SalemNews.com : Blogs : The Full Nelson

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and state Reps. Mary Grant of Beverly, Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead and Joyce Spiliotis of Peabody made it official today: They’re backing Attorney General Martha Coakley for the state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Their endorsements were made public today as part of an annoucement by EMILY’s List and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus. The nod from EMILY’s list is particularly noteworthy as the organization has been a major source of funding for female candidates around the country.
According to the release from the Coakley committee, “Since its founding in 1985, EMILY’s List has worked to elect 80 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 15 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices.”
Coakley would be the first woman to represent Massachusetts in the
U.S. Senate. Her most formidable opponent on the Democratic side is likely to be Congressman Michael Capuano of Somerville who reportedly has the backing of the Kennedy family.