Quick call for Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts draws scrutiny

The results were immediate — Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren were declared the winners in Massachusetts the minute polls closed.

But the music and dancing continued and the drinks kept flowing at the Massachusetts for Trump 2024 watch party in Westport. Local Republicans backing former President Donald Trump seemed unphased that Massachusetts had backed both Democrats.

Hours earlier, Tom Hodgson, the former sheriff of Bristol County and chair of the local Trump campaign, said he was feeling “really, really, really strong about tonight and really good.” When the two races were called by the Associated Press, Hodgson said he did not believe the decisions.

“I saw 0% reported and they were saying the Harris won based on 0% reported. So I’m not a guy who believes in necessarily these polls and what they’re doing,” Hodgson said when pressed by the Herald. “I want to see what the results are in regards to real outcomes, not 0% reporting and their predictions.”

The Associated Press called the race for Warren and Harris at 8 p.m. based on historical data and a past history of convincing wins from Democrats over their Republican challengers. More than a third of voters had cast their ballots in the Bay State prior to Election Day, according to state data.

Massachusetts Democrats meanwhile, gathered for a combined MassDems victory party at the SoWa Power Station in Boston’s South End where attendees, well-dressed and likely well-heeled, seemed to be filled with a sort of quiet and anxious optimism as they made their way through security into the venue’s vault-ceilinged banquet hall.

Massachusetts, probably never in doubt to anyone in the room, would go blue nationally, and the evening’s local main-card event — Elizabeth Warren vs. John Deaton — was all but concluded the moment it began in February, when the Republican declared he would run against the incumbent Democrat.

The Associated Press called the race for Warren and Harris both at 8 p.m., the moment polls closed in the Bay State.

MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan said Warren’s win is a demonstration of the hard get-out-the-vote work done by the party.

“MassDems get things done,” he said.

Hodgson said the local Trump campaign has attempted to capitalize on “the fact that things have not been going well for people.”

“It’s not about your party, it’s about your family, it’s about your neighborhood, it’s about the nation and our national security, all these things,” Hodgson said.