Editing Robert Reich (section)

===2002 campaign for Governor of Massachusetts===
{{See also|2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election#Democratic primary}}
[[2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|In 2002]], he ran for [[Governor of Massachusetts]], losing in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primary to [[Shannon O'Brien (Massachusetts politician)|Shannon O'Brien]]. He also published an associated campaign book, ''I'll Be Short''. Reich was the first US gubernatorial candidate to support [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-89871706/committed-to-equality-why-is-massachusetts-gubernatorial|title=Committed to Equality: Why Is Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidate Robert Reich the Only Pro-Gay Politician to Officially Support Gay Marriage?|last=Dahir|first=Mubarak|magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|date=July 2002|page=15}}</ref> He also pledged support for [[abortion rights]] and strongly [[Capital punishment debate in the United States|condemned capital punishment]]. His campaign staff was largely made up of his Brandeis students. Although his campaign had little funding, he narrowly came in second out of six candidates in the Democratic primary with 25% of the vote;<ref>{{cite news |last=Belluck |first=Pam |date=September 18, 2002 |title=Massachusetts Democrats Pick Nominee For Governor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/18/us/massachusetts-democrats-pick-nominee-for-governor.html |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York, NY}}</ref> O'Brien went on to lose the general election to future Republican presidential nominee [[Mitt Romney]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Viser |first=Matt |date=October 13, 2012 |title=Romney overcame similar deficit in '02 race: former Mass. governor capitalized on debates |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/2012/10/01/romney-overcame-similar-deficit-race/eJh9cl9c8tUlYj8FfpR0YP/story.html |newspaper=Boston Globe |location=Boston, MA |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214181903/http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/2012/10/01/romney-overcame-similar-deficit-race/eJh9cl9c8tUlYj8FfpR0YP/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In early 2005, there was speculation that Reich would once again seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Massachusetts. He instead endorsed the then-little-known candidacy of [[Deval Patrick]], who had previously served as [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]] for Civil Rights in the Clinton Administration. Patrick won the party's endorsement, a three-way primary with nearly 50% of the vote, and the general election in November 2006.