Tsongas campaign focuses on name

Niki Tsongas is leading by wide margins in all of the polls. She has secured every major endorsement and has raised nearly as much as her four opponents combined.

And yet she has the least amount of elected experience in the Fifth Congressional District primary, where she's up against three state representatives and a Lowell city councilor.

"Well," Tsongas joked at a debate in Lowell several weeks ago, "I was an officer in my student council."

In a campaign move used effectively by the likes of Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, Tsongas in her first run for elected office has been able to largely dismiss questions of her lack of elected experience by touting her last name, which is as good as gold in a district that voted for her late husband, Paul Tsongas, every time he appeared on the ballot.

"One of her biggest advantages is her name, and she's smart to embrace it because it's a name known throughout that district," said Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist. "But ultimately people are going to base their vote on who she is, not who her husband is. She's done a good job using him and his name as the beginning of the foundation, but then she's defined who she is."

In television ads the campaign released Tuesday, their three daughters sit on a bench and one of them says, "My dad was sick for a very long time, and our mom was the one who held us all together."

As trumpets play softly in the back ground, the 30-second ad uses bold letters -- TSONGAS -- to sear the name into voters' minds. On the campaign trail, the candidate has been handing out ice cream at "Get the Tscoop on Tsongas" events, and those who have endorsed her are called "Tsongas Tsupporters" and "Tsisters for Tsongas."

But at times during her campaign, Tsongas has gone too far in trying to tie herself to her husband's record. At a debate last month, she said of the district, "I represented it in Washington for 10 years. I know how Washington works."

After her comments were posted online in a 13-second clip on YouTube, her campaign aides said she meant to focus on the work she did during her husband's 10 years in political office.

"Niki clearly misspoke at that event," said campaign spokeswoman Katie Elbert. "She said she worked with Paul to advance the work in the district, and she did not intend to leave any other impression. It was clearly just a misstatement."

But according to news reports at the time, Niki Tsongas was less involved in her husband's political life than the impression she now gives. Tsongas ran a dessert catering business out of their home during the years they lived in Washington, outfitted the home with whimsical treasures purchased at auctions, and raised their three young children.

"There are wives who are very involved with their husbands' offices and really take their responsibility seriously, in terms of issues and things like that. I was never very comfortable with being part of that," she told the Washington Post in 1985, just after Paul Tsongas resigned following one term in the Senate. "I guess I was just too proud. I felt whatever I choose to do I'd have to do it separate from what Paul did."

She was heavily involved in his presidential run in 1992, when Paul Tsongas won the New Hampshire primary before ultimately losing the nomination to Bill Clinton. And now, as she runs for office herself, her campaign has sought to highlight other aspects of her biography to bolster her qualifications. She has served on several local boards and been involved in nonprofit organizations, and for the past 10 years, she has been the dean of external affairs at Middlesex Community College.

But as she has mounted her first campaign for elected office, nothing has been more effective than her last name, according to political observers. And so far it has been what has distinguished her in a race where few issues have galvanized the electorate and where the candidates have done little to stand out in debates and fund raising.

"It's my name. It's reflective of the life I've lived. What can you do about that?" Tsongas said yesterday in an interview. "People say what if your name was Niki Smith? Well, if Niki Smith lived the life I've lived, it would have great bearing."

"It's not a name I inherited," she added. "It became mine when I married my husband, and through the shared experience of campaigning, I became part of that. I'm proud of Paul's service, and I'm proud of my role in that public life."

She has been endorsed by prominent women, such as Kitty Dukakis and Angela Menino, and has also secured rare preprimary endorsements from US Representative Barney Frank and state Treasurer Tim Cahill.

US Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, is planning to appear with her at a fund-raiser today. Eagles lead singer Don Henley, who worked with Paul Tsongas to protect Walden Pond, donated the maximum, $2,300, to her campaign. So has mystery novelist Patricia Cornwell and Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of America Online.

But as Tsongas appears to have taken a commanding lead -- she is ahead by 22 points, according to a recent WBZ poll -- her opponents have seized on her lack of elected experience.

"As the race comes down to the final days, this clearly boils down to a clear choice between proven experience and a familiar last name," said Scott Ferson, a spokesman for Eileen Donoghue, a former Lowell mayor and city councilor for the past 12 years.

Donoghue is planning to unveil a TV ad tomorrow that directly questions Tsongas's experience, with a narrator asking, "Which candidate has actually represented people for over a decade? Eileen Donoghue," as Tsongas's image fades from the screen.

There's also a website that was created on July 7 that attacks Tsongas and contains a list of reasons to vote against her. The site administrator, who did not respond to several e-mails seeking comment, broadcasts on the site, "As a lifelong Massachusetts Democrat, I am embarrassed that Niki Tsongas may be my congressional representative!"

Tsongas's commitment to the district has also been questioned. She relocated several years ago to Charlestown and moved back only in March, just before launching her campaign. She has raised nearly $1.3 million, but only about 25 percent of that came from donors living in the Fifth Congressional District. And although she has been supported by most of the state's Democratic Party faithful, the district's two dominant papers, the Lowell Sun and the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, endorsed Donoghue on Wednesday, citing her political experience.

The Tsongas campaign has used the criticism to try to bolster its campaign account. One of her chief supporters, the political organization EMILY's List, sent an e-mail to supporters last week saying her opponents are trying "to discredit her impressive record of public service and misrepresent her political beliefs."

EMILY's List has also posted Tsongas's photo on the homepage of its website. It is just above a message about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.