CMassPolitics.com

Hashing it all out

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:54:00 +0000

Since most of my thoughts are posted on my twitter feed these days, I thought I compile a list of hashtags that I use/follow. Let me know if there are other hashtags related to Massachusetts politics that I should add to the list:

#CMass -- Central Massachusetts
#westernma -- Western Massachusetts
#mapoli -- Massachusetts Politics
#bospoli -- Boston Politics
#worcpoli -- Worcester Politics
#magov -- Governor and Candidates for Governor
#masen -- Senator and Candidates for Senate
#maleg -- Massachusetts House and Senate
#ma01 -- Congressional District 1
#ma02 -- Congressional District 2
#ma03 -- Congressional District 3
#ma04 -- Congressional District 4
#ma05 -- Congressional District 5
#ma06 -- Congressional District 6
#Worcester -- Worcester
#Fitchburg -- Fitchburg
#Leominster -- Leominster

2012 Races -- Massachusetts Senate

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Here are the State Senate races and candidates CMassPolitics.com will be following in the 2012 cycle. CMassPolitics.com is most interested in those districts that represent communities in Worcester County and far Northwestern Middlesex County. Websites and twitter feeds are campaign-based, unless otherwise noted. This listing will be updated as changes warrant.

Contested Races
Middlesex and Worcester
Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Dean Cavaretta (R-Stow) website, twitter

Worcester and Middlesex
Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Aaron Arsenault (U-Leominster)

First Worcester
Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Dominick King (R-Worcester)

Second Worcester
Michael Moore (D-Millbury) -- Incumbent website
Stephen Simonian (R-Auburn)

Uncontested Races
Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, and Middlesex: Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) -- Incumbent website
Worcester and Norfolk: Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) -- Incumbent website, twitter

2012 Races -- Massachusetts House

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Here are the State House races and candidates CMassPolitics.com will be following in the 2012 cycle. CMassPolitics.com is most interested in those districts that represent communities in Worcester County and far Northwestern Middlesex County. Websites and twitter feeds are campaign-based, unless otherwise noted. This listing will be updated as changes warrant.

Contested Races
Second Franklin:
Denise Andrews (D-Orange) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Genevieve Fraser (D-Orange) twitter

Third Middlesex:
Kate Hogan (D-Stow) -- Incumbent website
Chuck Kuniewich (R-Hudson) website

Fourth Middlesex
Steven Levy (R-Marlborough) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough) twitter

Eighth Middlesex
Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Martin Lamb (R-Hopkinton) twitter

Fourth Worcester
Dennis Rosa (D-Leominster) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Justin Brooks (R-Leominster) website, twitter

Eighth Worcester:
Kevin Kuros (R-Uxbridge) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Bob Dubois (D-Blackstone) website

15th Worcester -- OPEN SEAT

Dianna Biancheria (D-Worcester)
Ralph Perez (D-Worcester)
Kate Toomey (D-Worcester) website, twitter
Brian O'Malley (R-Worcester) website

18th Worcester
Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Donald Bourque (D-Webster) website, twitter
Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton)* website

* Undeclared, but has raised money during 2011.

Uncontested Races
First Hampden: Todd Smola (R-Palmer) -- Incumbent websiteFirst Middlesex: Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) -- Incumbent website, twitter
37th Middlesex: Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) -- Incumbent website, twitter
First Worcester: Kim Ferguson (R-Holden) -- Incumbent website
Second Worcester: Rich Bastien (R-Gardner) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Third Worcester: Stephen DiNatale (D-Fitchburg) -- Incumbent
Fifth Worcester: Anne Gobi (D-Spencer) -- Incumbent website
Sixth Worcester: Peter Durant (R-Spencer) -- Incumbent website
Seventh Worcester: Paul Frost (R-Auburn) -- Incumbent
Ninth Worcester: George Peterson (R-Grafton) -- Incumbent website
10th Worcester: John Fernandes (D-Milford) -- Incumbent website
11th Worcester: Matt Beaton (R-Shrewsbury) -- Incumbent website, twitter
12th Worcester: Harold Naughton (D-Clinton) -- Incumbent website
13th Worcester: John Mahoney (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent
14th Worcester: Jim O'Day (D-West Boylston) -- Incumbent
16th Worcester: John Fresolo (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent website
17th Worcester: John Binienda (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent

The State House Money Race

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Who has the most money as we look forward to the 2012 elections? Year-end reports were due to OCPF late last month; I've compiled this list of House incumbents and candidates (either publicly announced or campaign committee filed with OCPF). Here are the results (amount listed is cash-on-hand as of December 31, 2011):

