Article By: Matt McQuaid

With the special election for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s seat only a week away, campaign activities have been kicking into high gear. There are four candidates running in the Democratic Primary for the Senate Seat: Attorney General Martha Coakley, Representative Michael Capuano, businessman Steve Pagliuca and City Year Founder Alan Khazei. The Suffolk Democrats have chosen to endorse Michael Capuano.

“We basically listened to [representatives from the Democratic Campaigns] and we decided that we were ultimately going to endorse Michael Capuano. We were lucky enough to have him come to Suffolk and have him speak two weeks ago, and now we’re just gearing up for the primary on Dec. 8,” said Suffolk Democrats President Kristen Diamond. “We’re going to be doing a lot of get-out-the-vote work over the next week.”

The decision to choose Capuano was made after careful consideration by the SU Dems. “After hearing all the candidates speak, we really thought that Mike spoke to us the most, he was the most qualified candidate, the most experienced with being in the house over the years. Basically his voting record spoke to us. He voted against the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, and we felt as though those were two strong stances,” said Diamond. “He’d be someone of his own mind, not just another person in congress. We thought we would support him because he would be the best candidate for the job and he would be able to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat.”

The Suffolk Democrats have been coming out in full force to do everything they can to help Capuano to win the primary, as the winner of the primary on the Dec. 8 will most likely be the successor to Kennedy’s seat, considering Massachusetts is a Democratic stronghold. Diamond emphasized the efforts the SU Dems have employed on Capuano’s behalf, stating, “We hosted an open mic night at Suffolk, we phone-banked for him, had a few meetings on Beacon Hill. We’ve had some members working at the headquarters office in Cambridge helping out there, getting out the vote effort. This week we’ll continue to do that, and we’ll be working hard at the polls on election day.”