Update: According to The Boston Globe, Martha Coakley called Charlie Baker at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday to concede defeat in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race.
In an open letter to University of Massachusetts students, Democratic candidate for governor Martha Coakley did not underestimate how much of a nail-biter the 2014 election would be.
“Every single vote will matter in this election,” said Coakley, who has been the Attorney General of Massachusetts since 2007.
“It’s been quite a ride,” said Republican candidate Charlie Baker in a speech at his rally in Swampscott, Mass. around 1:30 a.m.
The lead for governor went back and forth all night as each and every precinct across the Commonwealth reported their results. By 1 a.m. multiple news outlets, including WBUR, Associated Press and CNN called the election in Baker’s favor. By 1:16 a.m., Baker was leading in the tallies with 1,015,612 votes (48.4 percent) to Coakley’s 979,949 votes (46.7 percent), according to WBUR.
These results are not surprising based on recent polls: Baker defeated Coakley in the last four major polls, including a nine-point differential in an October 19 to 21 Boston Globe poll.
However, the Coakley campaign showed no sign of giving in, even with 98.3 percent of precincts reporting.
Globe editor Brian McGrory tweeted at 12:25 a.m. that Coakley strategist Doug Rubin said Coakley wanted all the votes to be counted and had no intention to concede tonight.
Later in the evening Coakley called Baker and told him she planned to wait until the morning.
“That’s the way it should work,” said Baker of Coakley’s decision to wait until all of the results are out in the morning. “She put her heart and her soul and every ounce of energy that she had in that race.”
Once all of the votes are in and if the margin between the two candidates is less than half of one percent, candidates or voter groups can request a recount of the votes in a specific race. If the margin is greater, a candidate or group has to ask for recounts at each individual precinct.
Despite Coakley’s intent to stick this election out, Baker, a native of Needham, Mass., will reunite the GOP and Beacon Hill; the state has had a Republican governorship since 1991, with the exception of Gov. Patrick’s stint from 2007 to present. Baker even received the endorsement of the Boston Globe, which marked the first time that the state’s major newspaper endorsed a Republican in two decades.
Baker will be coming into office with popular support of his stance on casinos. In the lead-up to Tuesday’s election, Baker indicated that he would vote no on Question 3 and that he hoped to start with a casino in Springfield. The people of Massachusetts voted to make no changes regarding the current gaming laws by a wide margin.
On higher education, Baker plans to focus on ways that families can afford college without increasing state spending. Baker’s proposals include accelerated bachelor’s degree programs, expanded online learning options and co-op programs.
If officially declared governor, Baker will be sworn into office and begin serving his four-year term in January 2015.
Anthony Rentsch can be reached at [email protected].
Ed • Nov 7, 2014 at 5:39 am
The more significant thing is that Richard Tisei lost. This is his third consecutive defeat which sorta should mean that his wing of the MassGOP isn’t going to be going anywhere soon….