Second Franklin
$1,483.77 -- Denise Andrews (D-Orange) -- Incumbent

First Hampden
$20,021.34 Todd Smola (R-Palmer) -- Incumbent

First Middlesex
$2,143.27 -- Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) -- Incumbent

Third Middlesex
$10,033.42 -- Kate Hogan (D-Stow) -- Incumbent

Fourth Middlesex
$15,045.82 Steven Levy (R-Marlborough) -- Incumbent
$1,453,35 -- Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough)

Eighth Middlesex
$11,145.76 -- Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston) -- Incumbent
$7,887.10 -- Martin Lamb (R-Hopkinton)

37th Middlesex
$16,735.88 -- Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) -- Incumbent website, twitter

First Worcester
$12,382.39 -- Kim Ferguson (R-Holden) -- Incumbent

Second Worcester
$3,460.91 -- Rich Bastien (R-Gardner) -- Incumbent

Third Worcester
$40,148.13 -- Stephen DiNatale (D-Fitchburg) -- Incumbent

Fourth Worcester
$20,232.42 -- Dennis Rosa (D-Leominster) -- Incumbent
$3,482.24 -- Justin Brooks (R-Leominster)

Fifth Worcester
$6,427.75 -- Anne Gobi (D-Spencer) -- Incumbent

Sixth Worcester
$5,437.38 -- Peter Durant (R-Spencer) -- Incumbent

Seventh Worcester
$6,042.45 -- Paul Frost (R-Auburn) -- Incumbent

Eighth Worcester
$9,956.62 -- Kevin Kuros (R-Uxbridge) -- Incumbent

Ninth Worcester
$14,246.91 -- George Peterson (R-Grafton) -- Incumbent

10th Worcester
$13,396.14 -- John Fernandes (D-Milford) -- Incumbent

11th Worcester
$6,625.55 -- Matt Beaton (R-Shrewsbury) -- Incumbent

12th Worcester
$12,403.98 -- Harold Naughton (D-Clinton) -- Incumbent

13th Worcester
$6,548.64 -- John Mahoney (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent

14th Worcester
$28,959.94 -- Jim O'Day (D-West Boylston) -- Incumbent

15th Worcester -- OPEN SEAT

$526.59* -- Dianna Biancheria (D-Worcester)
$4,404.70* -- Kate Toomey (D-Worcester)
*Balance in municipal election account.

16th Worcester
$74,639.23 -- John Fresolo (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent

17th Worcester
$402,923.38 -- John Binienda (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent

18th Worcester
$39,951.09 -- Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) -- Incumbent
$1,661,10 -- Donald Bourque (D-Webster)
$13,205.60 -- Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton)

The State Senate Money Race

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Who has the most money as we look forward to the 2012 elections? Year-end reports were due to OCPF this week; I've compiled this list of Senate incumbents and candidates (either publicly announced or campaign committee filed with OCPF). Here are the results (amount listed is cash-on-hand as of December 31, 2011):

State Senate

Middlesex and Worcester
$59,719 -- Jamie Eldridge ( D-Acton) Incumbent
No Report -- Dean Cavaretta (R-Stow)

First Worcester
$145,655 -- Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) Incumbent
No Report -- Dominick King (R-Worcester)

Second Worcester
$46,755 -- Michael Moore (D-Millbury) Incumbent

Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, and Middlesex
$154,820 -- Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) Incumbent

Worcester and Middlesex
$19,519 -- Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) Incumbent
No Report -- Aaron Arsenault (U-Leominster)

Worcester and Norfolk
$97,583 -- Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) -- Incumbent

2012 Races -- U.S. Congress

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Here are the U.S. Congressional races and candidates CMassPolitics.com will be following in the 2012 cycle. CMassPolitics.com is most interested in those districts that represent communities in Worcester County and far Northwestern Middlesex County. Websites and twitter feeds are campaign-based, unless otherwise noted. This listing will be updated as changes warrant.

