Dem wins in Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Kerry


BOSTON (AP)

Longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey defeated Republican political newcomer Gabriel Gomez in a special election on Tuesday for the state’s U.S. Senate seat long held by John Kerry, a race that failed to draw the attention that the state’s 2010 special Senate election did.

Markey, 66, won the early backing of Kerry and much of the state’s Democratic political establishment, which was set on avoiding a repeat of the stunning loss it suffered three years ago, when Republican state Sen. Scott Brown upset Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley in the election to replace the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Gomez, a 47-year-old businessman and former Navy SEAL, positioned himself as a moderate and Washington outsider who would challenge partisan gridlock, contrasting himself with Markey, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1976.

Markey had an advantage of about 8 percentage points over Gomez with most precincts reporting late Tuesday, according to unofficial returns. He took to Twitter to thank voters after his victory.

“Thank you Massachusetts!” he tweeted. “I am deeply honored for the opportunity to serve you in the United States Senate.”

Markey outspent Gomez throughout the race, and Republicans were unable to match a well-oiled Democratic field organization in an election that saw relatively light turnout in much of the heavily Democratic state.

Kerry left the Senate this year after being confirmed as U.S. secretary of state. Markey will fill out the remainder of Kerry’s term, which expires in January 2015, meaning that another Senate election will be held a year from November.

Though Markey has a lengthy career in Congress, he will become the state’s junior senator to Elizabeth Warren, who has been in office less than six months after defeating Brown in November.

Markey led in pre-election polls but said Tuesday when he voted with his wife in his hometown, Malden, that there was no overconfidence in his organization. He had said the campaign called or rang the doorbells of 3 million prospective voters in the past several days.

“I have delivered a message on gun safety, on a woman’s right to choose, on creating more jobs, and I think that message has been delivered,” Markey said.

President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden made visits to Massachusetts over the final two weeks of the campaign to shore up support for Markey.

Gomez said while voting Tuesday in Cohasset, where he lives, that the election was about choosing the future over the past and what he called Markey’s failure to take on the important issues despite 37 years in office.