Check out this roundup of the year's best political stories.
2012 was a wild year in local, state and national politics. From the presidential election to state and local elections, 2012 brought readers some fun and interesting political news. Check out our review of the top five below.
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Incoming Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren will take office in January.
Massachusetts Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren has been chosen for a seat on the Senate's Banking Committee, according to the Huffington Post, which cited several sources. Warren, a Democrat who helped create the federal government's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, defeated incumbent Republican Senator Scott Brown in the November election. Prior to being elected, Warren worked as a consumer advocated and was considered to become the head of the CFPB. TELL US: What do you think of Warren being chosen for the Banking Committee? Share your comments in the box below.
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3:01 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
SERIOUSLY! I thought this was an April fools joke! more ›
If appointed, a special election would be held to fill Kerry's seat.
President Obama is considering appointing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the Secretary of Defense, according to the Washington Post. Cabinet changeups are standard fare at the start of a second presidential term. Kerry, who is believed to want the Secretary of State job, would replace current Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, according to the Post. If appointed, Kerry would have to resign from the Senate and a special statewide election would have to be held to fill his seat. However, appointing Kerry to either seat could have political implications — it could mean the risk of losing Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republicans, according to the New York Times. Obama not only would have to decide whether to risk Kerry's …
See who won the 2012 elections!
BALLOT QUESTIONS VOTE TALLIES FOR WALTHAM
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Many more voters turned out to the polls in Waltham in the 2012 election.
Voter turnout skyrocketed in the 2012 election compared to the 2008 election, according to the city clerk's office. Overall, voter turnout in Waltham jumped about 20 percent from 50 percent in 2008 to 70.76 perent in the 2012 election, according to election results. Waltham City Clerk Russ Malone said he anticipated a large jump in voter turnout and attributed it to increased interest and passion among voters. "People [are] passionate about both candidates," Malone said of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. "You could not keep [voters] away." Overall 25,206 voters cast ballots out of 35,620 registered voters in the 2012 election, according to election results. Anticipating the increased turnout, Malone said he ordered two extra check-in/check…
Lexington Democrat Mike Barrett defeats Chelmsford Republican Sandi Martinez to claim seat long held by retiring state Sen. Susan Fargo.
While they’re saying goodbye to Susan Fargo, the Democrats aren’t ready to let go of her seat in the state Senate. Lexington Democrat Mike Barrett, after outlasting four challengers from his own party in the primary, has defeated Sandi Martinez, a Republican from Chelmsford, to claim the Third Middlesex District seat Fargo, a Lincoln Democrat, held tightly for eight terms before deciding to retire. “I’m excited about returning to the Senate,” said Barrett, who was a state Senator from Cambridge from 1987 until a failed bid for governor in 1994. “Eighteen years older, probably not 18 years wiser, but I think smarter and I’m looking forward to it.” The Third Middlesex District represents Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln, …
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11:39 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I will wait and see if you are a follower or leader in providing a debt free State and legislation for small business creation and passing legislation that serves the people and not your party leaders.......but thats really to much to ask a Democrat is it not????? more ›
President Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden were re-elected Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney and his vice-presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan. NBC News called the presidential election for Obama around 11:15 EST. The president sent a message on Twitter at 10:14 saying simply, "This happened because of you. Thank you." The Obama campaign won the most expensive presidential race ever, with both parties raising about $2.6 billion. The race was filled with negative campaigning on both sides, from President Obama attacking Romney’s business experience with Bain Capital to Romney lambasting Obama’s handling of the economy. The race tightened during the final months of the campaign, with gaffes and surges …
9:16 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012
Quasimodo, You must be illiterate not to know what she meant ? Ignorance is truly Bliss is it not Quasimodo ? more ›
Lawn easily defeated his Republican challenger.
State Rep. John Lawn bested Republican challenger Francis Stanton in the race for the 10th Middlesex state representative seat. Lawn easily slid to victory with 10,406 total votes to Stanton's 3,290, according to election results. In Watertown, Lawn received 3,211 votes to Stanton's 684. In Newton, Lawn received 1,775 votes to Stanton's 492. In Waltham, Lawn got 5,420 votes to Stanton's 2,114. Speaking at his victory party at The Gaff, a Waltham bar, Lawn said he would start the new legislative term by focusing on three priorities — jobs, the fate of the Fernald property in Waltham and repealing the statute of limitations on prosecuting sexual abuse of children. Lawn said the biggest priority district-wide was jobs. "We are on the right …
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Ed Markey will maintain his seat in Congress.
Democrat U.S. Congressman Ed Markey will serve a 19th term in Washington. Markey led Republican challenger Tom Tierney 75 percent to 25 percent with 41 percent of precincts reporting, according to Boston.com, which had called the race by 9:45 p.m. Markey's seat has traditionally been for the 7th District of Massachusetts, but that changed with redistricting last year. Markey's new district is the 5th, and it added a sliver of Cambridge, previously represented by Michael Capuano, as well as the western towns of Southborough, Ashland, Holliston, Sherborn, and a large portion of Sudbury. Markey also lost the city of Everett. Despite the district changes, Markey faced little difficulty in this year's election. He received $457,200 in campaign …
Democrat Elizabeth Warren beat incumbent candidate Scott Brown in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race.
Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has beaten incumbent Republican candidate Scott Brown for a seat on the U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press. Warren is won by a margin of eight percentage points, 54 percent to 46 percent, making her the first female senator elected in Massachusetts. An estatic Warren addressed a crowd of hundreds of excited supporters at the Copley Fairmont Plaza hotel in Boston on Tuesday night. "We did what everyone thought was impossible," she said. "We taught a scrappy, first-time candidate how to win." "You took on the powerful Wall Street banks and let them know that you want a Senator out there fighting for the middle class all of the time," she said. "And despite the odds, you elected the first …
10:16 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012
Typical liberal - always having to tell people how they should live their lives. more ›
Steven Cavaretta
9:59 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
China isn't red anymore it's green with our money more ›