Massachusetts state Senate President Therese Murray, an 18-year incumbent, breezed over the voters' general anti-incumbent sentiment to defeat Republican challenger Thomas Keyes of Sandwich by almost 4,000 votes as of midnight Tuesday.

No incumbent senator was unseated, and all eight open Senate seats went to Democrats, according to Senate President Therese Murray, who had a tough campaign of her own. Murray, whose district is among the most conservative in the state, beat Republican Thomas F. Keyes, with about 53 percent of the vote.

“We’ve been working at this for a while,’’ Murray said last night. “We had so many people from out of state come in from far-right organizations that we needed to run a big coordinated campaign.’’

"...There are plenty of state senators we’d like to see Keyes replace, but Murray isn’t one of them.

The Senate president has continued to learn and listen while in office, showing a profile that’s in stark contrast to previous legislative leaders whose careers have been directed toward personal gain and, ultimately, indictment and conviction.

While Keyes and others call for reform – and rightly so – Murray has been working to achieve same. When she cites consolidation of state agencies, spurs to economic development, and attempts to contain health care costs, she doesn’t express a 'Mission Accomplished' attitude but rather a 'Mission Ongoing' approach. ..."

Listen to Senator Murray debate her opponent on WCAI radio's The Point with Mindy Todd, October 26, 2010.