Rivals for Kerry Senate Seat Debate

LOWELL, Mass. â€" The Democratic primary for the nomination to fill the United States Senate seat recently vacated by the wealthy John Kerry is becoming a low-key tussle over which candidate’s roots are more humble.

As they met here Monday night for their second debate, Edward J. Markey cast himself as being as much a product of the working class as his opponent, Stephen F. Lynch. Both are Democratic congressmen facing off in the primary on April 30.

Mr. Lynch, who was an ironworker before he entered politics, seems to have cornered the market on the hard-luck biography in this special election, and he mentions it constantly.

“When you look at the United States Senate, it is populated today by a very narrow group of somewhat elite and privileged individuals, for the most part,” Mr. Lynch said.

“This is the time to elect someone who grew up in public housing, who put on a pair of work boots and worked for a living,” he added, referring to himself. Not all senators must have such a background, he said, but at least one should.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Markey told the story of his father, who grew up on the first floor of a triple-decker in South Lawrence, Mass., “in the shadow of the mills.” Mr. Markey returned to that house a few years ago to see who lived there now, he said, and it turned out to be a Dominican family.

“Their accents were different but the aspirations were clearly the same,” Mr. Markey said. “They want for their children what the Markeys were able to receive.” His “responsibility” in going to the Senate, he said, would be to make sure that future generations are more educated and more healthy than those who have come before and that life is more fair.

The two differed sharply on a few issues - Mr. Markey voted for President Obama’s health care bill, while Mr. Lynch opposed it; Mr. Markey voted against the bill that cut federal spending automatically across the board, while Mr. Lynch voted for it; and Mr. Markey has long supported abortion rights, while Mr. Lynch calls himself “pro-life” but says he would not support a reversal of Roe v. Wade.

(Mr. Lynch offered an explanation for his support for a ban on abortions in military hospitals. He said that if a woman in the military were pregnant, the father  was probably a fellow service member and she should be able to make a decision about her future away from the base, “not being ruled over by a male superior officer who may have other interests.”)

But the candidates agreed on many other issues that were raised at the debate and found it difficult - as primary contestants often do - to draw a sharp contrast with each other. And so their biographies are becoming a defining issue.

At one point, Mr. Lynch was asked about the campaign being waged against him by Tom Steyer, a California billionaire who has demanded that Mr. Lynch repudiate his support for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Mr. Steyer’s tactics included flying a banner denouncing Mr. Lynch behind a plane that flew over Fenway Park during the Red Sox home opener on Monday.

At the debate, Mr. Lynch said Mr. Steyer had threatened him by saying, “I will crush you if you don’t change your position by high noon last Friday.”

As Mr. Lynch explained his response to Mr. Steyer, he grew increasingly feisty. “Just because he has a billion dollars doesn’t mean he gets to push people around,” Mr. Lynch said. “I’ve faced bullies my whole life, and I won’t put up with that!”

At another point, Mr. Markey was asked if he was insulted by being referred to as “the congressman from Chevy Chase, Md.” His critics use the phrase to suggest that during his 36 years in Congress, he has “gone Washington,” putting down roots in the nation’s capital and losing touch with the folks back home in his district.

Mr. Markey said that his constituents “know the job is to go to Washington,” adding that Mr. Lynch, as well as Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mr. Kerry and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy had all done  so.

“I’ve tried to fight the fights that ordinary families would have if they could go to Washington,” he said, mentioning his efforts to take assault weapons off the streets and push for renewable energy. He added that he was “animated by the values of Malden, Mass., where I grew up and where I live today, and they know that I’m one of them.”

So far, the race has been fairly tame and civil, with polls showing that Mr. Markey has the edge but that most voters are undecided. Political analysts say that voters are not paying attention and that turnout will be very low.

The general election is scheduled for June 25, when the winner of the primary will face the winner of the Republican primary, in which the candidates are Michael Sullivan, a former United States attorney; Gabriel Gomez, a businessman and former member of the Navy SEALs; and Dan Winslow, a state legislator.