Contested Races
New District 1 (Old District 2)
Richard Neal (D-Springfield) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Andrea Nucifaro (D-Amherst) website, twitter
Bill Shein (D-Alford) website, twitter

New District 3 (Old District 5)
Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) -- Incumbent website, twitter
Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) website, twitter

District 4 -- OPEN SEAT

Micheal Burstein (D-Brookline) website
Marty Farren (D-Sharon) website, twitter
Paul Heroux (D-Attleboro) website, twitter
Joseph Kennedy III (D-Cambridge) website, twitter
Jules Levine (D-Brookline)
Herb Robinson (D-Newton) website
Sean Bielat (R-Norfolk) website, twitter
Elizabeth Childs (R-Brookline) website

Uncontested Races
New District 2 (Old District 3): James McGovern (D-Worcester) -- Incumbent website, twitter

Retiring
Old District 1: John Olver (D-Amherst) -- Incumbent, Retiring website*, twitter
Old District 4: Barney Frank (D-Newton) -- Incumbent, Retiring website*

*Official U.S. House website, not campaign website.

Five thoughts on the Fitchburg mayor's race

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:03:00 +0000

With just four days until Election Day, the big question is if Mayor Lisa Wong, who is looking to secure her third three-year term, can come back from a very poor showing in the September preliminary election. She finished a distant second-place to Councilor Joseph Solomito, who pulled well over 50% in elimination stage. Here are five thoughts leading up to Tuesday's election:

1. How much does last week's snowstorm help Mayor Wong? I think it could help a lot. Following the 2008 Ice Storm, parts of Fitchburg were without power for nearly two weeks. Wong, along with Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) and Reps. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) and Steve DiNatale (D-Fitchburg), were very vocal advocates for the city in the wake of the storm and put a lot of pressure on Unitil to improve their preparations for future events. While some surrounding areas are still without power as of Friday, Fitchburg was essentially all powered up within three days after the storm. If storm preparation is an issue over the weekend, it will help Wong quite a bit.

2. Will voters accept Wong's argument that austerity was necessary? Councilor Solomito has argued that Wong was wrong in shutting off street lights and cutting other services in order to build up the city's reserve fund, which has reportedly grown from $40,000 four years ago to around $3 million today. Wong's detractors also suggest that the improvement in the city's bond rating (which makes borrowing money cheaper) is the result of factors other than Wong's fiscal conservatism. The mayor's retort is that the city was on such poor financial footing four years ago that extreme measures were necessary to right the ship. It's very easy for voters to relate to the reality that library hours were cut or that their streets are dark at night. If Wong can't get them to believe her argument that those things were necessary to put the city on a stronger financial footing, she loses.

3. Was the preliminary election a sign that Solomito is heading for a landslide, or an indication that Wong didn't worry about the prelims? I think the result had more to do with the latter. The prelim was essentially a waste of time since the third candidate, Kevin Lynch, was more famous (or infamous) for his legal troubles than for his political positions. While I doubt that Wong spent much, if any, effort to get the vote out in September, I think the result probably surprised her and her supporters. My expectation is that Solomito has a lot less room to grow his support than Wong does. That's a double-edged sword for both candidates. On the one hand, I think the Solomito voter is more reliable--I'd guess that a lot of his voters vote in prelims, generals, special elections, you name it. On the other hand, Wong was a fantastic organizer in 2007 when she won for the first time. She has a lot of room to grow if she can be as well organized this weekend.

4. So, can Wong get her people out? I don't know. I suspect yes, but there's no telling for sure. In addition to her own organization, she has the advantage of having the support of some powerful politicians. While Sen. Flanagan has not endorsed a candidate, she is close to Mayor Wong and it wouldn't surprise me if her volunteers were helping the mayor. Flanagan may be the most popular figure in the North County and is probably the most organized. I'd be surprised if some of her people weren't helping get the vote out. I also think last week's endorsement by State Treasures Steve Grossman may be a bigger deal than meets the eye Will more than five voters change their vote because of Grossman? Probably not. Will a number of party activists get the message that if they have nothing else to do this weekend they should get to Fitchburg and pound the pavement for Mayor Wong? Probably so. Getting more feet on the ground and voices on the phone banks can only help.

5. So who will win? I don't know. Solomito has the advantage of high-value voters and the emotional argument that Fitchburg should have been spending money to make life better now instead of saving it for a rainy day. Wong likely has the advantage of organization. I realize this is a cop-out, but I think it is too close to call. The pressure is on Wong to change September's result. I think she will, but I'm not convinced it will be enough to be reelected for a third term.

Unenrolled candidates hurt Alicea in special election

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:28:00 +0000

A quick look at the results from yesterday’s Sixth Worcester House special election suggests that the presence of the two unenrolled candidates took most of their votes from Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton), and likely provided Rep.-elect Peter Durant (R-Spencer) with the margin of victory.

