Regardless of tonight’s outcome, today does mark the end of Deval Patrick’s remarkable 22-month campaign. It’s kind of hard to search the archives here, but I’ve tried to unearth the posts that tell the story of the Patrick campaign as we and the wider BMG community saw it.
- January 17, 2005: Deval Patrick tests the waters for a gubernatorial run, and we’re immediately intrigued. He takes an unusual tack in beginning his campaign: Listening to constituents. Who woulda thunk? David says “Step AWAY from the consultants“, and I had more to say on that.
- May 14, 2005: Patrick absolutely lights up the off-year Democratic Convention in Lowell. From my write-up: “… For my money, he’s absolutely got the highest ceiling of any of the declared candidates in the race — including Romney.”
- Deval does his blog-tour, talking to the three of us for an extended conversation. Here’s Bob’s write-up; Here’s David’s; Here’s mine.
- Patrick backs the MassACT health care reform ballot initiative, which becomes the guts of the more ambitious House bill.
- October 18, 2005: Deval Patrick backs Cape Wind. His pro-wind power stance literally becomes iconic of his campaign: Patrick’s volunteers garner windmill icons for identifying friends and neighbors as supporters.
- February 4, 2006: Patrick sweeps the caucuses. The BMG community reports from on the ground, across the state. Here’s the post-mortem.
- Patrick dominates the convention, garnering 58% of the delegates against two formidable opponents. (Here’s the blow-by blow.)
I think Massachusetts is in for a bit of a shock. If I were to report what happened on the floor today with something that sounded impartial and even-handed … it would not reflect reality. This was Deval’s day, and he and his delegates were in full command. Reilly gave a truly fine speech, tough, compassionate and populist; Gabrieli got in the game (barely), and rejoiced; but the sheer emotional dominance of Patrick’s speeches — and the delegates’ noise — were what one takes away from the proceedings today.
- To the surprise of hardly anyone, BMG endorses Patrick.
- Patrick “roars to victory” (quoth the Globe) in the primary. Andy effuses: “Last night Patrick called it: ‘We have changed politics in Masschusetts.’ I would actually like to take that one step farther and say we have changed politics in this country.”
- Having endured the slings and arrows of one of the nastiest campaigns in years, Deval Patrick fights back in a rally on Boston Common — but not in kind. BMGers Kristin (also of The Fray), oceandreams, lori, and mbair all report from the rally. Here’s the transcript from bluestatedude.
- Patrick takes a poll-averaged lead of more than 20% into Election Day.
Various folks from Massachusetts contacted me about the Deval Patrick campaign, and I put my first post up, The ABC’s of Deval Patrick, back in April 2005.