Two ballot questions still undecided as the blue wave sprays the Mass. House

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The election results came two ways in Massachusetts: early and late.

Without the drama of contests in places like Texas and Maine, the Bay State’s big races for governor and U.S. Senate were called in favor of the incumbent Democrats almost as soon as polls closed. But Wednesday morning, the fate of two ballot questions remained up in the air and winners had yet to be declared in several state legislative races.

BALLOT QUESTION QUESTIONS: With 80% of votes counted, Associated Press totals showed Question 7, to allow smaller lot sizes for single family homes, locked in a tie. Question 5, to change the state's revenue cap law and return more frequent rebates to taxpayers, also remained officially undecided, though Wednesday morning's numbers showed the "no" side in the lead.

THE NEW “72%”: Question 1, to apply the state’s public records law to the Legislature and governor’s office, could post an even greater margin than the 72% that backers of the 2024 audit-the-Legislature question say gave the State House a clear mandate. With 80% of votes in, the question passed in an 86-14 landslide. But like the audit, the public records measure is on track to face a resistant Legislature, where lawmakers are already negotiating alternative models for records access.

EVEN BLUER: On Beacon Hill, early results show Democrats flipped at least two longtime Republican seats in the House where the sitting reps did not seek reelection, while also appearing to topple two GOP incumbents. Former Lynnfield town moderator Joe Markey claimed a win for the seat held by outgoing Minority Leader Brad Jones, and Princeton Democrat Krista Ferrante took the seat Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, Jones' top deputy, is giving up.

Rep. David Vieira of East Falmouth, also in Jones' GOP leadership team, fell to Democrat Jack Richardson, according to the AP. And in Billerica, where the race has not been called, Democrat Daniel Darris-O'Connor said he was elected over Rep. Marc Lombardo, who first won his seat in 2010 and has been one of the House's most vocal conservatives.

In the Senate, two races — challenges against Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues of Westport and Spencer Republican Sen. Peter Durant — have yet to be called.

KOH TO CONGRESS: Massachusetts has a new Congressman-elect in Andover Democrat Dan Koh, who bested Republican Micah Jones. In his victory speech, Koh invoked his family's roots in South Korea and Lebanon and his own political roots in Boston City Hall, shouting out former boss Marty Walsh as the reason he made it here. Koh’s prepared remarks teased his agenda and staffing plans – campaign manager Olivia Brandon will be his chief of staff, and the to-do list he sketched out includes capping rent and utility bills, helping homebuyers with down payments, regulating AI, and passing both Medicare for All and the labor legislation known as the PRO Act.

WHAT’S NEXT: Let the speculation begin in earnest about Gov. Maura Healey’s post-2028 plans, now that she’s been decisively reelected on what she called “a really good night for Democrats around the country.” Healey told supporters that this election “means that I have an obligation, a responsibility, to drive change with urgency and action.” After a campaign focused on countering President Donald Trump, eyes will be on what kind of governing agenda she puts forward past the end of his second term — and whether Healey herself is looking toward a future in Washington. For what it’s worth, a Healey campaign spokesman told WBUR last weekend that she’ll “absolutely fulfill her next term.” Republican Mike Minogue, who poured $19.5 million of his own money into his campaign, didn’t rule out a future run for office but told reporters that right now, he’s looking forward to a good night’s sleep, hanging out with his kids, and not recording his Wednesday morning run for his campaign’s social media.

What’s on your radar post-election? Let me know at [email protected].

