Top Trends and Surprises in the MA General Election
Thursday, November 06, 2014
While many local races in Central Massachusetts were exciting because of close races and upsets, the big ticket race was the Governor’s race, a race that wasn’t decided until the next morning because the margin of votes was too close to call.
“I think the Baker campaign did a great job of targeting everyone that they needed to target to ensure a win,” said Bill McCarthy, Worcester Representative for the MassGOP State Committee. “Baker did a lot of work with independent voters, unions, and other groups that he knew that knew he was going to need to close the gap in to beat Coakley.”
Check out the slideshow below to see some of the biggest trends and surprises during Election Day.
Competitive Governor’s Race
With all the votes reported, Baker’s margin of victory was only a mere 40,000 votes, which was just under a 2-percent lead. As the votes began to come in, some political pundits were even projecting the race could be close enough to warrant a recount.
Although Coakley was projected to be the early favorite in the Governor’s race, she began losing momentum as Election Day inched closer. According to David Kravitz, a blogger with the Blue Mass Group, if it wasn’t for Tom Menino’s death, Massachusetts could have very well have been looking at Coakley as the new governor because the former Boston Mayor’s death came at a time when Coakley began to pick up a little momentum the week before the election.
Compelling Local Races
Central Massachusetts also saw a fair share of excitement, as there were a few races that provided upsets and surprises, including Kate Campanale who narrowly won in Worcester’s 17th District and Stephanie Fattman who won a huge upset for Register of Probate.
Many were surprised by the youth movement that seemed to have hit Worcester, as many younger candidates won election including Campanale (28), Fattman (26), and her husband Ryan Fattman (30) were just some of the younger candidates to win election, something that may change the political landscape of Central Massachusetts moving forward.
“I think experience is extremely important when you’re dealing with the political arena,” Dan Donahue (D), State Representative of Worcester’s 16th District. “Having the experience, having the background, and having different paths through life is very important and it enriches how the city’s decision making process will go. However, politics is always an ever-changing game. Its great to see young people care about the city, who have a passion and desire to get involved in politics and get involved in the decision making process."
Related Slideshow: Top Trends and Surprises in the MA General Election
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