Martha Coakley greeted Sophia Wulsin, 5, of Lowell during the rally at the Fairmont Copley Plaza last night.
(Barry Chin/ Globe Staff)
In kickoff event, Coakley makes goals clear
Strikes liberal note at first official rally
Martha Coakley greeted Sophia Wulsin, 5, of Lowell during the rally at the Fairmont Copley Plaza last night.
(Barry Chin/ Globe Staff)
With close to 1,000 supporters packing the gilded Grand Ballroom at the Fairmont Copley Plaza last night, Attorney General Martha Coakley asked the crowd to propel her to victory in the sprint to succeed Edward M. Kennedy in the Senate.
“There are only 62 short days left until that Democratic primary on Dec. 8, and we need you to give it all you’ve got,’’ said Coakley, speaking to bursts of applause and chants of “Martha! Martha! Martha!’’
Underscoring the compressed nature of the campaign, Coakley gave the homestretch speech during her formal kickoff event.
Although she has been campaigning for a month - she announced her candidacy on Sept. 3, in the week after Kennedy’s funeral - with meet-and-greet fund-raisers, last night served as her first official rally.
Describing herself as a fighter, Coakley traced her story from a North Adams upbringing through her work as prosecutor, noted highlights from her years as Middlesex district attorney and attorney general, and touched on a variety of goals. But she received her loudest, longest cheers when she said she would pursue “health care reform that includes a strong public option’’ and seek to overturn the law that blocks federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
“I want to protect and defend our civil rights by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act,’’ said Coakley, who mentioned supporting same-sex marriage or opposing that federal legislation three times in a 10-minute speech.
That was part of a series of liberal-Democratic notes Coakley hit in what may have been an indirect rejoinder to US Representative Michael E. Capuano, who has tried to court liberal voters in the four-way primary by bringing up Coakley’s past support for the death penalty in limited circumstances.
Coakley, Capuano, City Year cofounder Alan Khazei, and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca are competing in the primary.
The winner in that Dec. 8 contest will proceed to the Jan. 19 special election.
A win by Coakley would make her the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, adding her to the list of 17 current female US senators.
“This country was based upon building a representative democracy where all voices are heard, and our work toward this goal continues with this race,’’ she said.
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