One way Governor Mitt Romney is likely to pressure the legislature to adopt his ambitious budget program is by threatening to recruit Republican candidates to run for the Democrat-dominated legislature (see " Party Boy, " News and Features, February 28). The Boston Globe reported Saturday that State Senator Therese Murray of Plymouth, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, was among those targeted for electoral challenge.

Officially, Republicans are backing away from the story. " Targeting specific incumbents at this point is extremely premature, but the next few months could really shape the debate for next year’s elections, " says Dominick Ianno, the executive director of the state Republican Party. Romney himself tossed cold water on the subject during a Republican caucus Tuesday, telling GOP legislators, " We don’t know where that came from. "

That said, Murray’s name did not simply come out of the ether. It’s common knowledge in political circles that the state Republican Party has, during the past couple of months, conducted a study to determine which Democratic Senate districts are most ripe for the taking. These districts included not only Murray’s, but also those of Robert O’Leary of Barnstable, Pam Resor of Acton, Steve Baddour of Methuen, and Cheryl Jacques of Needham. The inclusion of Jacques, who ran a spirited campaign in 2001 to represent the Ninth Congressional District in Washington, may seem surprising, but makes sense in light of the Republican and unenrolled cast of her suburban district. (Jacques swept to office in 1992 by beating then–Republican minority leader David Locke.)

Asked about Republican plans, Murray said she was nonplussed, and that the state’s budget problems are currently absorbing her attention. " I’m targeted every two years, " she says. " I always have a Republican opponent. I can’t worry about it. It’s not the time. "