U.S. Senate Race In MA: Get To Know The Candidates

No Massachusetts state government race has been in the national news recently more than the tussle over Elizabeth Warren's U.S. Senate seat, though not necessarily for its competitive nature.

Warren, a fiery and always-willing sparring partner for President Trump, said in September that she is going to take "a hard look" at running for president in 2020, confirming long-held suspicions. But before she has an opportunity to take on Trump for the White House, she'll need to fend off one of his disciples, Geoff Diehl, to stay in the Senate.

A third candidate, Shiva Ayyadurai, is running as an Independent. Ayyadurai is perhaps best known for claiming he invented email, one of many assorted controversies surrounding him.

A WBUR poll in late September had Warren comfortably ahead of Diehl.

Debates between the two have centered on Trump. Warren has verbally stapled the president to Diehl at every turn, while the challenger has questioned Warren's dedication to Massachusetts, as opposed to Washington.

Here's a brief look at each candidate:

Elizabeth Warren

Warren has, in a way, found a way to bridge the hyper-partisan gap, though she may wish she hadn't. The 69-year-old's recent decision to make DNA test results public, in an apparent effort to discredit Trump's 'Pocahontas' taunts about her claims of Native American ancestry, has been questioned from all ends of the political spectrum. She said during a debate with Diehl that she released them because trust in the government is "at an all-time low."

On a policy level, Warren is known for energetic advocacy on behalf of consumers. She won headlines in 2016 during a Senate Banking Committee hearing when she tore into the CEO of Wells Fargo, who later resigned.

During recent debates, Warren fended off accusations of looking ahead to the White House with a defense of her work for Massachusetts, including working for infrastructure improvements and increased funding for student loan forgiveness. She has cited infrastructure and opioids as primary issues if she is re-elected.

Warren, rarely shy about her progressive views, has got in hot water for some of her most extreme takes. Republicans and some Democrats bristled at her joining the movement to abolish ICE. She also claimed the criminal justice system is "racist front to back," but later tip-toed back from it.

Geoff Diehl

Diehl, 49, campaigns in a big RV with his face pictured on it. In the window is a flyer: "Help Us Retire Liz Warren." He makes no bones about it: Electing him is as much about saying "no" to Warren as "yes" to himself.

Diehl isn't a pot-stirrer in the vein of Trump, but he supports many of the president's policies. A state representative in Plymouth County, he has jumped all over Warren's flirting with a presidential run. "I’ll be focused on Massachusetts," he told The Boston Globe. "I believe our state deserves a full-time senator not a part-time senator, part-time author and part-time presidential candidate."

Diehl is quick to bring up his leadership on the charge to repeal the gas tax linked to inflation that Beacon Hill lawmakers passed in 2013. Diehl led the ballot initiative that repealed the law in 2014.

"My priorities will be fighting the opioid epidemic, helping our veterans, reviving our fishing industry, strengthening public safety, growing the economy and jobs, making health care affordable and accessible, securing our borders and most importantly putting Massachusetts first," he told the Globe.

Shiva Ayyadurai

Ayyadurai emigrated to the U.S. from India and holds four degrees, including a Ph.D. from MIT. Boston Magazine once dubbed Ayyadurai "The Shock Candidate," and for good reason. He appears a loyal subscriber to the "any publicity is good publicity" line of thinking.

In April, he filed a federal lawsuit against Cambridge, accusing the city of violating his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit centered around a campaign bus that was draped in the slogan "Only A Real Indian Can Defeat The Fake Indian."

In July, Ayyadurai was stirring things up outside a Warren event when a 74-year-old man shoved a megaphone back into Ayyadurai's face. Ayyadurai posted the video under his Twitter name, "Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai,PhD (M.I.T.) Inventor of Email"

Ayyadurai has not been invited to U.S. Senate debates due to his low poll numbers. He protested his exclusion from one debate by sitting in front of Warren's SUV.