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Khazei Camp Blames Too-Short Campaign

Alan Khazei conceded defeated before supporters Tuesday night. (Jess Bidgood for WBUR)
Alan Khazei conceded defeated before supporters Tuesday night. (Jess Bidgood for WBUR)

After a third-place finish in the Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, Alan Khazei is promising to continue to work on some of the issues he focused on during his campaign.

Starting Wednesday morning, he said, Khazei plans to devote more of his time to anti-poverty efforts because of the economic hardship he said he witnessed throughout Massachusetts on the campaign trail.

Listen: Khazei's Concession Speech
http://audio.wbur.org/storage/2009/12/news_1208_speech-khazei.mp3

Khazei said his advocacy group “Be The Change” will also help focus on issues of equity for the lower and middle classes.

Khazei blames a lack of time for his loss, saying it was difficult to get his name out and gain voters’ trust in an unusually short 80-day campaign, especially against two well-known public officials — Attorney General Martha Coakley, the winner, and Rep. Michael Capuano, the runner-up — and a well funded candidate, venture capitalist Stephen Pagliuca, who took fourth place.

In his concession speech, Khazei said he feels energized by what he accomplished, noting the campaign started out with only 1 percent of the vote in polls and soared to 13 percent in the final tally.

Khazei's supporters say the campaign has provided Khazei with name recognition and a solid base in Massachusetts, leaving a future run for office as a possibility.

This program aired on December 8, 2009. The audio for this program is not available.

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Deborah Becker Host/Reporter
Deborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education.

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