Capuano’s pitch as insider has benefit, risk

On the campaign trail for US Senate, in debates, on his Twitter feed, and in his newest television ad, Capuano celebrates his decade-long Capitol Hill tenure as a major asset that sets him apart from the Democratic field. His specific pitch to voters is that he alone knows how to work the spigot and get money flowing to Massachusetts.

“In Congress, I’ve also won record federal funding for transportation projects,’’ Capuano boasts in his latest spot. “In the Senate, I can do a lot more.’’

Embracing Washington is a strategy that distinguishes him in the four-person primary and could, especially given the government’s record recent spending, help reassure voters, advocates, and activists as they decide who should succeed the legendary Edward M. Kennedy.

“I don’t think it is pork to get record amounts of transportation money,’’ Capuano said in an interview. “To pretend it’s not important is to tell tens of thousands of people to go get a job.’’

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But that message also carries a substantial risk in an era in which federal largesse - specifically congressional earmarks, local spending items lawmakers often slip into legislation quietly - have fallen out of favor in the public eye and when polls show that nearly 7 out of 10 Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Capuano also runs the risk of drawing more attention to his connection to an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving a former lobbying firm and defense appropriations.

The Senate race promises a few twists and turns this week, with at least two candidates, City Year cofounder Alan Khazei and Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, planning to outline new policy proposals. Pagliuca has also launched his eighth television ad, an ominously toned spot calling for stricter financial oversight.

Attorney General Martha Coakley plans to take out her first television ad today. The 30-second spot highlights Coakley’s support of a government health insurance option and describes the story of Jane Gilman, who needed Coakley’s help after being denied health care coverage.

“An insurance company shouldn’t be able to take your money one day and deny you coverage the next,’’ Coakley says over soft music.

Capuano’s strategy has made him a foil particularly for Khazei and Pagliuca, who, in running as outsiders who can change the ways of Washington, pledge to not take contributions from lobbyists and political action committees. Coakley is running on her state record and trying to make history by becoming the first female US senator from Massachusetts.

Capuano, by contrast, is running unabashedly as an inside player who can emulate Kennedy’s record over five decades of making sure that Massachusetts got its share, sometimes more.

“One measure of effectiveness, an important one, is what you can bring home,’’ he said.

Capuano added that there are several instances in which he fought against the status quo, citing his support of an ethics reform package and his opposition to the Patriot Act and the Iraq war.

“You can use the system to deliver to your constituents and to change the system from the inside; it does work,’’ he said. “I’m running as the effective member of Congress who understands I can change what I can change.’’

During the two-year congressional session that ended in January, Capuano sponsored or cosponsored 55 earmarks valued at $57.2 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That placed him seventh in the Massachusetts delegation. On earmarks where Capuano was the sole sponsor, however, his $18.6 million placed him second in the delegation, behind only US Representative John W. Olver, an Amherst Democrat who is chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee.

In 2005, Capuano, who is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, helped secure $5.2 billion over six years for Massachusetts roads, bridges, and transit lines. The funding authorization came as Massachusetts was being criticized for high cost overruns associated with the Big Dig.

Massachusetts also received $2.2 billion in funding last year from the National Institutes of Health, more than any other state except California. While most of the money is doled out through peer-reviewed research applications, Capuano helped push for a bigger funding pot, and nearly three-fourths of the Massachusetts funding went to his congressional district, which is rich in research hospitals.

“He and Ed Markey are the two people that we see as key,’’ said John Erwin, executive director of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, which represents 14 hospitals in the Boston area.

Capuano was also among those who argued for stimulus funding that has helped plug some of the funding gaps in the state budget. On Friday, he posted on Twitter: “State budget cuts make fed funding even more important - Mike Capuano has always brought $ home to MA.’’

As he runs on his Washington expertise, Capuano has tried to distance himself from a federal investigation of a former Washington lobbying firm, PMA Group, whose fund-raising practices are being probed in connection with the firm’s securing of federal appropriations for clients. Capuano has returned PMA-related contributions to his campaign committee and has said he will do the same for donations made to a PAC he runs.

“If you say ‘I am an insider,’ that’s almost an invitation to be investigated, or that’s what many voters think because they’ve seen all this scandal,’’ said Dennis Hale, a Boston College political science professor.

Still, in a state that has produced numerous speakers of the House and presidents, it might be smart to run as an insider, Hale and other political observers say.

“It makes no sense to run as an outsider in Massachusetts,’’ said Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont and a specialist on congressional races. “You’re replacing a legend, a guy who was in the United States Senate for 47 years.’’

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