Democrats in two blue states chose women as their gubernatorial nominees, backing Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Rhode Island Treasurer Gina Raimondo for the slots.
{mosads}Despite the Democratic lean of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, however, neither Democrat is considered a shoe-in this fall.
Coakley won a three-way primary against state Treasurer Steve Grossman and Donald Berwick, a former Obama administration health care official. With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Coakley took 42 percent of the vote to Grossman’s 37 percent and Berwick’s 21 percent support.
Raimondo took 42 percent to Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’s 29 percent, with Clay Pell—the husband of former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan—drawing 27 percent with 96 percent of precincts reporting.
Despite Massachusetts’ blue lean, Coakley’s single-digit margin, if it holds when all the votes are counted, may give Democrats reason for concern. The memory of Coakley’s gaffe-prone campaign for Senate in 2010 that delivered the seat unexpectedly to former Sen. Scott Brown still haunts her.
She’s facing off against businessman and former gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker in the general, and polling has shown the race to be competetive, with the last survey showing Coakley leading Baker by nine percent, with 22 percent still undecided. Baker enters the general with a significant cash advantage, however, with $1.2 million in the bank to Coakley’s $197,000 at the end of August.
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Raimondo overcame Democratic divisions in her own primary, winning despite frustration with her candidacy from labor and attacks from her opponents charging she’s too cozy with Wall Street. She’ll face Cranston Mayor Allan Fung (R) in the general election this fall.
Both races feature independent candidates that could complicate the fall campaign fight.
But if either Democrat wins, they’ll be the first elected female governor in each of their respective states.