Republicans Also Running in Ninth Congressional

Republicans Also Running in Ninth Congressional

August 2001

There will be a Republican primary in the 9th Congressional District on Sept. 11. The mainstream media has ignored the Republicans, and they didn’t get invited to the candidates “Forum.” There are at least two Republicans who will contend for the Party’s nomination to replace the late J. Joseph Moakley. They are Sen. JoAnn Sprague (R-Walpole) and Bill McKinney of Dedham. Another candidate, Karen McNutt, of Boston has decided not to run.

Sprague, currently serving in her second term as the senator from the Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth District, has said that she is running as a “veteran and a housewife.” A veteran of the Korean War, Sprague, who will be 70 in November, also served in the House from 1993 to 1998. A pro-choice advocate, Sprague voted in favor of the creation of “buffer zones” around abortion clinics, which keep pro-life activists away from the clinics. Sprague has the backing of many insiders who, it is rumored, have tried to persuade other candidates to drop out of the primary.

Bill McKinney is the conservative candidate. The 31-year-old recently received an MBA degree from Babson College and would like to bring fiscal discipline to Washington. He told the Beacon Hill Beat on Tuesday, “A lot of issues need money, but they need money being well-spent. When money goes to Washington, who knows what happens to it. If we can find places to save money, we can spend it more efficiently on issues such as education. No mere “fiscal conservative,” McKinney also describes himself as pro-life and pro-family.

There is one other conservative in the running for the office, but she is not running in the Republican primary. Susan Gallagher-Long, who ran for the Senate as an Independent last year, is also seeking the congressional seat. A South Boston resident, she might appeal to those who want to keep the seat in Boston in the event that the Republicans and Democrats both nominate suburbanites. An educator, she strongly favors educational vouchers. She is also pro-life and pro-family. She opposes same-sex marriages and worked against the City of Boston’s Domestic Partners proposal. She says that she is “about half-way done” gathering signatures.

The primaries will be held on Sept. 11 and Gov. Jane Swift has set the date for the Special Election as Oct. 16.