The Horse Race

1/23/2019-- As the government shutdown rages on, Steve and Jenn lament the issues it's inflicting upon local employees of the federal government. With hope for a speedy resolution, they look ahead to bills coming up before the Massachusetts legislature. One such bill has to do with sports betting. State Sen. Brendan Crighton drops by The Horse Race to discuss his proposed bill that would allow for Massachusetts casinos and online platforms to apply for licenses to operate sports books. But he's not the only one. Both State Rep. Dan Cullinane and Gov. Charlie Baker have proposed similar legislation, so Crighton explains what makes his different. State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa joins the hosts to discuss the intrinsic problem of sexual harassment on Beacon Hill. In an effort to combat it, she and State Sen. Becca Rausch filed a bill that would require an independent committee to investigate instances of sexual harassment. Last but by no means least, a Horse Race regular Adam Friedman makes the case for why ranked choice voting is the right choice for Massachusetts.

1/16/2019 -- Amidst the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith chat with Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts' 5th congressional district, who is co-sponsoring a bill aimed at protecting federal workers from such hardships as eviction, foreclosure and loan default. Politico reporter Stephanie Murray joins to discuss Elizabeth Warren's recent trip to New Hampshire and chats through how she stacks up against other recently announced candidates for the presidency.

January 9, 2019: We're LIVE from WeWork at 1 Beacon! While Massachusetts is sending two new members to the US Congress where Democrats control the House, the State Legislature will be gaveling in a new session after a tumultuous year, and Charlie Baker will be starting his second lap around the gubernatorial track. Oh, and the first group of presidential candidates are out of the gate and charging down the backstretch. Steve Koczela, President of The MassINC Polling Group and Jennifer Smith, News Editor of the Dorchester Reporter, along with special guests set the scene for the year to come in Massachusetts and around the country. Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka walks us through her vision for the State Senate in the new year in terms of policy and restoring stability to the body. State Rep. Russell Holmes gives his view on what to expect from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Lastly, a reporter who knows a whole lot about Elizabeth Warren, the Boston Globe’s Victoria McGrane, brings us up to speed on the state’s senior Senator’s Presidential campaign. Thank you for joining us!

12/26/2018 -- Happiest of Holidays from The Horse Race! Joining Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith on this special holiday edition is Congresswoman-elect, Lori Trahan, of Massachusetts' 3rd congressional district. She takes us back through the highly contested race for the House and looks ahead at what we can expect from the new cohort of members. We'll take a short break and see you all in the new year at our live recording of "The Starting Gate" from 6-8pm at WeWork One Beacon. Spots are limited so sign up today! https://thehorseracelivestartinggate.splashthat.com/

On this special episode of The Horse Race, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith continue their quest to speak with every MA member of the House of Representatives. Joining us this week is Congressman Jim McGovern from the state’s 2nd congressional district who is also the incoming chair for the House Rules Committee. With a new incoming class, whispers of presidential impeachment, and another election on the horizon, Congressman McGovern gives us an inside look at what we can expect from of D.C. in 2019. Save the date! Our next Live event is Wednesday, January 9th from 6-8pm at WeWork at One Beacon St.

December 12, 2018: Just one more week until our 2018 #mapoli horse racing season comes to a close! Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela take a look at what work is already being done by new members of Congress, namely, the plan for Ocasio-Cortez's "Green New Deal" and which MA legislators are supporting it. Then, we check in with Katie Lannan of the State House News Service for a look ahead at potential MA elections. And finally we welcome Anthony Amore who challenged the now-reelected Bill Galvin for Secretary of State about the potential for successful Republican races.

December 5, 2018: Just as one election ends, another one begins! On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the art of political moderation in Massachusetts campaigns with Will Keyser and Eileen O’Connor of Keyser Public Strategies who have helped advise Governor Baker's campaign and newly elected Congresswoman Lori Trahan's campaign respectively. Then, we look to Elizabeth Warren and the 2020 Presidential murmurings with supreme Horse Race alumna, Lauren Dezenski, all the way from her post in D.C.