HAPPENING TODAY

9:00 | Supreme Judicial Court hears oral arguments in six cases, including one that stems from Attorney General Andrea Campbell's disapproval of a Cohasset bylaw that dealt with harbor navigation | John Adams Courthouse, Room 1, One Pemberton Sq., Boston | More Info | Livestream

10:00 | Massachusetts Board of Agriculture meets | 225 Turnpike Road, Southborough | Agenda and Livestream

10:00 | Congressman Neal, Hampden County District Attorney Gulluni, Springfield Mayor Sarno, Sen. Gómez and Rep. González are scheduled to speak at the grand reopening of Roca's Springfield site, which the nonprofit rebuilt this year. Roca founder and CEO Molly Baldwin, other Roca officials, and young people in the program also speak | Roca Springfield, 29 School St., Springfield

10:00 | Auditor DiZoglio speaks at the Abington VSO Breakfast | Martin's Restaurant, 205 North Ave., Abington

11:00 | Massachusetts Fire Training Council meets virtually | Agenda

11:30 | Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education host a conversation about the condition of education in western Mass. Education Secretary Stephen Zrike gives the keynote speech | The Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke | Register

1:30 | Partners In Democracy hosts an online post-election briefing with Danielle Allen of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy (Yes on 3), Jerren Chang of Partners In Democracy, Dustin Cathcart of Veterans for All Voters, and Shanique Rodriguez of Mass Voter Table | Register

1:30 | Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees meets remotely | For access email [email protected]

2:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will join Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall to provide an update on the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire that claimed the life of firefighter Robert “Bobby” Kilduff, Jr. | Boston Fire Department Headquarters, Memorial Hall - 3rd Floor, 115 Southampton St., Roxbury

6:00 | MBTA hosts one of two virtual community meetings for the public to hear about the agency's planning process to turn the commuter rail into "a modern Regional Rail system" | More Info and Register

JOB BOARD

Senior Legal Advisor — NEW, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Program Officer for Science, Engineering, and Technology, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Newton

Chief Economic Development Officer, City of Chelsea

Commission Counsel, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

Individual and Corporate Giving Manager, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation

Legislative Director, Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Litigation Attorney, Disability Law Center

Job board continues below the fold — post a job

ON BEACON HILL

TERM TWO: Gov. Healey, after cruising to victory over Mike Minogue, says affordability will be a central theme of her second term. On a night where MassGOP executive director Haley Jones said a "blue undertow" ripped through the state, the race was called almost immediately. | State House News Service (gift link)

YESES AND NOS: Massachusetts voters rejected an all-party primary election system and a rollback of recreational cannabis, while upholding the state's 2024 gun law and approving same-day voter registration for future elections. | GBH News

COMING DOWN THE TRACK: With the election in the rearview mirror, a shakeup could be ahead for Gov. Healey's transportation leadership team, where MBTA general manager Phillip Eng has also been serving as interim secretary since last fall. | Contrarian Boston

IN OTHER NEWS: State legislators are moving to further delay a healthcare price transparency law that was signed in 2021 but has yet to take effect, saying they want to make sure it doesn't conflict with a 2022 federal law. | State House News Service (gift link)

NEWS NEXT DOOR

BRISTOL ALL-NIGHTER: One South Coast House race is still too close to call. Unofficial numbers around 1 a.m. showed Republican challenger Jesse St. Gelais up by 91 votes over freshman Democrat Rep. Steven Ouelette with votes from the candidates' respective hometowns, Acushnet and Westport, still to be tallied. | New Bedford Light

CENTRAL MASS. FLIP: Princeton Democrat Krista Ferrante, a historian and archivist, flipped a House seat Republicans have held for more than 20 years and says she hopes to build bipartisan coalitions. Ferrante beat Holden Republican Stephanie Mulroy, who ran with the endorsement of the district's current representative, Kim Ferguson. | Telegram & Gazette

BIG NIGHT FOR MARKEYS: Rep. Chris Markey declared victory for the open Bristol County district attorney seat. Seth Aitken, the first Republican to run for the seat since 1974, so far has not conceded. | Herald News

BALLOT BOTTLENECK: The combination of unusually long ballots and relatively high turnout meant delays at some polling places. | Boston Herald

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JOB BOARD

Director, Regulatory Affairs, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

Director of Public Policy, Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance