Deval Patrick wins landslide victory...

Photo shows Deval Patrick addressing supporters last night at a Boston hotel following his win in the gubernatiorial primary. (Photo: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe)
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Deval L. Patrick, who rose from poverty in Chicago's South Side to corporate boardrooms and a top post in the Clinton administration, swept to victory in the Democratic Party primary for governor yesterday, becoming the first African-American to win a major party's nomination for the top job in Massachusetts.

Patrick won half the primary votes cast yesterday, far outpacing his two better known rivals, businessman Christopher Gabrieli and Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly. He made strong showings in blue-collar urban enclaves, in liberal and conservative suburban towns, and in Western Massachusetts. He also carried Cape Cod.

With 98 percent of the state precincts reporting, Patrick had 50 percent of the vote, Gabrieli 27 percent, and Reilly was a distant third with 23 percent of the vote.

Yesterday's results pit Patrick against Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, the GOP gubernatorial nominee, who is seeking to become the first woman elected governor in the state. She is the first woman that the state GOP has nominated for governor.

Should be a very interesting race. I expect Bill Clinton will campaign for Patrick. There is already an expectation that Kerry Healey will run a negative campaign.