Responding to a recent poll showing presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's lead over presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in Massachusetts narrowing, Jeff [img_assist|nid=168|title=Jeff Beatty (R)|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=99|height=180]Beatty, the Republican challenging U.S. Sen. John Kerry, predicted victory in both his race and for McCain in Massachusetts.

A 7News/Suffolk University poll released Monday showed Obama (Ill.) with a nine-point lead over McCain (Ariz.) - 47 percent to 38 percent. The last 7News/Suffolk University poll, released a month and a half ago, showed Obama leading McCain by 23 points, 53 percent to 30 percent.

"People see him for what he is," Beatty told PolitickerMA.com referring to Obama. "Obama is shallow. He's an empty suit. He doesn't have the relevant experience to work the country out of its problems and John McCain does. I've been advocating an action policy to solve these problems and that's resonating with voters. That's why I'll say McCain is going to carry Massachusetts and I'm going to beat John Kerry."

The Beatty camp contends that McCain is gaining ground in Massachusetts because Bay State voters are not comfortable voting for Obama. Obama's recent shifts in position on energy policy, they say, have raised doubts about where Obama stands. At the same time, they say, McCain's brand remains strong among unenrolled voters in Massachusetts.

Beatty said Massachusetts voters may be reluctant to support a candidate about whom they know little after Gov. Deval Patrick's (D-Milton) missteps after he first took office.

"It's a function of knowing your voters," Beatty said, "being out there and listening to them. They've seen this movie before; it was John Kerry and Deval Patrick the first time it came out. They don't' want to see the John Kerry and Barack Obama version of the movie."

This isn't the first time Beatty has predicted McCain would win Massachusetts. In an interview with PolitickerMA.com on July 22, Beatty said if McCain picked former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) to be his vice presidential candidate, he would carry Massachusetts. 

Ultimately, Beatty said he is seeing the momentum turning in the GOP's favor.

"I believe that John McCain will win the 12 electoral votes of the commonwealth of Massachusetts," he said. "What you saw in the poll yesterday, that's a tremendous swing."