"Despite a contested governor’s race without an incumbent and a host of downticket races, statewide turnout was listless. Many cities and towns expected ballots from just 15 percent of registered voters.
After I was told yesterday turnout was expected to be moderate.
Some voters voiced dismay at the low turnout, which they said reflected a growing lack of interest in public affairs. “I think sometimes we think the issues don’t affect us or don’t matter to us, but they do, and it’s really important to have your voice be heard,” said Elizabeth Pinto, 25, who voted in Allston."
Except they are not hearing us. They use the vote to validate their election to office no matter the puny turnout. Besides, I'm tired of preselected candidates by corporate controllers.
See: Today's Primary Post
At least someone is a Wynner.
"For governor, it’s Coakley vs. Baker; AG staves off a strong Grossman; Republican sails to nomination" by Michael Levenson and Frank Phillips | Globe Staff September 10, 2014
Martha Coakley captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday in an unnervingly close primary victory over Steve Grossman, on a day that saw restless Democratic voters oust a nine-term congressman and overwhelmingly reject a veteran politico in favor of a newcomer for attorney general.
My printed paragraph says the party establishment was jolted but I see that has been rewritten. Let the games continue.
Coakley, determined to banish lingering doubts from her disastrous 2010 Senate run and become the first woman elected governor in the state, squeezed by Grossman by 6 percentage points, far less than polls and party leaders had predicted.
They almost stole it from her! WOW!
FYI, I voted for Coakley as part of my "Stop Grossman" campaign.
The slim margin will inevitably reinforce questions among Democratic Party officials, activists, and fund-raisers about Coakley’s ability to win the general election in November. She will face a grinding race against Republican nominee Charlie Baker, who handily won his primary over a Tea Party Republican.
If she loses she can blame Grossman.
The night’s most shocking result came in the Sixth District, where an 18-year veteran of the US House, Democrat John F. Tierney, lost a heated primary battle to Seth Moulton, an Iraq war veteran who capitalized on voter disgust with Congressional inaction.
Okay, mostly verbatim there, so WTF?
In another victory for a political outsider running against the establishment, Maura Healey, a newcomer to politics, became the Democratic nominee for attorney general by trouncing longtime party favorite Warren Tolman, who had the support of labor leaders as well as Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
Related:
"Tolman, a former state senator, had strong support from the state’s AFL-CIO, run by his brother Steven. And he won endorsements from Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who had more than 700 volunteers on the streets and on the telephone Tuesday hoping to drive up turnout in neighborhoods expected to go Tolman’s way. Tolman’s deep roots in Massachusetts politics gave him some institutional advantages, but....
That's why he was rejected.
putting Healy in a strong position to become the first openly gay attorney general in the United States."
And I, of all people, voted for her! How's that for blowing up you stereotyped labels?
At least Planned Parenthood and the gay rights groups are happy.
Tierney, too, enjoyed the support of party insiders, including most of his House colleagues and the state’s two US senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey.
I'm then told that "by contrast, the governor's race followed the plot that had been developing for months." How eerie and interesting that would get axed.
The victories by Coakley and Healey, along with wins by Deborah Goldberg in the competitive Democratic primary for state treasurer and incumbent Suzanne Bump in an uncontested primary for state auditor, lay the groundwork for a November election that could send a slate of women to male-dominated Beacon Hill.
But she's been bruised.
In the Democratic race for lieutenant governor, Steve Kerrigan easily defeated two challengers and will run on a ticket with Coakley. She won with 42 percent of the vote to 36 percent for Grossman and 21 percent for Donald Berwick, with nearly all precincts reporting....
The Democratic race, meanwhile, was plagued by a lack of passion from voters accustomed to charismatic candidates like Patrick and Warren, who stirred excitement, raised huge amounts of money, and built large, sophisticated grass-roots field organizations.
Polls indicate Democrats remain happy with Patrick, and his legacy as a skilled campaigner and stirring orator cast a shadow over the three candidates seeking to replace him. All fell far short in their attempts to summon similar emotions from voters.
