Rappaport Will Face Kerry

BOSTON--Handily dealing with the only remaining obstacle between him and a general election fight with Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, moderate James W. Rappaport bested the more conservative Daniel W. Daly '65 in the Republican primary yesterday.

According to a late tabulation by Channel 4, Massachusetts Republicans sided with Rappaport, a 34-year old real-estate magnate, by a 67 percent to 33 percent margin.

It shouldn't take too much time for Rappaport to shift into gear for the general election; he spent much of his primary campaign attacking Kerry.

And even as he proclaimed victory against Daly, Rappaport took some swipes at the popular Democrat.

"If we don't make a change now, we face six more years of John Kerry," said the candidate, dressed in a pinstripe suit and an ear-to-ear grin.

Rappaport also tried to take advantage of Gov. Michael S. Dukakis's Unpopularity to score points against Kerry, calling the senator "Mike Dukakis's ambassador to Washington."

"Kerry and Dukakis were elected as a team... They think like a team... They are philosophical Siamese twins," he said.

Rappaport's advisors said they anticipated a rough fight against the incumbent senator. "Based on John Kerry's record, I guess he will use every smear possible," said Gary McMillan, Rappaport's press secretary.

"One of his minions stood up and called Jim a pit bull," said McMillan. "A pit bull."

The Money Connection

Shortly after delivering his victory speech, Rappaport took a congratulatory call from Daly.

Daly came out in support of the man who just beat him, but expressed reservations about the role of money in the campaign.

"We ran out of money and couldn't do the campaigning he did," a surprisingly upbeat Daly said in an interview. Daly, a Boston business leader and decorated Vietnam veteran, was outspent by Rappaport by more than three to one.

When asked if he was troubled by the overwhelming power of money in the campaign, Daly acknowledged that "it causes me some concern." But he promised to support the entire Republican ticket in November.

Rappaport favors the death penalty, rules out any new taxes and favors a cut in the capital gains tax. He co-chaired the Citizens for Limited Taxation dinner in 1989.

The main difference between Rappaport and Daly was their stances on abortion. Rappaport is pro-choice while Daly supports legalized abortion only in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the mother's life.