Joe Biden

David Wade, a longtime aide to John Kerry known for his eye-catching statements, is returning to Kerry's office after a stint with President-elect Barack Obama's campaign.

Kerry's office confirmed that Wade, who was the travelling spokesman for Kerry during his 2004 president run, will return to the senator's Washington, D.C., office.

Wade served as Vice President-elect Joe Biden's spokesman during the presidential campaign this year.

U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd said Thursday that he intends to remain the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, clearing the way for U.S. Sen. John Kerry to become chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In the last congress, Vice President-elect Joe Biden was the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Dodd was next in line for the spot, but senators cannot hold chairmanships of two committees. Kerry is next in line.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday night that Democrat Barack Obama's election to the presidency represents the next chapter in American history.

"Tonight we elected a President who has inspired a majority of Americans with his vision and policies, a man who is principally a leader for these times who happens to also be African American," the Boston Democrat said in a statement. "And because of America's stunning ability to move on and transform, to write a new chapter of our history, Barack Obama will be President during the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War."

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, said Obama, a Democratic Senator from Illinois, has changed the country.

Gov. Deval Patrick said Tuesday night that he is looking forward to working with President-elect Barack Obama, his close friend.

"I congratulate Barack Obama and Joe Biden on this historic and inspiring victory, and thank them for restoring hope to American civic life," the Milton Democrat said in a statement. "I look forward to working closely with them to heal and strengthen our nation, and to move forward our commonwealth's agenda on schools, jobs and civic engagement."

Patrick was in Chicago last night at Obama's election night celebration.

After cruising to re-election Tuesday night, Congressman John Olver said he is looking forward to tackling the challenges facing the country with President-elect Barack Obama.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, the Boston Globe has projected that Olver, an Amherst Democrat, has defeated West Springfield Republican Nathan Bech. Olver earned 73 percent of the vote.

Olver, who was first elected in 1991, said in a statement that he is "honored" to have been elected to Congress again and that he is looking forward to what the next Congress, with an expanded Democratic majority, will be able to accomplish.

"I am also very excited about the prospects for the 111th Congress," Olver said. "We have an historic opportunity to take the country in a new direction."

BOSTON - Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh said the early returns for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John Kerry's projected victory in his re-election race show that there is a bright future for grassroots politics.

"Looks like a good night across America for Barack Obama and Joe Biden," Walsh told Walsh told the crowd at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel in downtown Boston. "We know for sure it was a good night for Barack Obama and Joe Biden in Massachusetts."

Walsh congratulated the audience for their work on behalf of Obama in New Hampshire, another state he is projected to win. He also said that Obama's lengthy primary race against U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won the Massachusetts primary, made him a stronger general election candidate.

Former governor Michael Dukakis is “cautiously optimistic” about Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s chances in November and said Republican nominee John McCain’s shift to personal attacks are part of the usual GOP playbook, the New York Observer reported Tuesday.

In a lengthy interview, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee discussed how impressed he has been by the Illinois Democrat’s campaign, what he thinks of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s addition to the GOP ticket and his relationship with vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Dukakis also struck back against the McCain campaign’s recent attacks on Obama’s character, such as Palin’s recent attack on Obama’s relationship to William Ayers, the leader of the 1960s group the Weather Underground.

“Well, it happens every time,” Dukakis, of Brookline, told the Observer with regards to the negative attacks. “They’re desperate; they’re slipping, and all of that stuff. So here we go.”

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Gov. Deval Patrick made three stops in Virginia over the weekend to campaign on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, according to the governor's political office.

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Milton)On Saturday, Patrick, a Milton Democrat, met with elected officials in Portsmouth, Va. He also spoke to and took questions from about 200 local residents at a "Change We Can Believe In" forum. The following day, Patrick attended a church service in Arlington and another in Alexandria.

Virginia has emerged as a pivotal battleground in this year's election and, consequently, has become a focus of the Obama campaign. Obama and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-Del.) were also in Virginia over the weekend, appearing at a rally in Fredericksburg.

Republican congressional candidate Nathan Bech criticized Barack Obama's presidential campaign Thursday for excluding the press and the high price of admittance at a Holyoke fundraiser last week.

Nathan Bech (R)Bech, of Springfield, is challenging Congressman John Olver is the Bay State's 1st Congressional District.

The former Army intelligence officer was referring to vice presidential nominee Joe Biden's fundraiser at Holyoke's Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House on Sept. 10.

Bech said the press should have been allowed into the event and blasted the Democratic presidential campaign for only allowing those that could contribute $2,300.