"There are a few that have strayed, but I think they'll regret it in the end" says John Tierney, who is running for Congress against Rep. Peter Torkildsen (R-Danvers) this fall.

Labor Relations

Democratic politicians are not the only liberals who have abandoned the Kerry ship.

While many labor organizations in the state have supported Kerry out of loyalty to the Democratic party, some renegade union leaders are looking beyond traditional commitments.

Dommenic Bozzotto, president of Local 26 of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, is a life-long Democrat who endorsed Kerry in his 1990 race against James Rappaport but now expresses frustration with the senator.

"He's been in office 12 years, and the nicest way to put it is that he's been aloof," Bozzotto says.

Citing Kerry's support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and tax hikes, Bozzotto says Kerry has lost touch with working-class Americans.

Weld's commitment to fiscal conservatism and a scaled-back government bureaucracy matches the desires of Local 26 most closely, Bozzotto says.

"They see him as a common-sense guy," Bozzotto says.

Bozzotto says he hopes the Democratic party can remold itself around the ideals of Kennedy and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.).

"There's no way to repay Ted Kennedy for what he's done for this union," Bozzotto says. "He's a real Democrat."

Bozzotto endorsed Weld in his 1994 gubernatorial contest against state Rep. Mark Roosevelt '78 but says the former Adams House resident is the first Republican for whom he has voted.

Members of other unions, like Bozzotto, are not enamored of Kerry, but, unlike Bozzotto, they plan to remain committed to the Democratic party.

"We're going to hold our noses and vote for Kerry and Clinton," says Dennis LiBerge, Lynn captain of Local 26 of the Carpenters Union.

And LiBerge is bitter that labor leaders like Bozzotto have crossed party lines.