Wayland's Tom Conroy Undeterred by 'Rock Star' Rival Elizabeth Warren

State Rep. Tom Conroy barely registers in polling of which candidates voters prefer for their U.S. Senator.

But only hours after a Vanity Fair magazine profile of rival Democrat Elizabeth Warren hit the Web, and only days after she reported an astonishing $3.15 million fund-raising debut, Conroy was meeting with the Newton Democratic City Committee.

Yes, the turnout was sparse Wednesday night, the latest in a series of meet-and-greets with potential candidates hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

So Conroy was wise to immediately address what he called "the elephant in the room:" Warren's dominance of the race since she announced her candidacy less than a month ago.

"I'm not at the top of the polls," Conroy said. He readily conceded that Warren is bringing in way more campaign money.

"But it's a long campaign and we've got 11 months to go," said Conroy.

"Sometimes money makes mistakes and doesn't always pick the best candidate," Conroy said, mentioning Martha Coakley, the Democratic Attorney General who was long considered a shoo-in against Brown in the 2010 special election to succeed the late Ted Kennedy. "Early money and early support doesn't always pick the winner."

In making his case for why he would be the best one to beat Brown, Conroy pointed in particular to the fact that he in the only candidate to have both business and legislative experience.

Among the questions he answered and issues he addressed:

• He said his "tipping point" for deciding to go into politics was when he saw corporations exporting jobs. While he admitted he doesn't have an answer to this vexing problem, his starting point for a solution: tax more heavily companies who send jobs overseas, reward those who keep them in the U.S.
• The "Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Boston" movement "feel[s] society is more unfair than it has been in the past," said Conroy, adding that feeling stemmed partly from increased income inequality. "Capitalism and democracy get out of balance. When they are in balance," that's the sweet spot, he said.

Also on Wednesday, Conroy was a guest on Emily Rooney's WGBH TV program, Greater Boston.

and have both dropped out of the Democratic primary race. But Newton's Herb Robinson, Brookline's Alan Khazei and North Shore lawyer Marisa DeFranco remain in race along with Conroy and Warren.