On Tuesday, November 4, residents of the Bay State made their way out to the polls to elect Republican Charlie Baker the next Governor of Massachusetts. Baker defeated rival Democrat Martha Coakley, and will succeed incumbent Deval Patrick on Beacon Hill.
.@marthacoakley has called @charliebaker 8:15 am and congratulated him on winning 2014 gov race #wcvb #mapoli #magov
— Janet Wu (@WuWCVB) November 5, 2014
The Coakley camp dispatched a press release confirming that the Attorney General and leftwing contender called Baker at 8:15 a.m. to congratulate him on his victory.
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At around 1:30 a.m., Baker took the stage at the Seaport Hotel where he told supporters in attendance that “every vote counts” and that he was perfectly fine with the fact that Martha Coakley refused to concede until the last ballot was counted. Despite boos from the crowd, Baker shushed them before thanking them for all of their support.
Further, Bay Staters opted to eliminate gas tax indexing, to not expand the bottle bill and to not repeal casinos.
Democrat Ed Markey will also represent the Commonwealth in the U.S. Senate after beating Republican candidate Brian Herr.
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who won reelection, predicted a startling low voter turnout – 52.5 percent, constituting approximately 2.26 million of the roughly 4.3 million registered voters, according to WBUR. Further, Galvin predicted a turnout less than that of the 2010 election, about 5,000 voters less.
Just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Boston Election Department reported that about 26,765 residents within city limits cast a ballot – about 6.98 percent of registered Boston voters – and were on pace to fulfill Galvin’s prediction. Boston boasts about 383,702 registered voters in total with 255 precincts at over 150 polling locations.
9 AM Turnout is 26,765 Voters or 6.98% of eligible voters in the City of Boston. #bosvote #bospoli #mapoli
— Boston Election Dept (@BostonElections) November 4, 2014
Come noon, that number ballooned to 15.39 percent, or 59,039 registered voters. The statewide estimates were at about 2.3 million at this point, but Boston’s numbers in particular bode well, putting the city on pace to best the 2010 numbers Galvin was less optimistic about eclipsing.
Turnout now AHEAD of 2010, which was 58,388 at noon. Today, 59,039.
— Steve Koczela (@skoczela) November 4, 2014
The 3 p.m. voter tallies showed that Boston continued to make a heavy push at the polls, recording 22.90 percent – 87,850 people.
Boston’s 2014 turnout is +7 over 2010 turnout. #mapoli #bospoli
— Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) November 4, 2014
At 6 p.m., 34.30 percent of Boston voters (131,622 people) had cast a ballot in The Hub.
Polls closed at 8 p.m.
For more background information on both Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley, check out these five key policy differences.