Overrun by Mass. appeal

It's a long way from Beacon Hill.

But yesterday, John Stefanini, a former state representative from Framingham, was busy organizing Ames residents for John F. Kerry.

Since Stefanini learned his hardball brand of politics at the knee of his mentor, House Speaker Tom Finneran, Ames may not have known what hit it: Would caucusgoers who supported Howard Dean be denied coffee cake and shunted to the basement?

The presence of Stefanini, now chief aide to Finneran, in the far reaches of Iowa may have been a surprise to others as well, especially those Bostonians who had detected a touch of permafrost on Beacon Hill between the State House and Kerry's townhouse in Louisburg Square.

But in recent days, Massachusetts Democrats buried their differences and stormed into Iowa in stunning numbers.

The loyalty of Massachusetts Democrats played a large role in Kerry's turnaround here: The junior senator may be aiming for the White House, but he's trying to get there aided by the expertise of those who learned their politics at Doyle's.

"It's pretty exciting seeing everyone show up," said state Democratic Party chairman Phil Johnston as he greeted Kerry volunteers like old friends at a Park Plaza reception. "Before Christmas I was out here campaigning for John. I didn't see any big Dean wave among the voters. I told everyone back home, `This guy's not dead yet.' "

Massachusetts has long prided itself on having the most dominant state Democratic Party in the nation, and politics is a local industry.

Faster than anyone could start mapping out offices in the West Wing, Massachusetts Democrats answered Johnston's call.

Five junior state representatives came to Iowa to do low-level campaign tasks, just wanting to see a White House run up close.

They got to see an aggressive get-out-the-vote drive organized by Dorchester-bred Michael Whouley, who performed the same task for Al Gore four years ago.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts delegation in the US House, frustrated by being in the minority and dreaming of easy access to the White House, staged a group phone call yesterday with reporters. Representatives Michael Capuano and Barney Frank campaigned for Kerry in Iowa, and Representative Ed Markey floated through Des Moines bragging about Kerry's comeback: "They were going for the doctor, but now they want a second opinion."

Ted Kennedy halted any rumors of discord between himself and his junior colleague of 19 years by endorsing Kerry early.

But no one foresaw the extent to which Kennedy's operation, from senior strategist Robert Shrum to campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill to advisers like Stephanie Cutter and Tad Devine, would take over Kerry's operation.

Now, Kerry and Kennedy are closer than Abbott and Costello.

Arm in arm, the two offered a televised "kickoff" to the caucuses Sunday night, with the senior senator looking more buoyant than aides could remember him.

"This is just huge for us," said Johnston. "I was too young for Jack Kennedy. I went through Dukakis. But this is so exciting, even more so because last summer and fall people thought he was gone."

Peter Canellos can be reached at canellos@globe.com.