Summary
"We gave it everything we had, everything we had," Reilly said in his concession speech. "It didn't work out for us. [Deval] Patrick ran an outstanding campaign and I think all of us owe him a round of applause. It's time to end 16 years of Republican governors and I will help him do that."
It didn't start out that way. For the first time in Reilly's life, things were too good to be true. An August 2005 poll showed Reilly winning a potential election against [Mitt Romney], 51-38 percent. And when Romney bowed out in December, the race appeared to be Reilly's. He had an estimated $4 million in the bank and a healthy lead in most polls over a hypothetical November face-off with ordained Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey.Almost immediately after the caucuses, Patrick and [Chris Gabrieli, Reilly] attacked Reilly's waffling positions on issues like gay marriage and the death penalty. May polls showed the three candidates in a dead heat as the state convention approached. Patrick won the state endorsement handily on June 3, taking 58 percent of the delegates. Reilly took 27 percent while Gabrieli eked his way onto the November ballot with only 17 votes more than the required 15 percent. Reilly was officially in a three-way fray, and losing ground.See the full content of this document
Extract
Reilly Goes Third, but Not Without a Fight
A year and a half ago, Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly was the only legitimate Democratic contender for governor.
A well-known prosecutor who tackled the sex abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, the tobacco industry and healthcare providers, Reilly enjoyed more name recognition and credibility than anyone outside of Gov. Mitt Rom...See the full content of this document
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