Two candidates wear loss differently

Thomas F. Reilly went to work at his Ashburton Place office. Christopher F. Gabrieli spent the day with his family.

Eliminated from the race for governor in Tuesday's primary, the attorney general and the Beacon Hill venture capitalist were outside the glare of public scrutiny for the first time in months. They rested. They took care of petty business. And they were forced to confront futures that no longer include the state's executive office.

As the race forged ahead without them, pundits and political analysts speculated on the courses the two men might take.

Most said that Reilly, at 64, is unlikely to be a candidate again. Some said he should not be ruled out for future runs. But others pointed out that Reilly can comfortably retire when his term expires later this year or seek employment in a private law practice. With a third-place showing in the primary and some painful missteps in his campaign, the stars are unlikely to align for another run at public office anytime soon, those analysts said.

Gabrieli, on the other hand, could appear on a ballot again. He now has lost three bids for office, but analysts said he has shown qualities on the trail that are likely to keep him on a short list of key players. And at 46, he has time to consider new possibilities.

``He's young enough that he can still play a role in government and public service," said Jeffrey M. Berry, professor of political science at Tufts University. ``Or if the Democrats take over in Washington in 2008, he'll move there."

Neither Gabrieli nor Reilly was available for comment yesterday, and campaign aides declined to say if either has laid any future plans.

``We need a day to just kind of reflect and get through it," said Dan Cence, a spokesman for Gabrieli's campaign.

Reilly had not shared any thoughts about his plans following the election, said David Guarino, communications director for the campaign.

``He hasn't thought about it; he hasn't talked about it," Guarino said. ``He was focused on the race. Now he's focused on getting back to work. He's in the middle of the Big Dig investigation."

Gabrieli lost costly campaigns for Congress in 1998 and for lieutenant governor in 2002. Reilly will finish his term as attorney general at the end of this year, but no one could say whether he would run for elected office again.

``I'm sure that's the last thing he's thinking about right now," said Alan Solomont, campaign finance chairman for Reilly. ``He's got plenty of things on his plate."

Reilly, the early front-runner in the primary race, lost considerable ground early this year, analysts say, when he went from courting the wealthy and policy-driven Gabrieli as a running mate to offering the spot to state Representative Marie St. Fleur, a Boston Democrat.

St. Fleur, a Haitian immigrant who grew up in Dorchester, dropped out of the race in February after the Globe reported she had three delinquent tax debts in the last four years.

The episode, widely seen as the fruit of a rash misjudgment by Reilly, also led to Gabrieli's decision to run for the Democratic nomination for governor, which pushed Reilly further right as the most conservative candidate, Berry said.

``This is the head-scratcher of all head-scratchers," he said. ``It really dispelled the notion that he was the competent and invincible candidate."

At the Democratic Convention in June, latecomer Gabrieli barely made it onto the ballot. Heavy campaign spending and a no-nonsense image as a Mr. Fix-it attracted enough voters to outpace Reilly, but in the end it was not enough to win the nomination.

Reilly and Gabrieli pledged to support Democratic nominee Deval Patrick as he fights for the state's corner office. For most of yesterday, they both stayed away from the spotlight, but some say there may be more to come from both of them.

``Are the other two politically dead in American politics? Not necessarily," said Kay L. Schlozman, a political science professor at Boston College. ``Electoral politics is full of surprises, but the game's not over for them."

Russell Nichols can be reached at rnichols@globe.com.