Last night, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley took one giant step closer to becoming the state's first woman senator. She won the Democratic nomination in the campaign to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy by a large margin.

"Tonight, Massachusetts voted for a fighter, a progressive and someone who will truly do justice to Ted Kennedy's legacy: Martha Coakley. Personally, I can't wait for Massachusetts to be represented in the Senate not just by a woman, but by a woman who will continue to crack down on abusive health insurers, fight unscrupulous employers for the back pay workers are entitled to and stand for free and fair union elections," said SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. Coakley won SEIU's endorsement in October because of her record fighting to improve the lives of working families across the Commonwealth.

SEIU members throughout the Bay State invested a substantial amount of time and effort knocking on doors and making phone calls from Springfield to Boston to Hyannis to help Coakley get to last night's primary victory. Coakley has shown her support for working people throughout her campaign. On November 2, she walked a day in the shoes of 1199SEIU Boston personal care attendant Monica Henry. "She has a reputation for not backing down and I know she will fight for people like me," said Monica Henry.

On December 3, SEIU launched an almost $215,000 independent expenditure radio ad titled "Responsibility," which aired throughout the Boston area through December 8th. SEIU will continue working on Coakley's behalf leading up to the January 19 special general election, where she'll face Republican Scott Brown.