For the first time in 20 years, the voters of Massachusetts last night elected a Democratic governor. Last night, after several months of fierce campaigning, Republican Kerry Healey conceded defeat to Democrat Deval Patrick in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. Healey made her concession early, admitting defeat at approximately 9:24 p.m. "I am here tonight to say quite sincerely that I want to extend my congratulations to Deval Patrick for his great victory this evening," she told the people of Massachusetts in a live broadcast. After a race that guaranteed the election of either the first female or African American governor in the state's history, Healey acknowledged the shattering of prior molds. "Barriers have been broken and we should all be extremely grateful for that," she said. Similar history was made when Democrat Martha Coakley was elected last night as the first female attorney general in Massachusetts history. According to Massachusetts Democrats, Patrick's election represents a big step in the right direction. "I think it's a great step forward," state Representative Carl Sciortino (LA '00), told the Daily. "Deval represents hope and optimism and bringing people back into the Democratic process." Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Mitch Robinson, who served as the college coordinator for the Patrick campaign up until the Democratic primary, expanded on this statement. "I think it is a historic today not only because it represents the first ever governor of Massachusetts [that is] African American, but also because it represents a true change and a true sense of hope in Massachusetts," he told the Daily. Republicans too feel that the desire for change resulted in Patrick's election. "While Healey was with the majority on all the important issues, the desire of the people of Massachusetts to see change could not be overcome," sophomore Daniel Hartman, who volunteered for Healey's campaign, wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. This desire resounded in the votes of Massachusetts citizens who overwhelmingly pulled the Democratic lever in the booths yesterday. All 10 U.S. Representatives from the state are still Democrats, and Senator Ted Kennedy easily won reelection. Still, many Republicans still remain cautiously optimistic. "Even from a Democrat, I think there's still hope ... that the state can come around," Republican and Tufts alumna Samiyah Diaz told the Daily. "I did pray for Kerry Healey, but maybe this is going to be change for the better," Diaz (LA '99), who mounted an unsuccessful state Senate bid, said. According to many observers, the same sentiments that brought about the first Democratic governor since Michael Dukakis left office in 1991 led voters nationwide to vote for Democrats. "I think people are sick of politics as usual and are hopeful for change and I think that's true at both the national and state level," David Jordan, a spokesperson for Democratic state Senator Pat Jehlen, told the Daily. Although last night marked the culmination of a Healey campaign that was on a losing trajectory for months, she did receive praise last night. "Well, we may not be happy about tonight's election, but we can be very proud about Kerry Healey's record of accomplishment," Governor Mitt Romney said before Healey's concession announcement. "She's served with dignity and with grace, and she has worked tirelessly. In my opinion she's the best lieutenant governor in the entire country." Even so, there was a great deal of disappointment among many Republicans. "If there's anyone hungry, there plenty of food at the Kerry Healey headquarters tonight," Political Science lecturer Michael Goldman told the Daily. Her decision to get the announcement out of the way early, though, was not lost on Democrats. "The biggest thing about politics is that no matter how nasty the campaign is, it's comforting to no that at some point, we understand that we're not running for office for negative reasons, but we're running for office for positive reasons," Robinson said. "I do appreciate Kerry Healey's maturity in doing that." While most of the reactions to the election focused on the big picture, there still is a lot of anticipation among voters and politicians for concrete changes in the near future, especially in Somerville, where Patrick's election has been highly anticipated by the city's leadership. "I think it means investing more in our public education system, more resources for cities and towns, and a more balanced future as well as a better partnership with the legislature," Jordan said. For now, though, the most important step for state and national politicians might be a return to relatively normal conditions after a tooth-and-nail election. "It's got to be back to business now," Diaz said. James Bologna contributed reporting to this article.
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