Reporter falls, clashes with aide while trying to question Democrat seeking Kennedy’s old seat

more images

more images

Reporter stumbles chasing hopeful for Kennedy seat

BOSTON — A reporter trying to question the Democrat seeking to replace Edward Kennedy in the Senate has been involved in a scuffle with one of her aides.

John McCormack of the Weekly Standard fell Tuesday night near Attorney General Martha Coakley. He was audiotaping her while trying to pass a metal grate on a Washington sidewalk.

Photos and video show Coakely aide Michael Meehan trying to help McCormack up.

A scuffle broke out as Meehan tried to block McCormack and determine whether he was an operative of a rival campaign. Coakley is shown ignoring McCormack.

The Washington trip is being criticized because Coakley is seeking money from lobbyists as polls show a tightening race.

Also seeking the seat are Republican Scott Brown and independent Joseph L. Kennedy, who’s unrelated to the late senator.

(This version CORRECTS that the reporter was making an audio tape, not a video tape.)