With just a couple of episodes left for the 2018 season, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith break down the post-election roll out both locally and nationally. With the vote for Speaker of the House today, Anthony Brooks, political reporter for WBUR, walks us through Congressman Seth Moulton's opposition to Nancy Pelosi and how this reflects on other MA legislators. Then, State Representative from Cambridge, Mike Connolly joins us to discuss a bill he has proposed to bring rank choice voting to Massachusetts. And finally, we take one more look back at the election and how the MA GOP fared and what they might do moving forward with former Horse Race aficionado, Maureen McInerney. Looking to get involved with The Horse Race and The MassINC Polling Group? Our part time production and research assistant position is open! Apply here: https://www.massincpolling.com/careers

We've got a special Thanksgiving treat this week! Co-Host, Jennifer Smith, of the Dorchester Reporter, caught up with Congresswoman-Elect, Ayanna Pressley, over the phone for a behind the scenes look at the road to D.C. What are we thankful for? You! Our loyal listeners. We'll be back next week for our regularly scheduled lineup of trivia, polls, and bad horse puns.

We're back for the post-election run down to get caught up on the races we couldn't cover at last week's live event. Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith take a look at election outcomes and what we can expect next. Dan Cence, who oversees government relations at Solomon McCown and is a key advisor to the No on 1 group joins us to go over the results from Question 1. Here to fill us in on a round up of state races and voter turnout is long time guest of the pod, Gin Dumcius from MassLive and the Springfield Republican. And finally we hear from incoming State Senator Becca Rausch about how her campaign resulted in a win.

We're LIVE from WeWork at 1 Beacon St. bringing you the best of horse racing puns to the Post-Election Winner's Circle. Your hosts, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith wrap up what just happened and what we can expect next locally, state-wide, and nationally. First we check in with Representative Katherine Clark from MA's 5th district about what we can expect now that Dems have taken the House. Then, we hear from Michelle Wu, Boston City Councilor at Large, about everything from daily transit woes to what we can expect from Senator Warren on a national level. Newly elected Suffolk District Attorney, Rachael Rollins, takes the stage to break down exactly how she plans to bring serious change to the criminal justice system. And finally, Brian Wynne, campaign manager for the Baker/Polito ticket looks behind the Republican Governor's race in the midst of MA's blue wave. Thank you all for joining us tonight!

For your spookiest episode of The Horse Race yet, we hit the stretch run just one week before the election. As election day nears, Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith provide an update on three new polls that have been published this week. Then we check in on the attorney general's race with Maddie Kilgannon of WGBH. And finally, we hear from Steve Brown of WBUR about several of the contested seats in this year's race. And, don't forget to register for our LIVE post general election recording at WeWork One Beacon next Wednesday, November 7th from 6-8pm with special guests Rachael Rollins, Michelle Wu, and Brian Wynne. Don't forget to vote!

Welcome to debate season! On this episode of The Horse Race, Steve Koczela and Jenn Smith check in on the rousing round of debates that swept the state this past week. Next, we call many time guest of the pod, Chris Lisinski to check in on the MA 3rd Congressional district race. And finally, we hear from Shira Schoenberg on a race we should all be paying more attention to; the treasurers race (while cringing through their most recent trending hashtag.) We can't wait to see you all on Wednesday Nov. 7th from 6-8 PM at WeWork One Beacon for our upcoming LIVE event featuring guests, Rachael Rollins and Michelle Wu. RSVP here: https://thehorseracelivemageneralelectionstretchrun.splashthat.com/

We're gearing up for these final weeks before the general election with our new Horse Race co-host, and many time guest of the pod, Jennifer Smith. Here to keep us updated with this week's wave of Senator Warren news is Vicki McGrane of the Boston Globe. Then, we welcome a new guest to the show, Dr. Shannon Jenkins Chair of the Department of Political Science at UMass Dartmouth who claims we should all be paying closer attention to the 9th Congressional District race. And finally, what's an episode of The Horse Race without polls! Steve Koczela reports on a recently published poll on Question 1 with perspectives from the nurses themselves. And, don't forget to check out our live event on November 7th at We Work One Beacon.

It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year... for polling that is! On this week's episode of The Horse Race, our very own Maeve Duggan of the MASSInc Polling Group joins as a co-host with Steve Koczela to take us behind all of this week's freshly published polls. Since we're just one month out from election day, we'll get you caught up on the Baker / Gonzales debate with Gin Dumcius of The Springfield Republican and Mass Live. Then, Katie Lannan joins us again for a quick update on the Secretary of State race. And as a special, polling season exclusive, we get on the phone with the head of our primary call center, Paul Braun of Braun Research to see behind the scenes of how polls are really conducted.