Yeah, forget the failed legacy as governor. Think DCF, state drug lab, state websites, Bridgewater debacles, meningitis crisis, billion dollar giveaways to well-connected corporations and all the rest. His image that must be built for future office is that of an orator and skilled campaigner.
(At that point Globe reporter drops to knees and unzips trousers)
The turnout Tuesday reflected that. It was expected to one of the lowest on record for Democratic gubernatorial race.
About says it all, doesn't it?
--more--"
Where I didn't vote:
"Seth Moulton upends US Rep. John Tierney" by Stephanie Ebbert and Kathy McCabe | Globe Staff September 10, 2014
SALEM — Seth Moulton, a Harvard Business School graduate and Marine veteran, on Tuesday became the first Massachusetts Democrat in 22 years to oust a sitting congressman from his own party, decisively defeating embattled nine-term Representative John F. Tierney and setting the stage for an unpredictable general election in November.
Tierney, the veteran North Shore congressman, has been politically vulnerable since 2010 when his wife, Patrice, was convicted on federal tax charges in connection with her brothers’ illegal offshore betting operation. But after twice prevailing against Republican challengers, he was felled in Tuesday’s primary by a fellow Democrat who appealed to voters’ frustration with intransigence in Washington and made a compelling case for change.
Moulton, 35, appealed to voters with an unusual biography: Raised in Marblehead by antiwar liberals, he went on to become a Marine captain who served four tours in Iraq after graduating from Harvard College with a degree in physics.
Interesting. He's been trained to lead by the most elite institutions, but he certainly must know those WTC towers -- all three of them -- couldn't collapse the way they did simply by jet fuel fires (one not even hit by a jet). It's an immutable law of physics.
Moulton also earned degrees from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and business school.
His list of high-profile supporters include former presidential adviser David Gergen and retired generals David H. Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal, who helped him raise $1.6 million during his first campaign.
Not exactly the perfect candidate for the antiwar, leftist liberal Democrat crowd of Massachusetts, is it?
Related: Young candidates can fix a broken system
Congress’s problem isn’t a lack of newcomers
Sorry, Barney.
It has been 18 years since any congressional incumbent in Massachusetts was voted out of office in a general election. In 1996, it was Tierney himself who in the general election ousted Republican Representative Peter Torkildsen.
That same year, James P. McGovern defeated Republican Representative Peter Blute.
Wow, we used to have Republican representatives?
Tierney, 62, enlisted the backing of party leaders including Senator Elizabeth Warren and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who in recent weeks lent their heft to advertising, fund-raising, and get-out-the-vote efforts aimed at igniting the Democratic base.
What does the FAILURE tell you ladies?
Tierney issued a brief concession speech shortly before 9:30 p.m., thanking his family, particularly his wife, for their love and support.
“I’m proud of the work that we’ve done in Congress,” Tierney said. “This was just an amazing 18 years.”
And a great party at taxpayer expense (that will continue with generous lifetime health and pension benefits and a nice desk at a lobbying firm). He suffered a spate of negative publicity in recent years, but the Globe "did not dredge up the family controversy that has dogged the Tierneys."
“I just think we need to get new blood in there,” said 86-year-old Elizabeth O’Connor, a Lynn Democrat who voted in the basement of St. Pius V Catholic Church. “I thought it’s time to give somebody younger a chance.”
Has to be the right kind of new blood, one that puts America and Americans first, not corporations and Israel.
Then let the rewrites begin.
I guess the opinions of John O'Callaghan, Dennis Cashman, GE worker Ted "Sap" Sweeney (they no longer bring good things to life despite all the government dough) or the fact that TURNOUT APPEARED LOW.
--more--"
Related: Monday Moult Down For Massachusetts Democrats
Other takes on it all.
Also see:
Marian Ryan retains seat as Middlesex DA
Former council member Arroyo claims win over Campatelli
R.I. Democrats pick Raimondo for governor
In N.H., Scott Brown wins Senate bid
Thought he already did.
I also see the Ray Rice scandal has taken out a candidate in Nebraska.
