Gov. Charlie Baker’s coattails aren’t long enough just yet. Even though the wildly popular Republican got out on the campaign trail for Rep. Geoff Diehl, he couldn’t match the star power fired up by Rep. Michael Brady, who emerged victorious in the state Senate special election in the Second Plymouth and Bristol District to fill the seat that opened after the death of Thomas Kennedy.

Brady, a Brockton Democrat, benefited not only from appearing with the likes of US Sen. Elizabeth Warren and US Rep, Joseph Kennedy III on the campaign trail but from the larger Brockton vote in the district.

Baker and Diehl were an odd couple from the start. Baker is a more collaborative sort in the mold of traditional New England Republican leaders, while Diehl brings the fire-breathing zeal of Tea Party stalwarts to governing. The Whitman Republican is so hot that House Minority Leader Brad Jones tossed him off the House Ways and Means committee earlier this year because he didn’t play nicely in the legislative sandbox.

If special elections are your thing, you’re in for a treat as Sen. Robert Hedlund moves into Weymouth Town Hall after trouncing incumbent Weymouth Mayor Sue Kay.

Hedlund, who was first elected to the Senate in 1990 and ousted for one term, will give up his seat, setting up a new contest that is certain to be the focus of attention from state Republicans. Hedlund’s departure, which could happen anytime between now and his January inauguration, means that there will be only five Republicans left in the state Senate. They’d better get busy. Rep. James Murphy, a Weymouth Democrat, is likely to run for Hedlund’s seat. Senate President Stan Rosenberg gets to ponder when to hold a special election to fill the seat, which he vows will be held despite a regular election year in 2016.

To the surprise of exactly no one, Rep. Stephen DiNatale waltzed into Fitchburg City Hall with 74 percent of the vote, succeeding the popular Lisa Wong, who decided not to run for re-election. Already in the race for DiNatale’s seat is City Councilor Stephan Hay, who was re-elected to his municipal position. House Speaker Robert DeLeo decides when an election to fill the vacancy will be held.

Politicians who believe that incumbency is some sort of super power that enables them to leap over challengers in a single bound, should look to Boston and Pittsfield and think again.

In an otherwise uneventful Boston election, so uneventful that barely anyone showed up to vote, newbie Andrea Campbell kapowed Charles Yancey in the District 4 City Council race, demonstrating when a young whippersnapper gets into a race, it’s best to campaign like you mean it, that is, well before the preliminary election.

Annissa Essaibi George ousted Stephen Murphy which as many have noted will provide him with unlimited time to enjoy his Florida condo. City Councilors Michelle Wu and Ayanna Pressley were the top two vote-getters in the at-large council races which should give Mayor Marty Walsh some food for thought as he continues to push for a high-speed car race that no one seems to want.

In Pittsfield, Mayor-elect Linda Tyer demonstrated pretty decisively that temperament matters. Incumbent Dan Bianchi took it on the chin, losing big time, with only about 40 percent of the vote to Tyer’s nearly 60 percent.

Supported by popular former mayor James Ruberto,Tyer, the city clerk, now becomes Pittsfield’s first mayor to serve a four-year term. Bianchi had managed to alienate just about everyone in Pittsfield, prompting lawsuits by police and the city’s former veterans affairs officer, downplaying the need for affirmative action in municipal hiring, and picking fights with the City Council.

On Election Day, Bianchi also came out with bizarre charges, claiming that someone appropriated his supporters’ Facebook profiles and used them to post nasty comments on his campaign website. Finally, Bianchi blamed The Berkshire Eagle, which endorsed his challenger, for his loss saying that the paper had been “gunning for him” for several years.

For a primer on how to stay in office when others are gunning for you, look to these men: Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch made history by winning the city’s first four-year mayoral term which will tie him for the longest-serving mayor in the history of the City of Presidents by the end of the term.

Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter handily won reelection and vowed to move forward in his support of the proposed controversial power plant, which was a key issue in the race.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell fended off a stiff challenge from former Barney Frank aide, Maria Giesta to win a third term.

In central Massachusetts, Joseph Petty won a third term as mayor of Worcester, and Mark Hawke is elected to his fifth term as mayor of Gardner. Meanwhile, former Brockton mayor Winthrop Farwell made a return to public office, winning an at-large seat on the City Council.

Women continue to make gains in the top municipal posts. In Medford, Stephanie Muccini Burke, the city’s budget and personnel director, succeeded longtime mayor Michael McGlynn.  Burke stepped down from her post to run, while her challenger Robert Penta held on to his City Council seat. He raised eyebrows when he spoke to the DPW workers in City Hall in September and drew a rebuke from the city solicitor.

Sefatia Romeo Thelen won a two-year term as mayor of Gloucester by a victory margin of more than 1,000 votes. She succeeds Carolyn Kirk, who moved into a Baker administration post.

Taking a page out of Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse’s millennials’ guide to political success, Fall River City Councilor Jasiel Correia stunned Mayor Sam Sutter by ousting the first-term incumbent in a close race, and, at 23, becoming the city’s youngest mayor ever. Morse, now 26, won his re-election fight for a third term.