In three of the four towns that Durant won in both elections, his percentage of the vote remained remarkably consistent, while Alicea’s percentage dropped at the hands of Peter Boria (U-Charlton) and Bob Cirba (U-Spencer).

TOWN              Nov. ’10           May ‘11
                  Durant -- Alicea   Durant -- Alicea -- Others
E. Brookfield       59.8 --   40.2     61.8 --   32.6 --    5.6
Oxford              54.5 --   45.5     54.5 --   31.2 --   14.3
Spencer             59.5 --   40.5     62.0 --   31.8 --    6.2

In Charlton, the effect was less pronounced, however Durant still increased his margin over Alicea from +7% to +12%. In fact, Boria, a Charlton selectman, finished second ahead of the incumbent representative.

TOWN              Nov. ’10           May ‘11
                  Durant -- Alicea   Durant -- Alicea -- Others
Charlton            53.7 --   46.3     40.4 --   28.0 --   31.6

Only in Southbridge did the unenrolled candidates appear to take more support away from the Republican, but the effect was less pronounced than it was in the other four towns.

TOWN              Nov. ’10           May ‘11
                  Durant -- Alicea   Durant -- Alicea -- Others
Southbridge         38.3 --   61.7     30.6 --  58.9  --   10.5

The other indicator that the extra candidates hurt Alicea is that if the vote percentages from each town in the November election were used to predict the vote based on the May turnout, Alicea would have won by 165 votes. Here is the predicted vote using that method.

TOWN              Nov ’10 Percentage   May ’11       May ’11 Predicted
                  Durant -- Alicea     Turnout       Durant -- Alicea
Charlton            53.7 --   46.3       2,768        1,486 --  1,282
E. Brookfield       59.8 --   40.2         578          346 --    232
Oxford              54.5 --   45.5         339          185 --    154
Southbridge         38.3 --   61.7       3,118        1,194 --  1,924
Spencer             59.5 --   40.5       1,142          679 --    463

TOTALS                                   7,945         3,890 -- 4,055

It seems clear to me that for all of the discussion that the election should have been a straight runoff with no new candidates -- much of it from Republicans who claimed that one or both of the unenrolled candidates were “Trojan horses” drafted to hurt Durant -- the candidate that was hurt the most by the open field was soon-to-be former Rep. Alicea.

How Lisa Wong became a Senate contender without even trying

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:30:00 +0000

A recent news item on Swing State Project, a well-respected and widely read liberal election blog, included this little note that could shake up the political landscape in Central Mass:

We've already seen the mayors of some of Massachusetts's cities cited as potential [U.S. Senate] candidates (especially Newton's Setti Warren), but here's another one to keep in mind: Salem mayor Kim Driscoll, who has been asking around about the race. Two other mayors get cited in the piece as additional down-in-the-weeds possibilities for the Dems: New Bedford's Scott Lang and Fitchburg's Lisa Wong.

If that seems like news to you, you’re not alone. CMassPolitics.com hasn’t heard even the slightest buzz about a Mayor Wong challenge to Senator Scott Brown (R-Wrentham). In searching the internet, the story of Wong’s potential candidacy is a fascinating example of how one public appearance can turn into a potential campaign in a few short months, without comment from Wong (or any source at all, for that matter).

The saga began innocuously enough as Mayor Wong appeared on CNN on October 12, 2010 to talk about programs in Fitchburg to better engage the minority and immigrant community in civic affairs.

While the brief interview did not touch on any possible future campaigns and did not even mention Senator Brown, it did catch the eye of reporter Matt Murphy of the State House News Service. In an October 29 article examining the possibility that Newton Mayor Setti Warren may be a challenger for Brown’s Senate seat, Wong is mentioned as one of a handful of young Massachusetts mayors:

As a young mayor with experience at both the national and local levels and a military background that could offset Brown's own service record, Warren could be an attractive candidate to many voters looking for new blood, sources told the News Service, explaining the rationale for a possible Warren candidacy

Some put him in the category of several promising young Massachusetts mayors, including Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong and Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan, both of whom voters could have spotted giving national interviews on CNN in recent weeks.

"It's all about who can raise the money," said one Democratic official who agreed to speak anonymously, and acknowledged the chatter around Warren. "He could probably raise national money by tapping into the national veterans groups and African-American donors. Look at what [U.S. Rep. Joseph] Sestak and Patrick Murphy have done."

