Democrat wins US Senate election in Massachusetts
By STEVE LeBLANC and BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press
Jun 25, 2013 8:19 PM CDT
Gabriel Gomez, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the Massachusetts open seat special election, greets supporters, Monday, June 24, 2013, at the Four Square restaurant in Braintree, Mass. Gomez faces Democrat Rep. Ed Markey in Tuesday's election. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)   (Associated Press)

Longtime Democratic Rep. Edward Markey has won a special election in Massachusetts for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Kerry.

The 66-year-old Markey on Tuesday beat Republican challenger Gabriel Gomez, 47, a former Navy SEAL and businessman.

The race did not draw the deep interest of the 2010 special election between Republican former Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley to fill the seat held by Sen. Edward Kennedy. Brown pulled out a surprise victory that year, though he lost the seat to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in November.

Markey vowed to avoid a repeat, bringing in President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton to campaign with him.

Kerry left the Senate to become U.S. secretary of state.

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