Young people stepped into other posts, too. Jack Lally,  an 18-year-old newcomer won a ward council seat in Brockton ,while James DeAmicis, 19, a June graduate of Quincy High School became the city’s youngest-ever elected official by winning a seat on the school committee.

–GABRIELLE GURLEY

BEACON HILL 

Gov. Charlie Baker extends a state contracting preference to veteran and LGBT businesses. (State House News)

UMass president Marty Meehan is not happy that the state Senate, under longtime UMass booster Stan Rosenberg, did not fund $10.9 million in campus faculty and staff raises. But no sooner did the the story hit the presses, Rosenberg signaled a change of heart, promising the money will be included in a mid-year supplemental budget next month. (Boston Globe)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

In the latest sign that the Walsh administration is scrambling to reposition itself on the planned IndyCar race in a manner very reminiscent of the Boston 2024 episode, the administration now says it is reworking its agreement with the race promoters to ensure that taxpayers are not on the hook for any costs. (Boston Herald)

A Boston Herald editorial pans the idea proposed by Boston City Councilor Frank Baker to make the council terms four years like the mayor’s.

CASINOS

An Eagle-Tribune editorial says the high hopes for the Massachusetts casino industry are not coming to pass, and likely will never materialize.

ELECTIONS

Jeb Bush begins a “campaign recovery bus tour” in New Hampshire, reports the Herald‘s Chris Cassidy.

A Herald editorial takes a dim view of the demands by some GOP presidential candidates for all sorts of conditions on the next debate.

A new WBUR poll indicates Donald Trump and Ben Carson are still leading in New Hampshire, but other Republicans are making gains. (WBUR)

Republican Matt Bevin wins the Kentucky governor’s race, taking a seat away from the Democrats. (Governing)

Maine voters support greater public funding for gubernatorial and legislative races in a bid to keep elected officials more representative of the electorate. (Governing) Ohio voters defeat a ballot measure legalizing marijuana. (Mashable) Houston voters reject an equal rights ordinance that was attacked as a measure that would allow men to dress up as women and use women’s bathrooms. (Houston Chronicle)

It seems two can play at the game of hawking nutritional supplements with bogus health claims: Though Ben Carson has come in for criticism for his work for a supplement company, Donald Trump has a similar trail of connection to questionable products. (Stat)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

A union official at Polartec says 90 people are being let go as part of seasonal layoffs, but he’s hopeful the company will remain in Lawrence. (Eagle-Tribune)

A Beacon Hill garage parking space is listed for $650,000. (Boston Herald)

San Francisco voters reject an anti-Airbnb measure. (Los Angeles Times)

DraftKings is under a spotlight because of charges that it may run afoul of gambling laws, but it’s also being celebrated for bringing some tech-industry mojo in Boston. (Boston Globe)

The New York Times offers a special section on “Giving,” with the focus on the nation’s charitable endeavors.

RELIGION

A new study by the Pew Research Center finds fewer adults, led by the millennial generation, believe in God and more survey respondents check “none” for religious affiliation. (U.S. News & World Report)

EDUCATION

An analysis by the Center for Public Integrity finds the politically active Koch brothers have upped their donations to colleges and universities with the intent to “evangelize” their conservative, free-market philosophies, often with strings attached such as receiving the names and emails of students who register for Koch-sponsored classes.

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Mass. General Hospital pediatrician Alice Newton has built up cohorts of strong admirers and fierce critics as a preeminent voice calling on doctors to consider whether injuries to children they treat might be the result of abuse. (Boston Globe)

TRANSPORTATION 

Rep. William Straus, the House’s transportation leader, says state law allows the MBTA to raise fares 10 percent, twice as much as transportation advocates say is allowed. (CommonWealth)

Surprisingly, the cash-strapped MBTA is counting on big savings from lower electricity costs. (State House News)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Time explains how the world’s poop can be the raw material for a $9.5 billion energy industry.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Death penalty opponents are divided over whether to bring a case to the Supreme Court as soon as possible or wait until there’s a change of makeup on the court. (New York Times)

MEDIA

Stat, John Henry’s standalone website for coverage of the pharmaceutical and life science industries, launches with 50 staff members. (Nieman Journalism Lab) The Globe reports here on its new affiliate. Dan Kennedy has an interview with Rick Berke, the site’s executive director. (WGBH)

National Geographic, just acquired by Rupert Murdoch, is laying off about 180 of its 2,000 employees. (Washington Post)

Jon Stewart signs a four-year deal with HBO. (Time)

As the Spotlight movie is set for national release, Jim Braude gives well-deserved due to two “unsung heroes” of the clergy sex abuse scandal: Kristen Lombardi, whose work at The Phoenix laid the groundwork for the revelations, and the late Robert Bullock, a priest in Sharon who was one of the first to call for Cardinal Bernard Law‘s resignation. (Greater Boston)

Rush Limbaugh hails his role in single-handedly launching conservative talk radio against all odds and naysayers. (National Review)