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Pelosi endorses Capuano for Senate

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 12, 2009 02:00 PM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this afternoon that she will endorse Representative Mike Capuano for the US Senate seat vacated by the death of Edward M. Kennedy.

Capuano, a Somerville Democrat, is the only sitting member of Congress seeking the seat. He and Pelosi are to appear together in Boston Friday morning to formalize the endorsement.

While Pelosi is popular with Democrats, she is a target of Republicans and conservatives. So while her backing could help Capuano, particularly against Attorney General Martha Coakley, in the Dec. 8 Democratic primary, it could hurt him among Republicans and independents if he wins the nomination and moves to the Jan. 19 special election.

“Saturday the House of Representatives passed a historic health care bill that was a great victory for the American People. Mike Capuano not only cast a courageous vote for this historic legislation, but was a constructive force in improving this bill and moving it to the Senate. Whether taking on the CEOs of the financial services industry, supporting marriage equality, or voting against the Iraq War because he didn’t believe Bush Administration made the case to take military action, Mike Capuano has a proven record of standing up for progressive values and what he believes is right. I am proud to endorse Mike Capuano for U.S. Senate,” Pelosi said in a statement released by Capuano's campaign.

Pelosi has championed Capuano's political career before. In 2006, after Democrats won a majority in the House, she put Capuano in a key role in the Democrats’ transition to the majority. She later picked him to lead a task force on ethics.

tags Mike Capuano, Nancy Pelosi, Senate, special election, Ted Kennedy

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