Polls Close In Hotly Contested Primary (Massachusetts Primary Results LIVE Thread)

WCVB TheBostonChannel.com via Yahoo! ^ | Tue Sep 17, 8:05 PM ET | WCVB TheBostonChannel.com

[Momaw Nadon]

Polls have closed in the Massachusetts primary election, and candidates are waiting for returns to come in.

Four Democrats fought for the gubernatorial nomination in the most expensive primary in the state's history, with more than $15 million spent. Two of the candidates -- Shannon O'Brien and Tom Birmingham -- were well-financed, a third -- Warren Tolman -- benefited from a court ruling, and the fourth -- Robert Reich -- ran a quirky campaign on a shoestring budget.

Reich pulled an all-nighter, campaigning across Greater Boston from 7 p.m. Monday to Tuesday morning. He refused to put much of his own money in the race and campaigned on the premise that he was the only true outsider, having never held elective office.

"I am very confident, because all of the data we've seen and all of my free-floating focus groups suggest that we do have the enthusiasm, we do have the excitement, we do have people who are full committed," Reich said.

O'Brien was the frontrunner early on, but recent polls have been mixed, with some showing slim leads and others showing more substantial ones.

"I've been honored to have had the opportunity to run for governor," O'Brien said. "I'm honored that I have been able to work with so many terrific Democrats and independents across Massachusetts. I think there are many people who are looking for new leadership."

Tolman gambled big by running as a Clean Elections candidate, despite the law not being funded by the Legislature. He won the jackpot when the Supreme Judicial Court decided the state had to turn over nearly $4 million to fund his campaign. Tuesday, he said that he's hoping to show the voters their money was not wasted.

"If you've done everything you can, you feel like, 'Hey, here goes. Let's let the people decide,'" Tolman said. "So I'm hoping that people look kindly on me. Nerves are something if you haven't prepared, I think, you get nervous. But we've prepared. I think we've done everything we can."

Birmingham gave up his secure Senate presidency to campaign statewide. He made a big pitch for the women's vote, but his campaign is counting on labor unions to get the vote out.

"This is going to be a good turnout, and we are hitting our peak at the absolute right moment," Birmingham said. "It feels like the momentum has completely swung our way."

Turnout has been light in the Democratic primary, which analysts said would favor O'Brien and Birmingham, who have the most extensive field operations.

Romney Fights For Healey

Republican candidate Mitt Romney spent the past few days trying to convince voters that his pick for lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, is essential to his success in November.

Healey, a moderate Republican, is matched against businessman Jim Rappaport, who has cast himself as the race's true conservative.

"I'm very excited about the prospect of working with Mitt for the next seven weeks," Healey said. "It's going to be an absolute sprint to the finish, and we're going to beat the Democrats in November."

Polls showed the race to be tight. Rappaport said that he is more qualified than Healey for the office, especially if Romney follows the trend of recent Republican governors to leave office early.

"I am more qualified to step up and be the acting governor, if the need arises, than my opponent," Rappaport said. "I have the leadership and executive decision-making experience that my opponent doesn't have, and if the need arises we need to have a strong No. 2."

Romney would not discuss the possibility of being paired with Rappaport.

"I can't let myself even think that way. I'm so confident that Kerry has received such strong support," Romney said. "I've heard that so uniformly from our field team that's out talking to people ... that people who were undecided are now pulling for Kerry. I'm confident that she's going to be there, and I don't have any room in my little brain for more than that outcome."

[dasboot]

Yeah, but Bush wouldn't appoint him ambassidor to Monte Carlo 'cause Rappaport would be "too devisive"; and Romney's just too healthy to bag-out.

Birmingham is the shoe-in winner. Folks don't trust Romney...nuthin' scientific, just my own assessment of locals here in the 5th-largest city in Mass.

If Romney wore a leather jacket, smoked, gambled and learned to spit, we'd have a contest!

[Momaw Nadon]

Very embarassing admission indeed. Both Romney and Healy are pro-abortion moderate to liberals. Not exactly strong Christians are they? Rappaport is the only pro-life conservative in this race worth supporting.

It is embarassing most of the candidates in the Massachusetts Republican primary are RINOs.

The way I see it is that it is better to have a quarter of a loaf than no loaf at all.

Rappaport may be more conservative than Healey, but I think that Mitt Romney has a better chance of winning with Healey as a running mate.

Again, there is not much to choose from, but when I am voting I have to make a choice.

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I voted today in the primary and saw something that I think Freepers will appreciate. It happened here in the Bay State, but it goes a long way toward explaining the problems that Dems seem to have voting in Florida.

