ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election where Deval Patrick ran against Kerry Healey. Several issues featured as part of newspaper reports and in the debates were important to voters in the election. Among them were the candidate's positions on fiscal issues such as taxes, the state's economy and the cost of living, healthcare, education, crime, and immigration, and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The most common themes in the newspaper endorsements were the fact that those who supported Patrick believed in his campaign rhetoric of restoring hope back into politics and a desire to make Massachusetts better. They also complimented Patrick on running a campaign that was free of negative advertisements. The chapter concludes with an analysis of how Patrick, unlike so many past black candidates in other states, successfully navigated the campaign trail to attain a high-level statewide office as a governor or United States senator.
