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U.S.
Rep. Michael Capuano appeared with his family at the Fairmont-Copley
Plaza Hotel in Boston late Tuesday to concede defeat in his bid to
become the next Massachusetts senator. ~Photo by Tom Nash |
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By Tom Nash
U.S.
Rep. Michael Capuano greeted hundreds of supporters in Boston last
night at what they hoped would be a victory party, but instead the
Senate candidate promised to help welcome Massachusetts Attorney
General Martha Coakley to Capitol Hill.
"I want to be there to
make her the next Senator," Capuano told the boisterous crowd gathered
at the Fairmont-Copley Plaza Hotel. "When she gets elected, we're going
to work hard to make sure she's successful."
Capuano finished
second in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the special election to fill
the Senate seat left vacant by the late Edward Kennedy. Coakley won 47
percent of the vote to Capuano's 28 percent, while Alan Khazei and
Steve Pagliuca received 12 and 13 percent, respectively.
"In the
final analysis, name recognition matters," Capuano said of the
campaign, which many believed Coakley went into with a strong advantage
as a statewide office holder. "The attorney general was a pretty good
candidate. She didn't make any slip ups, and we just couldn't narrow
the gap."
Capuano's campaign staff said Tuesday they hoped for
a strong turnout in Somerville, where he showed up early to vote at the
Department of Public Works. With a voter turnout estimated at 28
percent, Capuano earned 8,006 votes – 67 percent of the unofficial
total.
"Somerville came out to support its native son," Mayor
Joe Curtatone said after Capuano's concession speech. "I'm proud of
what he did."
Capuano's speech, aside from congratulating
Coakley, focused on thanking his family, supporters and campaign
workers, many of whom he said were young people.
"You're now in a new family that you can never get out of," he said.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry joined Capuano on stage briefly before joining Coakley's victory party at the Boston Sheraton.
Coakley will face Republican State Sen. Scott Brown in the Jan. 16 special election.
Capuano said he may be back in Washington as soon as tomorrow, joking that he wanted to get his voting record on track.
He
added that he would continue the push on healthcare legislation and
attempt to "correct some errors we're about to make in Afghanistan,"
referencing President Barack Obama's decision to send 30,000 more
troops there.
"We'll be there to fight for you next week, the next year and the next decade," Capuano said.
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