. Falchuk argues that people winning elections without a majority, as is happening in our current system, isn't fair. He points to 2018's 3rd Congressional District election as an example, when the winner received 22 percent of the vote. And finally, it's trivia time! Now that the new crop of city councilors and select board members are sworn in and active across the state, we have to ask. Who was the youngest person ever elected to the Boston City Council?

1/8/2020-- After a long winter's nap, The Horse Race is back up and running, starting the new year with a bang. The first guest of 2020 is former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick. Patrick announced his candidacy this November, long after his fellow contenders, throwing his hat into the already crowded ring in a self-described 'long shot' of a campaign. He explained on the show he was ready to make this very announcement more than a year ago. Shortly before he intended to break the news, however, his wife Diane was diagnosed with cancer. Today, she is cancer-free, and Patrick spots a void among Democratic contenders that he thinks he can fill. He describes President Trump as divisive and says, "I am concerned that some of the Democratic candidates are offering a Democratic version of the same thing rather than seeing this as an opportunity to unite us around solutions to common challenges." Turning to transportation in Massachusetts, Patrick's calls for new revenue echo those he made back during his own 2007-2015 administration. "The T has needed significant investment to be a 21st century T for a long time, and we've been making that point and have made it twice." He cites his attempts to generate new revenue, beginning with his 2009 proposal to raise the gas tax that was swiftly shot down by the legislature. Patrick then pushed for new revenue through means other than a gas tax, and finally in 2013, vetoed a transportation funding package because he thought the gas tax increase included in it was too low. This veto was overruled by a House vote, and the gas tax went into effect, but the law mandating automatic adjustments according to inflation was repealed by voters via a 2014 ballot measure. Had the law remained in place, this would have allowed for annual increases to the gas tax. Instead, it's remained at 24 cents per gallon since 2013. "No amount of reorganization is going to deliver a 21st century T," Patrick said. "It is going to require significant new investment."

12/18/19-- The holidays are upon us here at The Horse Race (The Reindeer Race?), and we're wrapping up our last episode of the year, sticking on a bright, shiny bow, and presenting it to you. Thanks for listening in 2019! We begin with the news of the day, and that of course, is the House vote on articles of impeachment. And, further from the limelight but relevant both to U.S. Congress and to us Bay Staters is news that the House Ethics Committee is conducting a further probe of Congresswoman Lori Trahan, whose compliance with campaign finance law came into question earlier this year upon discovery that her husband donated $300,000 to her 2018 campaign. Looking to the Massachusetts 4th Congressional District, yet another candidate in the crowded field vying for this spot joins us on The Horse Race. Alan Khazei is an entrepreneur who co-founded the education non-profit City Year and ran for U.S. Senate twice (in 2010 and 2012). Now, he's in the midst of a campaign focused on issues of climate change, gun control, and national service. Finally, Steve and Stephanie look ahead to 2020, predicting what may come to pass on both the national and state stages. From impeachment to transportation funding to housing choice legislation, there's a lot to watch unfold (or fall flat) next year. We hope you'll join us as we break it all down.

12/11/19--It's a big day for polls here at The Horse Race, and we begin the discussion with one that surveyed New Hampshire voters on the Democratic primary contenders. It finds Pete Buttigieg in the lead among registered voters in the state with 18% support. Meanwhile, Joe Biden sits at a close second place with 17%. As Steve points out, it's important to note how close this race remains. The top 4 contenders rank within 6 percentage points of each other in this early primary contest. Plus, there's still much to be determined as about 1 in 5 likely voters haven't yet made up their mind. Turning now--as we are wont to do--to transportation, Boston Globe reporter Adam Vaccaro stops by to run through the safety report on the MBTA conducted by an independent panel of experts. Here's the major takeaway: things are bad. In the agency's efforts to expedite long-term capital improvements, a focus on keeping up with daily operations is falling by the wayside. And safety, as a result, is being sacrificed. The MassINC Polling Group Research Director Rich Parr rounds out the show with a look at a regional poll focused on the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI). TCI is a collaborative effort between 12 states and the District of Columbia currently developing a policy to cap carbon pollution from transportation and invest in transportation improvements. The poll finds that the initiative enjoys broad support among registered voters in the seven largest states at the TCI table: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

12/4/2019--The first snowfall has officially landed in Boston, which means cozy sweaters, romantic tree lightings, and of course, more MBTA dysfunction. In other news, the People's Pledge is making a reappearance after its first installation during the 2012 Elizabeth Warren/Scott Brown Senate race. The pact aims to limit outside spending. While Senate candidates Joe Kennedy and Shannon Liss-Riordan signed the pledge on Monday, incumbent Ed Markey proposed a pledge of his own that stipulates outside spending dedicated to "positive messages" should not be limited. He pointed to groups like climate activists and reproductive rights organizations who he thinks should be allowed to spend for a campaign. Controversy is bubbling up in the wake of a scheduling decision regarding special elections. The date set for the special elections of four legislators (whose seats were vacated by now mayors) has been set for the same day as the presidential primary. Because the primary will inherently draw out droves of Democrats, the move to also schedule special elections on that date elicits the question of fairness. Two candidates running for the Massachusetts 4th Congressional seat joined as guests on The Horse Race today. First is Jesse Mermell. She's the former president of Alliance for Business Leadership, worked as communications director during Deval Patrick's governorship and served as Vice President of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. She says she's running for Congress because, "The people and places that we love and the progress that's so vital to the future of this country are under attack, and I think that the people of the 4th Congressional district deserve a Congresswoman --a Congresswoman-- who won't just fight back against the hate and the backwards thinking that's coming out of the White House but will also fight for the future that we all deserve." When asked what makes her stand out in this crowded field of six candidates, Mermell says, "These aren't just policies that I hold as a Progressive, these aren't just values that I espouse to, it's work that I've done over 20 years." Ihssane Leckey was the first to announce her candidacy for the MA4 seat, doing so even before Kennedy resigned, as a challenge to him. She's confident she brings a unique perspective to the field of candidates as a sex abuse survivor, immigrant, and former Wall Street regulator, and was motivated to run after Trump's election. She told The Horse Race, "Once Trump was elected, my identities have been attacked on so many different levels." She's also troubled by what she sees as irresponsibility by the Trump administration in an economic context. "So, when recessions happen what is going to happen now if these big banks were affected? Are they going to be able to bail themselves out? The answer right now, is probably not, because I saw how the Trump administration had started to take away any protection that I worked on putting in place for our people," Leckey says.

11/27/19--Happy Thanksgiving, #mapoli! In today's holiday bonus episode, Stephanie Murray calls in from Manchester, New Hampshire with a quick recap of Deval Patrick's appearance at Politics and Eggs. What questions did reporters have? Is he covering enough ground to make a name for himself in this race? Enjoy this small bite of political coverage while you enjoy many, many bites of turkey and stuffing. We'll be back next week with a new episode. See you then.