At my poling place we use the type of ballot that consists of a sheet of paper with the head and tail of an arrow for each candidate. To vote, you take a marker and draw a line connecting the head and tail of the arrow next to your candidate. Simple, huh? My 3-year-old could handle it.

Well there were two women ahead of me in line who both looked about a half a step above vagrant in the personal hygiene department. As my dad used to see, they looked liked they'd been wruing hard and put up wet. Anyway, the first of the two tried to feed her ballot into the box after she filled it out. The ballot box is one of those automatic jobs that sucks the sheet in sort of like a change machine taking a dollar bill. And like those change machines, the ballot box kept spitting her ballot right back at her every time she tried to put it in.

At the suggestion of the poll worker, she gave up and let her friend take a crack at it. The box kept rejecting hers too. At this point the volunteers were concened that the machine was broken. They asked me to try mine, and it went in without a problem. Upon further inspection, it turns out that both of these gals had flunked Line Drawing 101. They had both drawn lines for every candidate EXCEPT the ones they wanted to vote for and the machine was rejecting them because it was registering multiple votes. Do I even need to tell you that these women had orange ballots, which indicated they were voting in the Dem primary?

Sheesh, with that quality of voter in the Democrat ranks is it any wonder why they can't figure out a butterfly ballot or mistake Pat Buchanan for Al Gore? On the other hand, I'm sure these folks are perfectly capable of cashing their welfare checks, using their food stamps and tracking down whatever other goodies they can get from Uncle Sucker and the Commonwealth.

[JPJones]

It would be great if a Republican billionaire could buy the paper and present a more fair and balanced view in the major daily newspaper.

I'm pretty sure it was bought out by the NYT, some time ago...

[copycat]

Sheesh, with that quality of voter in the Democrat ranks is it any wonder why they can't figure out a butterfly ballot or mistake Pat Buchanan for Al Gore?

Time for someone to do a scientific study of the average IQ of Dem and Pub voters.

[Momaw Nadon]

I'm pretty sure it was bought out by the NYT, some time ago...

The Boston Globe was bought by the New York Times.

The best way for the North East U.S. to become more conservative is for a conservative to buy both of these newspapers.

The Boston Globe is essentially a daily compilation of Democrat talking points.

[lonestar]

On the other hand, I'm sure these folks are perfectly capable of cashing their welfare checks, using their food stamps and tracking down whatever other goodies they can get from Uncle Sucker and the Commonwealth.

Practice makes perfect.

Loved your story! LOL!

[RFP]

Anybody hear or know anything about this fellow named Jack E. Robinson who is trying to qualify for write-in status as a GOP candidate against Kerry? He's been sending around funding solicitations on www.ConservativeActivist.com emails.

[Lancey Howard]

"I voted for Mitt Romney for governor and Kerry Healey for lieutenant governor in the Republican Primary."
I'd move out of the state rather than post such an embarrassing admission here.

LOL, I agree completely.
My congresscreep is Greenwood and I could never vote for him.
I'll vote for Santorum every chance I get.

[dasboot]

yup....rich guy who doesn't fit the right political profile; so the machines of both parties slimed him when he ran a few years ago...can't remember what the accusations were...but Howie Carr had him on the air several times in a repatriation effort...didn't work...a lot.

[RJCogburn]

Can you spell C-A-R-L-A H-O-W-E-L-L?

[JPJones]

The Boston Globe is essentially a daily compilation of Democrat talking points.

...homosexual democratic talking points.

[AlwaysLurking]

Very funny description of how dumb Dims are!!!
I loved your writing!!!

[lonestar]

The clincher for me came a few nights ago when I picked up my messages and heard some "straight talk" from John McCain about why the Romney-Healey ticket would help John McCain's agenda of...

Oh, no!

I know zero about your candidates.

[StopGlobalWhining]

Luv your post #23! Thanks for taking the time to share it. LOL.

[MassExodus]

It would be great if a Republican billionaire could buy the paper and present a more fair and balanced view in the major daily newspaper.

The Boston Globe is a subsidiary owned by the New York Times.

Would take a lot more than a billionaire to change the "old Grey Lady" - the whole media takes their cues from the NYT.

I had a saleman call me from the Globe and I said to him " If I wanted to have Communist propaganda dropped on my doorstep everyday I'd just subscribe to Pravda".

We had about a 15 minute arguement for which I certainly could have had him fired.

[betty boop]

I voted for Romney and Rappaport. Couldn't bring myself to vote for Healey, who is on record as not supporting the Marriage Protection Act, and as favoring lowering the age of consent for an abortion to 16....

Oh well, one out of two ain't bad.