“Barack Obama is going to win Massachusetts. So that’s good for her, but it is not enough to guarantee her a win. That’s going to help her but that’s not going to close it for her,” Democratic political consultant Mary Anne Marsh said.
Indeed, Obama may predict such a wide margin of victory in Massachusetts that he will not spend time campaigning here, and therefore avoid directly aiding Warren.
“Given the fact that Obama is a shoo-in for winning Massachusetts, it seems to me that, unusual as it is, both Warren and Brown will have to play the turnout game even though its a presidential year,” Kennedy School of Government lecturer M. Marty Linsky said.
Analysts say Warren’s effect on Obama may be more difficult to calculate in the long run, as it translates less clearly into tangible support.
“If he wins and she wins they’re going to be lifetime buddies, and what she says now is about her winning not about their relationship,” Linsky said.
—Staff writer Nicholas P. Fandos can be reached at nicholasfandos@college.harvard.edu.