Go for it Jim! Kerry’s negatives are in the 40s in Massachusetts. He lost a lot of popularity after losing the Presidential race. He could be vulnerable and Ogonowski has already proven himself to be a strong and credible challenger in a Democratic area. He scared the pants off of Niki Tsongas last year when he came close to beating her in a district she should have easily won.

A day after announcing he is mulling a run for the US Senate this year, Republican Jim Ogonowski criticized incumbent Democratic Senator John F. Kerry as a Washington insider who is out of touch with average Massachusetts residents.

“We need someone who represents the working-class people of Massachusetts,” Ogonowski said in a phone interview yesterday. “Kerry doesn’t live here. You don’t see him on the streets of Boston, of Worcester, of Lowell, of Pittsfield.”

Ogonowski, a Dracut farmer and retired military officer who lost a close race for Congress last fall in his political debut, said party leaders and activists in Massachusetts have urged him to challenge the Democratic incumbent and 2004 presidential nominee. Ogonowski said he is “strongly considering” entering the race and will decide on his candidacy in the next two weeks.

The Boston Globe