Talk About an Early Night!: Deval Patrick Is Governor

Massachusetts political junkies didn't have an excuse to stay up late because the governor's race was over before it began. Democratic candidate Deval Patrick was projected as governor before the polling places closed.

It was hardly a race. Patrick pummeled, pounded, and then mopped the floor with the competition. Anyone hoping for a little political drama was quickly disappointed, and they had to look elsewhere for suspense. The big losers were Republican gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey, who was blindsided by the Patrick Onslaught, and TV38, which devoted its evening broadcast to election coverage and had to fill a gaping hole of air time. At one point, Jon Keller was pondering the results, and he addressed governor-elect Patrick directly through the television screen, shouting: "The results haven't been certified. You still have time to get out. Run for your life, Deval! Run while there's still time!"

Some big stories emerged from the filler, including the news that several polling stations ran out of ballots. On the bright side, that means voter turnout was high during a midterm election, but polling stations should be prepared for that turnout every single year. Kudos to the people who stayed and waited to make sure they voted, not that the state made it easy for them.

The last big story of the night was Christy Mihos, at least in Bostonist and TV38's book. TV38 lavished attention and praise on Mihos for his "Big Dig Butthead" ads. The pervading attitude was "Kerry Healey lost - but wasn't Mihos swell?"

This Bostonist saw Christy Mihos greeting South Station commuters. Most of them just hustled by to meet their trains, but this Bostonist marched right up to Mihos and said that, even if he didn't win, he should have his own television show. The man has some serious television presence. Perhaps TV38 should toss him the mike because he could fill up a night full of election coverage - no problem. Oh, and Deval Patrick should probably send Mihos a bouquet because Mihos' relentless attacks on Healey translated into votes for our brand-new governor.

Screengrab of Deval Patrick casting his vote from CBS 4.