Kennedy, Bielat to Square Off in Wellesley College Debate

Candidates for the Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District seat will participate in their third debate tonight.

The race for the Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District seat will take another step forward tonight as the candidates take part in a debate at Wellesley College. Democrat Joe Kennedy III and Republican Sean Bielat will participate in the Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Wellesley College. This is the third debate between the candidates, who seek to replace longtime Democratic Congressman Barney Frank. Both Bielat and Kennedy have participated in a live chat on Patch, and the two candidates will appear once more after tonight in a televised debate Oct. 24 broadcast live on WFXT-TV. Tonight’s debate will take place in Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall on the Wellesley College …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: Oct. 4

What did you think of the first debate?

1. Last night was historic, and I'm not talking about the debate. Can you guess why? 2. How did you like the debate? Who do you think won? 3. The new Boloco will serve free burritos today between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., according to a tweets from @BolocoCEO last night. 4. Did you attend Jackson Madnick's lawn seminar last night at the library? 5. Follow us on Twitter!

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Shannon O'Brien: 'Make Or Break Night for Mitt Romney'

Democrat who debated Romney in 2002 says Barack Obama must be on his toes tonight.

  Mitt Romney's been down in the polls before, says Shannon O'Brien, the former Massachusetts state treasurer who battled him for governor in 2002. "I've seen him turn things around." O'Brien is referring to their 2002 debate, which was seen as a springboard for the millionaire businessman. Romney has since sparred in numerous GOP debates, in 2008 and 2012, and has smoothed out some of that stiff Romney from yesteryear, she says in an interview with Patch. His is a familiar strategy, says O'Brien, who now owns a consulting business in Boston:  Those punch lines she refers to are the supposed "zingers" Romney is reported to have rehearsed over the past month. How many will he fire off? And how well will the sitting president fend them off? …

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US Senate Debate: Candidates Wrangle over Character and Partisanship

Sen. Scott Brown and challenger Elizabeth Warren faced off in Lowell for round two of their debates.

  With polls showing a neck-and-neck race for Massachusetts' U.S. Senate seat, Republican Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren came with claws sharpened to their second debate Monday night at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. The debate, moderated by NBC's David Gregory, lasted about an hour. Even with its scattered punches and zings, the debate may not be a game changer. It was generally predictable and lacking much about specific national issues, and Gregory spent most of the time asking about character attacks. Gregory started the debate with the glaring question about Warren's heritage. Warren claims to have Native American ancestry, but proof of that ancestry has not been presented. This has created a firestorm for …

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GOP Congressional Candidates Talk Entitlement Programs, The Economy, Foreign Policy

Sean Bielat, Elizabeth Childs and David Steinhoff squared off during a debate in Attleboro Monday night. They'll be debating again in Easton tonight.

Fourth Congressional District Republican candidates squared off Monday night in front of a packed lecture hall at Bristol Community College's Attleboro campus to debate issues ranging from Social Security and Medicare, foreign policy, taxes, and the economy. Candidates Sean Bielat (R-Norfolk), Elizabeth Childs (R-Brookline) and David Steinhof (R-Fall River) took questions from a panel of local media representatives, including Bob Folcik of WVBF Radio in Taunton, George Calajezzi of WSAR in Fall River, Jim Hand of the Sun Chronicle and Jonathan Friedman of Patch in an event that was sponsored by The South Coast GOP and the Republican Women of Bristol/Norfolk County. Jack Lank, president of the United Regional Chamber of Commerce, was the …

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