CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) - It was a reception befitting a rock star—or a Kennedy in Massachusetts. Backers clapped and cheered as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy climbed out of a dark blue Chevy Suburban in the parking lot of Skip's Diner and shook hands with a throng of well-wishers, including the mayor of a neighboring town. As the diner's doors opened and Kennedy walked in, the crowd broke into applause.
"I think it's an honor to have the senator in our establishment," owner Fred Gefteas said solemnly.
Earlier that same day, Kennedy's Republican challenger, Kenneth Chase, stood alone on a sidewalk outside a Dunkin' Donuts in Belmont. Holding a stack of campaign pamphlets, he introduced himself to the customers.
"Hi, I'm Ken Chase. I'm running for Senate," he said. Most seem unaware of the Senate contest, or even the fact that Kennedy has an opponent.
That's the slice of humble pie when you're running against the brother of a president, the last son of an Irish-American political dynasty in Massachusetts and a Democratic stalwart with a stack of laws that carry his name.
Even Republican campaign strategist Todd Domke says Chase has no shot at toppling one of the nation's longest-serving senators.
"I think in bizarro world, (Chase) could win," Domke said. "And while Massachusetts politics often seem bizarre, I don't think we've reached the point where anyone could argue that Chase can possibly win."
Democratic campaign strategist and former Al Gore spokesman Doug Hattaway characterized the contest as "a lion against a mouse who roared."
A relentlessly earnest man, Chase is tall, wears rimless eyeglasses and has the bearing of a Presbyterian minister. The owner of a string of foreign language schools, he readily acknowledged he is the longest of long shots.
"I don't think about the odds. I think about what is right," Chase said. "As a Republican in Massachusetts, you always feel like you're staring up at a mountain."
That feeling is well-founded. Only 12.7 percent of Massachusetts' 3.9 million voters are registered Republicans. Democrats amount to 37 percent of registered voters, and unaffiliated voters account for nearly half.
Kennedy has won re-election seven times since he first won a 1962 special election to fill the Senate vacancy created when his brother, John, became president. His closest challenge came more than a decade ago when he beat Mitt Romney in 1994 by 16 percentage points.
With the Massachusetts governor's race dominating news coverage, many people are unaware of the Senate race. Carolyn Weavers, 65, of Waltham, said she votes in every election but didn't realize Kennedy had an opponent.
"What's his name?" Weavers asked. She added that she was not surprised Kennedy would run for an eighth full term in office: "That's his life."
Chase argued that Kennedy's longevity in the Senate is strong evidence that term limits are required.
"These people will never give up power. It's too addictive. Teddy's living proof of that. Power is addictive, but it has a corrosive effect on the policy that comes out of Washington," Chase said.
He said the United States' most serious problem is its dependence on foreign oil and he blamed that dependence for the war in Iraq. He criticized Kennedy for "obstructing" alternative energy initiatives involving wind power, nuclear power, clean coal and oil exploration offshore and in Alaska.
Chase, who recently joined the Minutemen vigilante border patrol and spent five days on Arizona's Mexican border, also slammed Kennedy for supporting a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
The most recent Federal Election Commission reports show Kennedy has $10.1 million in his Senate campaign account. Chase has $638,000.
Domke, who ran an imaginative but ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Kennedy for Republican Ray Shamie in 1982, says there is a bit more to Kennedy's dominance than money.
"He's almost seen as a natural resource in this state," said Domke, who characterized Kennedy as a knee-jerk liberal—an image that has made him a familiar target of late-night TV comedians.
"You see it throughout the culture," Domke said. "And yet to a younger generation, that makes him harmless in a way. More like a crazy uncle in the attic."
Kennedy said his campaigns through the state every six years are an opportunity to take the electorate's pulse.
"I find when I travel around, it's very informative and helpful. People ask me questions about my positions on different issues, but I also learn a lot about what's happening, what's going on, what people are thinking, what are their concerns," he said.
If he wins this year, Kennedy would be 80 at the end of his term. Despite his chronic bad back, he said he has been "blessed with good health" and tries to swim each morning.
"I sort of laugh and say I'm going to stay in the Senate until I get the hang of it," he said.
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On the Net:
Kennedy campaign: http://www.tedkennedy.com/
Chase campaign: http://www.chaseforsenate.com/
