Revenge of the PUMAs....

Two weeks ago, if you had asked me on the down low, I'd a said that Middlesex 04 special election was Rep. Sean Garballey's to lose, it looked like he had a lock on the Arlington vote, and as Arlington goes, so goes the district.
Then I started seeing all sorts of "Friedman for State Senate" lawn signs in obscure parts of Lexington, which I foolishly attributed to Jay Kauffman's almighty reach in his home town.  But last night, Seemingly against the very God's Themselves, Cindy Friedman battled back to win the democratic nomination for state senate in Middlesex 04!
She lost Arlington by a thousand votes, and carried the district by about a thousand votes! No small achievement because on paper primary turnout along in Arlington can determine the nomination in the 4th Middlesex.  Friedman did it by having disciplined cadres in the dozens who worked a relentless voter ID model all over the district, they then executed. Ruthlessly on primary day. Their plan was, to hold Sean's Lead in Arlington to single digits if at all possible, make up the loss in Lexington and run the board everywhere else, and that exactly what happened. Hell, the woman carried Billerica, a town that Trump carried back in November!
The other big winners last night were Jay Kauffman & Bob Peters up in Lexington who turned the vote out with a six to one margin for Friedman, they can credibly claim to be "QueenMakers" in every way.
Clearly Garballey was relying on his immense personal popularity in Arlington to tip the district, but that might not have been a good call in a special election with unreliable turnout in play in five cities and towns.  Garballey got into the State Legislature nine years ago on a special election, he must have felt himself on familiar ground and sometimes that can be a source of faulty decisionmaking.
However, he is young and will likely try again for this seat when it opens up down the line nothing went down here to harm his prospects going forward.
Mary Ann Stewart on the other hand, ran poorly all over the district and did no business whatsoever in her home town of Lexington, if she wants to try for higher office again its hard to see how she gets that done given her numbers.
Anyhow, the PUMA faction in Arlington put some serious skin in the game yesterday and finally came up winners,  many tears of joy were seen last night at the Masonic Temple in Arlington....