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Here's How The Mass. Governor's Race Unfolded Election Night

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Charlie Baker greets supporters at his Election Night rally in Boston.
Charlie Baker greets supporters at his Election Night rally in Boston.

It was a suspenseful nail-biting Massachusetts gubernatorial race Tuesday as the vote tally coasted back and forth between Republican Charlie Baker and Democrat Martha Coakley. In the end, election night turned into early morning with Baker declared the winner, but no concession speech from Coakley.

Here's how things unfolded:

8:00 p.m. Tuesday - Polls closed across Massachusetts and all was pretty calm at the Baker and Coakley election night parties, where supporters gathered to await the results. At both camps, supporters were taking in the festivities and optimistic about the election.

8:15 p.m. Tuesday - Election results started coming in and Baker was leading in the first hour after polls closed.

9:00 p.m. Tuesday - Baker's lead narrowed as election results continued to come in the second hour after polls closed.

10:00 p.m. Tuesday - Things really heated up after 10 p.m. and the race became even tighter as Coakley moved ahead.

11 p.m. Tuesday - Three hours after the polls closed, there was no clear winner yet. But there was anxiety and tension at both camps as the results shifted back and forth between Coakley and Baker. But after 11 p.m., Baker began surging ahead.

11:51 p.m. Tuesday - Fox News was the first news outlet to call the race for Baker.

12:00 a.m. Wednesday - As midnight approached, tensions rose. There was even talk about the possibility of a recount given the margin of votes between the candidates.

12:07 a.m. Wednesday - ABC News projected Baker was the winner.

12:15 a.m. Wednesday - Members of the Coakley campaign went around the room informing people that there would be no more speeches. As the information circulated, people began to leave, though several lingered for a while.

12:40 a.m. Wednesday - Coakley HQ officially and abruptly drew to a close with an announcement over the sound system telling people the event was over and to get home safely.

12:55 a.m. Wednesday - The Associated Press calls the race for Baker. And by 1 a.m. just about every major news outlet had done the same.

1 a.m. Wednesday - Though the Coakley campaign was done for the night, a few people continued to linger well past 1 a.m.

1:21 a.m. Wednesday - Charlie Baker took the stage for a semi-victory speech. He told supporters he had talked to Coakley and she said she wanted to wait until the morning for the final election results.

1:30 a.m. Wednesday - Back at Coakley HQ, cleanup crews began dismantling the stage and mostly only media remained in the room. Coakley had already returned to her home in Medford.

6:35 a.m. Wednesday - With 99.3 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, it was more than clear nothing had changed with the election results overnight.

8:15 a.m. Wednesday - After a rollercoaster of an election night/day, Coakley conceded the race Wednesday morning. According to her campaign, Coakley called Baker at 8:15 a.m. to congratulate him on his victory.

11:00 a.m. Wednesday - Coakley addressed supporters at her Somerville campaign headquarters.

12:30 p.m. Wednesday - Baker gave his victory speech at the Seaport Hotel (less than 11 hours after leaving it on Election night). The governor-elect will become the state's first Republican leader since Mitt Romney left office in 2007.

2014 Gubernatorial Race
Headshot of Zeninjor Enwemeka

Zeninjor Enwemeka Senior Business Reporter
Zeninjor Enwemeka is a senior business reporter who covers business, tech and culture as part of WBUR's Bostonomix team, which focuses on the innovation economy.

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