Three weeks after Democrats swept the elections, not much has changed for the Republican Party in Massachusetts.
Despite having lost the governor's office, two seats in the state House of Representatives, and one seat in the state Senate, in-state Republican politicians and activists plan on pursuing business as usual, just with a little less assurance.
"I think we're going to continue to fight for the Republican ideals, which [are] smaller government, smarter government, and less regulations so that individuals and companies can thrive in the Commonwealth," Representative George Peterson, the Minority Whip in the state House, told the Daily.
Peterson, whose job it is to maintain party unity, said that a major difference will be that now the Republican contingent in the state legislature, rather than the governor's office, will be determining the party's agenda.
"We don't have the corner office, which was generally driving the Republican agenda," he said. "We'll be driving our agenda on our own."
Still, he admitted that the party will, to a degree, be venturing into the unknown.
Even as a seasoned veteran of over a decade in Massachusetts politics, throughout his tenure there has always been a Republican governor on Beacon Hill.
"I really can't say how much of a change there's going to be because...I've always had a Republican governor," he said.
"This is going to be a brand new experience for all of us in the House and Senate in the Republican Party."
He is also worried that after losing two seats it may be harder for Massachusetts Republicans to be heard.
It takes 16 votes to demand a roll call vote, and there are only 19 Republicans in the House, which leaves them with little margin for error and not much room for absences during voting.
Even so, the Democratic surge at the national level may not lead to many changes in Republican politics at the state level.
Although general anti-George Bush sentiment might have cost Massachusetts Republicans some seats, their course is not entirely dependent on national politics.
"National politics don't really affect what we do on the state level. We're going to continue to drive that bus," he said.
Republicans on campus are similarly unaffected by much of what happened in the elections.
According to Tufts Republicans President Jordan Greene, not even the loss of the governor's office will have much of an effect on the future of the group.
"Massachusetts has its own Republican party. We may comment on specific areas of interest but we don't set the agenda for the Massachusetts Republican Party," he said. "Certainly we're not going to change our message just because Deval Patrick got elected."
Instead, the Tufts Republicans plan to focus on strengthening its working groups on abortion and Social Security, as well as to continue with their normal schedule of events, Greene said.
Still, Peterson said that as the number of elected Republicans declines, it will become harder have their voices heard at the state level.
This decline, he said has been occurring steadily throughout his term. When he took office in 1995, there were 35 Republicans in the state House. Now there are only 19.
"It makes it a lot more difficult to be heard the smaller the number is," he said.
