The election on Nov. 4 resulted in favor of the Republican candidate Charlie Baker after a close race. In total, he received 48.4% of the votes. His Democratic opponent, Attorney General Martha Coakley, conceded her second major defeat in a statewide competition with a slighter less voter percentage of 46.6%. In her concession speech, she stated that she “would not change a single thing” and that she wants “to find a way to keep working for the people of Massachusetts.”
Apart from Coakley, the three independent candidates, Scott Lively, Jeff McCormick, and Evan Falchuk competed unsuccessfully. Their campaigns also involved holding a gubernatorial forum at UMass Boston in October.
Baker will follow his Democratic predecessor Deval Patrick and will take office on Jan. 8, 2015. With him, ballot partner Karyn Polito will assume her position of Lieutenant Governor..
Before winning in the election for Governor this year, Baker had lost the race for the same position in 2010 against his now-predecessor Patrick. Until 2014, he then held the position of Executive in Residence at General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm. He also served as a member of the board of directors at the Tremont Credit Union.
The New-York-state-born Baker approached the campaign this time with more effort, raising more money than any other candidate. Furthermore, he targeted non-urban areas that he had ignored in his previous attempt. Although the majority initially supported Coakley, Baker gained popularity among independents because of his moderate social views. Due to Massachusetts being a rather blue state, Baker did not follow a radical conservative attitude, but presented a rather social approach to the economy by refusing to sign a no-tax-pledge and not supporting demands for further tax cuts and public employee layoffs, attracting Democratic voters. In the past, he also expressed his support for abortion rights, gay marriage, and contraception availability through insurance.
Baker stated that his goals for the future of Massachusetts would include prioritizing public transport projects and improving the health care system and reducing its costs. He also addressed his concerns about education and plans on introducing “high-quality education programs” for low-income students. Furthermore, he wants public colleges and universities -– like UMass Boston -– to award bachelor’s degree in three, not four, years in order to save tuition costs. Baker is also speaking out for the idea of paid co-op internship for public colleges to further lower the net cost of college while providing students with on-the-job experiences that will help them to build their future career.