While one could infer that Wong and Flanagan were potential Senate candidates (and Flanagan subsequently confirmed his interest), Murphy does not compare Warren to Wong and Flanagan as prospective candidates, but as mayors with similar pedigrees.

The potential Wong candidacy first went national just before Christmas. Writing for the National Journal, Jim O’Sullivan, formerly a colleague of Murphy’s at the State House News Service, named Wong in a list of potential contenders that included Warren and a legion of others:

In a state with a relative dearth of prominent female politicos, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll is eyed as an ascendant pol, and has had conversations about a potential run at Brown.

“I’m certainly always intrigued by these ideas, but I like what I’m doing right now a lot,” she told National Journal Tuesday. “I don’t think I have itchy feet, but I definitely think that having the local perspective would be great.”

Another young mayor, Newton’s Setti Warren, an Iraqi War veteran and former Kerry aide, has drawn attention. Patrick’s outgoing energy and environment chief, Ian Bowles, lost a race for Congress in 1996 and distinguished himself in Patrick’s Cabinet as its least press-averse inhabitant. Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong won statewide visibility with her 2007 election as the state’s first female Asian-American mayor. New Bedford's Scott Lang is one of the most active municipal CEOs in the state, and politically attuned enough to have won favor with some Patrick advisers.

The interview with Driscoll caught the eye of the Salem News’ Chris Cassidy, and three weeks later he included Wong in a “list of potential 2012 Democratic challengers:”

The [National Journal] story lists Congressmen Michael Capuano, Stephen Lynch and Edward Markey among the most likely challengers and goes on to mention lesser-known Bay State Dems, including former AG Scott Harshbarger and fellow mayors Setti Warren of Newton, Lisa Wong of Fitchburg and Scott Lang of New Bedford.

It was this news item that caught the attention of Swing State Project and put talk of a potential Wong Senate campaign back into national view. Note that nowhere along the line has a reporter actually received a comment from Wong on a potential candidacy. In fact, there is no mention of any source whatsoever pegging Wong as having interest in a Senate run.

Despite all of the speculation, there is currently only one declared Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Bob Massie (D-Somerville).

Evangelidis elected Worcester County Sheriff

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:56:00 +0000

With nearly 80% of the precincts reporting, State Rep. Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) is cruising to victory over Tom Foley (D-Worcester) and Keith Warren (U-Warren) in the race to replace outgoing Worcester County Sheriff.

Evangelidis leads Foley by 52% to 42%, building a margin of more than 21,000 votes with approximately 40,000 votes still outstanding.

Durant upsets Incumbent Alicea by two votes in Sixth House District, recount inevitable

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:38:00 +0000

According to the Associated Press, challenger Peter Durant (R-Spencer) has defeated incumbent Rep. Geraldo Alicea (R-Charlton) by two votes.

With all 12 precincts reporting, Durant leads Alicea 6,583 votes to 6,581 in unofficial results.

Durant won every town in the district except for Southbridge, which gave Alicea a 1,019 vote lead.

Benson wins reelection in 37th Middlesex

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:34:00 +0000

According to Twitter updates from Rep. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) and WickedLocal.com, Benson has defeated Kurt Hayes (R-Boxboro) in her quest for reelection.

Naughton cruises to victory in 12th Worcester

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Rep. Harold Naughton, Jr. (D-Clinton) appears to be cruising to reelection over challenger James Gettens (R-Sterling). With 5 of 11 precincts reporting, Naughton leads 65% to 35%.

Among the precincts left to report are the four precincts in Naughton's hometown of Clinton, which has historically supported Naughton by wide margins.

Alicea wins Southbridge big, takes narrow lead with only Spencer to report

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:17:00 +0000

With the Democratic stronghold of Southbridge going heavily for Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton), the incumbent has taken a 399-vote lead over challenger Peter Durant (R-Spencer). However, the two precincts left to report are the two in Durant's hometown. If Durant wins Spencer, the race could be headed for a recount.

Benson leads Hayes in 37th Middlesex, wins both candidates home towns

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:06:00 +0000

Incumbent freshman Rep. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) narrowly leads Kurt Hayes (R-Boxboro) in the 37th Middlesex House District, however she has won both Lunenburg and Boxboro.

With 5 of 11 precincts reporting, Benson holds a 53%-47% lead. She won Lunenburg by 328 votes and defeated Hayes by 15 votes in Boxboro.

Acton, which is the home of Democratic State Senator Jamie Eldridge--the most recent state representative in the district--is among the towns that have still not reported results. Harvard has also not reported results, but Benson had tweeted earlier in the night that she had won Harvard.

