Candidates on Campaign Trail as Poll Shows Dead Heat

On the day a new poll shows the two lead candidates for Massachusetts governor locked in a tie, Democrat Martha Coakley is joined at an event promoting early childhood education by her not so secret weapon, Gov. Deval Patrick.

"I'm really, really excited about Martha Coakley's candidacy," said Patrick. "I think she'll be a great Governor."

Patrick, regarded as one of the state's best ever on the campaign trail, has stood out for his positive brand of politics. But with less than four months left in his governorship, he has shown a willingness to go after Coakley's Republican opponent - one of the men he beat in his 2010 re-election, Charlie Baker.

"He's running a campaign which is a classic, backward-looking campaign about how to favor the people, frankly, who don't need a favor," said Patrick.

Patrick says Baker is taking positions that are diametrically opposed to positions he took in 2010.

Asked for examples, the Coakley campaign cites a "no new taxes" pledge - now, Baker says he won't sign a pledge, though he says he won't raise taxes. They say Baker was against the South Coast Rail, but now he says maybe. Additionally, they say he was against Cape Wind in 2010, but that he now says it's a done deal.

"I know he's got a lot of friends in powerful places, and a lot of friends among you, but it's interesting to me that there's hardly any accountability for that," said Patrick.

"I think the Coakley campaign so far has made it pretty clear to the voters of Massachusetts that they're going to run a negative race," said Baker, campaigning at Polar Tech in Lawrence. "I'm going to run a positive race on my experience and on my record."

As for the latest poll numbers, Baker said, "I think the poll just indicates that voters in Massachusetts, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, are coming our way."

The governor's support of Coakley goes beyond party allegiance or mutual support of Democratic issues. For Patrick, this is also personal.

"She did a very brave thing for me in the first campaign when we were getting attacked ... on crime issues in a very distorted media campaign," said Patrick. "She stepped forward and helped, and I've been very appreciative of that."

Coakley did a TV ad for Patrick in his first 2006 race for governor, supporting his positions on crime.