Running as the Republican challenger to incumbent Senator Sal DiDomenico is Barbara Bush, a recently retired computer programmer based in Charlestown. Her campaign platform centers on three core issues: smaller government, lower taxes, and job creation. “When I say that to people people say to me – doesn’t everybody want that?” For Bush, this marks a debut in electoral politics. “I’ve gotten enthusiastic responses in Everett and throughout the district. Many, many people have told me they’re going to vote for me,” she said. Local exposure has come through appearances on Everett Cable. “When people meet me and hear my name they want to know if I’m related to the other Bush family – the ex-president’s family that is,” she said. “It is a name that is good for starting up a conversation.” The impetus to enter the race arose from discovering that no Republican candidate had stepped forward to compete in the district. “It is not such a stretch that I am doing this. In my job for 30 years I had to support various departments and so I learned how to be a team player. I had to know what everyone needed throughout the company. In a way that is like being a politician – listening to what people need and then delivering,” she added. Regarding her prospects in the November 2 election, Bush expresses confidence. “I believe people are very concerned with what is going on, that they don’t like what is going on. The government has gotten too involved in our lives,” she said.
