Democrat Andrea Campbell has been elected as Massachusetts Attorney General, NBC News projects, making her the first Black woman to serve as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
She defeated GOP candidate Jay McMahon, who was seeking to become the first Republican elected to the post since the 1960s.
During the campaign, Campbell promised a focus on equity while McMahon vowed to target crime and corruption.
Speaking to an audience of supporters at an election night party in Boston on Tuesday, Campbell called it a “history-making night” for Democrats.
[This is] the first time you have elected a woman of color and a Black woman to serve as attorney general in Massachusetts,” Campbell said. “We don’t just say representation matters, we are showing it, and that history and responsibility is not lost on me.”
Campbell declared herself the winner less than an hour before the AP announced its projection that she would defeat McMahon late Tuesday night. Her speech was briefly interrupted by a wave of cheers that rang out from the back of the room to the balconies.
“I will come to work every day with joy, hope, possibility, integrity, and accountability to you the people,” she said. “I look forward to getting to work for a more fair and just Commonwealth.”