One party state?

BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) - The presidential election year proved to be an advantage for Massachusetts Democrats who took the U.S. Senate seat from Scott Brown and two seats from incumbent Republicans in the state House of Representatives.

“The Democrats who were running were people of strong conviction, who were running for something and not just against something or someone,” said Gov. Deval Patrick.

Incumbents, in general, did well.  All Western Massachusetts lawmakers running for reelection won by wide margins – Except state Representative Denise Andrews of Orange, who beat her opponent by less than 200 votes.

For Republicans like Governor’s Councilor Jennie Caissie (R-District 7), the power of Democratic incumbency was disappointing. Even Congressman John Tierney managed to beat his GOP opponent despite a family illegal gambling ring scandal.

“I was surprised at the number because of the level of public disappointment with elected officials right now, our one party state, the economy,” said Caissie. “There was a blue tide that wiped over Massachusetts.”

With extensive ground operations and established field offices across the state, the Democratic machine ran an aggressive voter registration campaign and knocked on 800,000 doors on Election Day.

“Late August and September I just kind of sensed a growing momentum and just kind of a grass roots effort that was expanding,” said Lt. Gov. Tim Murray.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party says they had 20,000 volunteers working from 201 staging locations on Elections Day, which is ten times more volunteers they had than in 2010.