Backers like Gabrieli's brainy but practical approach

She is an energy economist for a nonprofit air quality group. He is a geeky venture capitalist who speaks fluently about the economics of global warming and renewable energy.

When Michelle Manion , 37 , met Christopher Gabrieli at a young professional's event in July, she knew instantly she had found her candidate.

``He gets it," she said with a huge smile as she waited to shake Gabrieli's hand at a fund-raiser at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel last week. ``He knows we need to give the people who are starting these companies the right incentives."

From afar, the people who sipped wine and nibbled scallops in the Copley Room, dark and grand with its carved wood ceilings and heavy red drapes, seemed an unlikely gathering in Massachusetts politics. Venture capitalists and chief executive officers chatted with school officials and Democratic activists from Western Massachusetts. What brought them together, they said, was a candidate with a brainy but practical approach to solving problems.

Among them were William Woo , 40 , of Burlington , a private equity manager who was a partner with Gabrieli at a venture fund called Ironwood. He said he considers himself a moderate- to right-leaning independent.

``Being in the business world, I think, creates a certain level of strategic thinking, planning, making promises to your shareholders and employees about where you're headed," he said. ``In politics, it's a direct crossover into being able to articulate a vision and follow through on promises to voters."

A few feet away were several school officials from Malden whose school district adopted Gabrieli's extended school day pilot program this year. Among them was Marty Gately , a 42-year-old lawyer and Malden city councilor, who recalled an event he attended where Gabrieli spent more time talking about medicine with Gately's wife, a nurse, than he did talking politics.

``It's not a show. He actually, really cares," Gately said. ``The guy makes sense, and he knows what he's talking about."

Gabrieli, who entered the race in April and has spent about $8 million of his own money on his campaign, has been accused by his rivals of trying to buy the election.

``Nonsense," said Nader Darehshori , the retired chairman and CEO of Houghton Mifflin Company , who served with Gabrieli on the board of the Boston Public Library Foundation.

``He's putting in his own hard-earned money," he said.

Gabrieli's ground organization has been the least visible of the Democratic primary candidates, since most of his money has gone to an intensive television advertising campaign. But Bill Duffy , a 46-year-old volunteer from Walpole who is the CEO of Radius Specialty Hospital in Boston, said Gabrieli's field team has been greatly underestimated.

``We have as much grass roots as anyone in the race," he said. ``The credit will be given on Sept. 19. We've canvassed over 75,000 homes in Massachusetts, from the North Shore to the Cape to Worcester to Springfield."

Some, like Duffy, are longtime Democratic activists. Others are new to politics, like Rose McCleary , a 57-year-old grandmother from Dorchester. An undeclared voter who has never worked for a candidate before, McCleary met Gabrieli when he visited the Dorchester House, where she works as a medical assistant. He seemed to understand healthcare issues and to genuinely care about education, she said. She also loved his interest in stem cell research.

Now she is making phone calls and attending organizing meetings ; on Labor Day, she marched in her first political parade.