Election Day Winners & Losers

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Politics Team

GoLocalWorcester breaks down the state races and ballot questions for the biggest winners and losers.

Presidential Race

President Barack Obama has been re-elected President of the United defeating Republican challenger former Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. He has won with at least 290 electoral college votes.

The election was highly-contested, with polling show virtual ties nationally and in many swing states right up until Election Day. The campaigns worked tirelessly to both energize their respective bases and sway still undecided voters up until the very last moment in swing states, or states that could have still tilted towards either candidate. Both campaigns and political pundits on both sides continued to state publicly that they liked their chances as people began to cast their ballots.

President Obama had a clear lead in most polls through both conventions, but after his lackluster performance in the first Presidential Debate, Romney closed the gap, and from then on made the race practically a dead heat.

Massachusetts Senate Race

Consumer advocate and political newcomer Elizabeth Warren emerged victorious from the highly-contested Massachusetts Senate race, defeating Republican Senator Scott Brown in the fight for the late Ted Kennedy's seat in Washington. Warren, a law school professor at Harvard, will be the first woman to represent the Commonwealth in the Senate.

The race between Brown and Warren was the most expensive in Massachusetts history, with the candidates spending a combined $68 million by mid-October.

The contest was also notable for the "People's Pledge" the two candiadtes signed early this year, which prohibited spending by third-party groups on television, radio, print and web ads that supported or opposed either candidate.

2nd Worcester State Senate Race

Democratic State Senator Michael O. Moore is headed back to Beacon Hill for a third term after Republican challenger Steve Simonian conceded.

Moore, a Millbury native, has held the 2nd Worcester Senate District seat since his winning run in the November 2008 election. The district represents the towns of Auburn, Grafton, Leicester and Millbury, as well as portions of Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Upton and Worcester.

14th Worcester District State Representative Race

Democratic State Rep. James O'Day will represent the constiuents of Worcester's 14th District for another two years, after winning reelection in the three-way race against Republican Bill McCarthy and Independent Winthrop Handy.

This year marks the first time O'Day was challenged for the seat after winning a 2007 special election in the district, composed of the town of West Boylston and part of the City of Worcester.

15th Worcester District State Representative Race

Democrat Mary Keefe has come out on top in the race for State Representative in Worcester's 15th District.

Keefe defeated Republican Brian O'Malley, and she will take the open seat of former Rep. Vincent Pedone, who resigned his office in January, to represent the city's first minority-majority district on Beacon Hill. The 15th and 16th Districts are the only two in the area that consist entirely of the City of Worcester proper.

The progressive community organizer emerged victorious from a heated five-way Democratic primary in September where she bested School Committee member Dianna Biancheria, City Councilor Kate Toomey, local businessman Frank Beshai and apprentice plumber Ralph Perez.

Ballot Question 1

Massachusetts voters have approved Question 1, the Availability of Motor Vehicle Repair Information Law, that prohibits manufacturers from selling or leasing new motor vehicles without allowing the owner to have access to the same diagnostic and repair information made available to the manufacturer's dealers or in-state authorized repair facilities starting with the 2015 model year.

Under the law, electronic access to the diagnostic and repair information has to be provided to owners or designated independent repair facilities on a subscription basis and at fair market value. For vehicle from model years 2002 through 2014, manufacturers will be required to make the same information, as well as any diagnostic repair tools, available for purchase by vehicle owners or independent repair facilities.

The law goes into effect January 1, 2013.

Ballot Question 2

Massachusetts Voters have shot down Question 2, a ballot initiative that would have physicians to prescribe end of life medication at the request of terminally ill patients.

The Prescribing Medication to End Life ballot measure, if it had been approved, would have provided patients with the option of self-administering a prescription that would cause a humane death if they are deemed mentally capable, have been diagnosed with an incurable or irreversible disease that will cause death within six months and who have voluntarily expressed a wish to die.

The proposed statute was similar to death-with-dignity laws that have been passed in Washington and Oregon recent years, as well as many others that have been defeated in other states.

Ballot Question 3

Massachusetts voters have approved Question 3, a ballot initiative that removes state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients.
Patients diagnosed with debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and many others will be permitted to possess up to a 60-day supply of marijuana for personal medical use.

In addition, non-profit medical marijuana treatment centers will be permitted to grow, process and provided marijuana to patients and registered caregivers. The amount will be determined by Massachusetts' Department of Public Health.

A maximum of 35 treatment centers could be established in 2013, with at least one but no more than five in each of the state's counties. The number of treatment centers could later be modified in future years by the Department of Public Health.