Incumbent Rep. Alicea in danger of losing Sixth Worcester District

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:55:00 +0000

Incumbent Rep. Geraldo Alicea (D-Charlton) trails Peter Durant (R-Spencer) by nearly 10 points in his attempt to be reelected to the state house from the Sixth Worcester District.

With 5 of 12 precincts reporting, Alicea trails by 620 votes. Included in the count is Alicea's hometown of Charlton, which rejected the incumbent by a 460-vote margin. Southbridge, considered a Democratic stronghold and Spencer, where Durant is a selectman, are the two towns left to report.

Beaton wins 11th Worcester, succeeds Polito

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:43:00 +0000

Matt Beaton (D-Shrewsbury) has defeated Kevin Byrne (R-Shrewsbury) in the race to succeed State Rep. Karyn Polito (R-Shrewsbury), who left the state house to run for Treasurer.

With 9 of 11 precincts reporting, Beaton holds a 62% to 38% advantage. All nine precincts that have reported were from the candidates' hometown of Shrewsbury.

Byrne was a late addition to the ballot. Dennis Leary (D-Shrewsbury) was the only candidate on the Democratic primary ballot in September, but was forced to dropout due to health issues. Byrne was nominated to replace Leary at caucus of the Shrewsbury and Westboro Democratic Town Committees.

Republicans pick up 8th Worcester, Kujawski reportedly concedes

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:34:00 +0000

Rob Eno of Redmassgroup.com has reported on his twitter feed that incumbent Rep. Paul Kujawski (D-Webster) has conceded to Kevin Kuros (R-Uxbridge). The victory for Kuros, an Uxbridge selectman, marks the first house seat in Central Massachusetts to switch parties.

Mahoney wins 13th Worcester

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:28:00 +0000

According to a Twitter update from Worcester Magazine, John Mahoney (D-Worcester) has won the 13th Worcester State House seat "in a landslide" over Paul Franco (R-Worcester) and Ronal Madnick (D-Worcester).

Olver wins reelection to U.S. House in First District

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:02:00 +0000

The Associated Press has declared incumbent John Olver (D-Amherst) the winner in the First Congressional District. He was opposed by Bill Gunn (R-Ware) and Micheal Engel (U-Southampton).

With 8 percent reporting, Olver was pulling 62% of the vote.

Andrews takes commanding lead in 2nd Franklin

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:52:00 +0000

Denise Andrews (D-Orange) has won the town of Greenfield in her bid to win the House seat in the Second Franklin District.

With all nine precincts reporting, Andrews pulled in 65% of the vote. Steven Adam (R-Orange) trailed with 31% and Genieveive Fraser )U-Orange) took 4%.

Adam will have to make up a deficit of nearly 2,000 votes in the remaining 8 precincts if he is to pick up the open seat for the Republicans.

Benson claims early lead in 37th Middlesex

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:46:00 +0000

Incumbent Rep. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) told supporters via her Twitter feed that she has defeated Kurt Hayes (R-Acton) in the town of Harvard. Benson did not report the vote totals and they have not yet been reported by the AP.

Franco leads in early results -- 13th Worcester

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Paul Franco (R- Worcester) has taken the town of Paxton in his race against John Mahoney (D-Worcester) and Ronal Madnick (I-Worcester). According to the Telegram, Franco earner 981 votes, to 817 for Mahoney and 79 for Madnick.

Mahoney was also unable to win Paxton in the Democratic primary, losing the town to Gina DiBaro (D-Worcester).

Back in the Saddle -- at least for a night

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:12:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA -- We're back...at lease for a night.

Suffice to say, it wasn't my intention for this site to go dark right after the primary, but as I was trucking around Worcester County on September 14, I got a call offering me a job. A very good job. So, out of an abundance of caution and a lack of abundance of free time, I allowed the site to go dark.

(In fact, the dateline says Philadelphia because that's where I am. I'm here on business and looking out over South Broad Street from my hotel room while watching NECN on the internet and CNN and MSNBC in the room.)

But I'll be keeping an eye on all of the local races from this vantage point, and updating throughout the night. Stay with CMassPolitics.com for coverage of all the races in Central Massachusetts.

CMassPolitics.com Interview with Rep. Jim McGovern

noreply@blogger.com (Lance) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:39:00 +0000

Interview with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), candidate for reelection to U.S. Congress in the Third Congressional District.