It appears Republican Charlie Baker will be the next governor of Massachusetts, beating Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley. Baker gave what was short of a victory speech in the early morning hours Wednesday.Speaking to a crowd in Boston early Wednesday Baker said he spoke with Coakley who had left her campaign headquarters without conceding Tuesday night.
“I’m perfectly fine with giving her until the morning to see the results come in,” Baker said early Wednesday to jeers from the crowd.
“That’s the way it works folks and that’s the way it should work,” he continued, this time followed by cheers.
With 98 percent of the precincts reporting Baker held a lead of about 1.6 percent. Jim Bronson chairs the Berkshire GOP.
“Winning by one vote is just as good as winning by a million,” Bronson said early Wednesday after most media outlets had declared Baker the winner. “The point is Massachusetts has decided to move in a different direction and elect Charlie Baker governor and that’s just tremendous.”
Democratic Governor Deval Patrick did not seek a third term.
Aside from the governors’ race, voters in Massachusetts went with the Democrats running for other statewide offices.
With Martha Coakley running for governor, Democrat Maura Healey soundly defeated Republican John Miller in the attorney general’s race. Deb Goldberg bested the GOP’s Mike Heffernan for Treasurer after Steve Grossman’s failed gubernatorial bid. Auditor Suzanne Bump will serve a second term beating Republican Patricia Saint-Aubin. In office since 1995, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin beat Republican Dave D’Arcangelo.
Democratic State Representative Tricia-Farley Bouvier of Pittsfield ran unopposed.
“There wasn’t expected battles in those races,” Farley-Bouvier said Tuesday night. “Our focus was certainly on the governors’ race. That’s where we put the great deal of our emphasis.”
Massachusetts voters also decided four ballot questions on Tuesday’s ballot.
On Question 1 voters eliminated a new law linking future increases in the gas tax to inflation. Nearly 75 percent of voters said no to placing five-cent deposits on non-carbonated beverage containers. Jenny Gitlitz supported the bottle bill expansion in Question 2.
“I think that we have to regroup in the next year and decide what our next move will be,” Gitlitz said. “We remain committed to recycling, not just of beverage containers, but of all materials.”
Voting no on Question 3, people soundly rejected a ban on Las Vegas-style gambling allowing casino projects to move forward in Springfield and eastern Massachusetts. And on Question 4, voters decided Massachusetts workers should be entitled to paid sick time.
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