Will Steve Pagliuca get the Meg Whitman treatment?

As Steve Pagliuca gets his name out to voters with a series of campaign ads, he should probably also take a look at an ad that is currently airing in California.

Former E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman is running for Governor on the left coast, and has run into a bit of trouble thanks to a spotty voting record.  Actually, in Whitman's case spotty would be a huge exaggeration, as the Sacramento Bee found that Whitman hadn't voted AT ALL for 28 years.

The story broke on Thursday, and Whitman didn't help her case during a press conference Saturday. Chris Cillizza can fill you in here, but the voting record has become a MAJOR problem for Whitman over the past few days.  Her opponent is already out with a vicious (and extremely effective) attack ad:



So what does this have to do with Pags and the Massachusetts Senate race?  Well, Pags also has a spotty voting record (albeit much better than Whitman's).  WCVB obtained his voting record a couple of weeks ago, which showed one vote in Newton in 1996, and a handful of votes in Weston since 2000. Pags didn't vote in the 2004 or 2008 Presidential primaries, and apparently doesn't vote in local town elections.  The record since 2000 isn't as compelling as what came before it.  Just one vote in the 90's?

WBZ asked Pags about his voting record on September 17:

"Pagliuca was also asked to explain his spotty voting record. He made no excuses, and said, 'I was wrong. I made a mistake.'"

Fair enough, although it's VERY similar to Whitman's line:

"I did not vote as often as I should. I didn't register as often as I should, and I'm sorry about that and there's no excuse for it."

I expect that this will become a bigger issue for Pags in the weeks ahead.