Republican Charlie Baker has won the governor's race in a nail-biter of an election that seesawed throughout the night and extended into early Wednesday. Democrat Martha Coakley said she wouldn't make any immediate statement and asked her supporters to go home for the night.
Baker will replace Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who opted not to seek a third term in office.
About 34,000 votes separated the two, with Baker holding an edge over Coakley with 98 percent of precincts reporting, a margin of victory of about 1.6 percent.
Baker's victory will return the state's top political office to the GOP, and with it, he earns a measure of political redemption. Baker, the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and a top official in the administrations of Republican Govs. William Weld and Paul Cellucci, had lost to Patrick four years ago.
Coakley, who lost to Republican Scott Brown during the 2010 special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Democratic stalwart Edward Kennedy, was also looking for comeback.
This time, she stood to become the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts if elected.
The race was one of the closest in recent memory in Massachusetts and much closer than many observers had anticipated.
Depending on how close the final vote totals are, Coakley could request a recount.
State Secretary William Galvin said if the total margin of victory is one half of 1 percent or less, the losing candidate could request an accelerated recount process. That would require the candidate to collect several thousand signatures.
Galvin, as the state's top elections official, would order the recount.
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Republican Baker elected Massachusetts governor