Massachusetts bucked a rising Republican tide across the nation, electing Democrats to every statewide office and every congressional seat.
Nationally, Republicans seized control of the House and gained ground in the Senate. It was a sobering wakeup call for President Obama. The Wall Street Journal analyzes how the rout was won. The New York Times credits the Tea Party movement, noting a remarkable 4 in 10 voters in exit polls expressed support for the movement.
What will Obama do now? Mitt Romney, writing in The Washington Post, says it’s time for the president to rein in the size of government, while Michelle Malkin tells the “antagonist-in-chief” that the election results mean voters have had enough. “Whatever the final tally, this week’s turnover in Congress is a GOP mandate for legislative pugilism, not peace,” she writes in the National Review.
While the power structure in Washington is in for a big change (goodbye Speaker Nancy Pelosi, hello Speaker John Boehner), locally the status quo prevailed. The same Massachusetts voters who stunned the nation by electing Scott Brown in January decided to stand pat just 10 months later. Gov. Deval Patrick won by drawing strong support from the Boston area and its western suburbs, the state’s other big cities, southeastern Massachusetts, and the western part of the state. Republican Charlie Baker did well north and south of Boston and in central Massachusetts.
The Globe’s Brian Mooney says Gov. Deval Patrick defied political gravity by running a smart campaign, while Republican Charlie Baker never lived up to his dream-candidate potential. CommonWealth contributing writer Dan Kennedy even suggests Patrick’s victory could provide a blueprint for Obama’s reelection strategy two years from now.
Suzanne Bump’s victory in the auditor’s race was perhaps the most remarkable feat of all. She was a Democratic insider seeking to become a watchdog on Democrat-dominated Beacon Hill. Her personal integrity took a hit when the Globe reported that she had taken tax breaks on two primary residences. And she was running against Republican Mary Connaughton, a well-spoken CPA who had already shown she could hang tough on the Turnpike Authority board. In short, Connaughton seemed to be everything a voter could want in an auditor in a solidly Democratic state, but voters rejected her.
They also rejected Republican Karyn Polito for treasurer and Sean Bielat, Jeffrey Perry, Bill Hudak, Jon Golnik, and all the rest of the Republicans in the state’s congressional races. They also rejected a drastic cut in the sales tax (Question 3) and a repeal of the state’s affordable housing law, although they did pass a repeal of the state sales tax on alcohol.
The only bright spot for the Massachusetts Republican Party was that it made some gains in the House. Several Democratic incumbents were ousted, including Paul Kujawski of Webster and Steven D’Amico of Seekonk, best known for his opposition to the state’s film tax credit. Republican numbers dwindled to four in the Senate, as the seat held by Baker’s running mate, Richard Tisei, was won by Rep. Katherine Clark of Melrose. Senate President Therese Murray held on to her seat with 53 percent of the vote.
Barney Frank held on to his congressional seat but lost his House chairmanship. He didn’t seem pleased during his victory speech. Frank said the victories of Patrick and the entire congressional delegation “reaffirmed the complete political irrelevance of the Boston Herald. There is no limit to the bias and vitriol they unleashed.”
“You want to talk irrelevant?” responded Herald columnist Howie Carr. “How about an over-the-hill back bencher whose district is just crying out to be eliminated in the upcoming redistricting?”
In the bizarre category, Kitty Dukakis, wife of the former governor, showed up yesterday in Hingham. As the Patriot Ledger reported, Dukakis was asked to leave three polling places for standing too close to the entrance. What we want to know is what Kitty was doing in Hingham in the first place?
Here are links to other election stories from Massachusetts and around the country:
Massachusetts
Red Mass Group on the governor’s appeal
Cape Cod Times: Sean Gonsalves details why Bill Keating won the 10th Congressional District
Salem News: Bay State bucks the trend again
Springfield Republican analysts discuss mid-evening election results and how Cahill and Stein affected the outcome.
Telegram & Gazette: “Let the video games begin” Massachusetts can become a video game hot spot, says this editorial. Too bad Curt Schilling didn’t stay around to lead off the charge.
Globe story on ballot question results
Patriot Ledger: South Shore voters pass nonbinding referendum to legalize pot.
Patriot Ledger: Cahill has no regrets
Patriot Ledger: Tackey Chan first Asian-American elected to House
Patriot Ledger: Plymouth County voters approve charter commission that could eliminate county government
Patriot Ledger: Rhonda Nyman wins late husband’s state rep seats
Fall River Herald News: Hodgson hangs onto sheriff’s office
New Bedford Standard Times: Republican beats younger Dem brother for gov council seat
Boston Herald: Joe Battenfeld has some advice for the governor
Attleboro Sun Chronicle: Dan Winslow rolls
Attleboro Sun Chronicle: Bill Bowles and Steve D’Amico get rolled
Attleboro Sun Chronicle: Hodgson fends off Quinn in sheriff race
Fitchburg S&E: Legislative incumbents hold, GOP snaps up open seats
Fitchburg S&E: Evangelidis takes Worcester county sheriff
Nationally
Washington Post: Interactive map of winners and losers
The Christian Science Monitor gives a succinct overview of how Sen. Harry Reid survived the Tea Party tide.
Atlantic Live: An obit for the Democratic majority
Slate: Voters can’t really say why they put Republicans back in power
Slate: Live, from Sharron Angle’s bummer of a victory party that wasn’t
Slate: What Boehner learned from Newt – play defense, not offense
(This report was compiled by Michael Jonas, Gabrielle Gurley, Paul McMorrow, Jack Sullivan and Bruce Mohl)