Massachusetts general election, 2010
Encyclopedia
The Massachusetts general election, 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 throughout Massachusetts
. Primary elections took place on September 14, 2010.
is up for election in the 2010 general election. In January 2010, Republican Scott Brown
won a special election
to fill the seat of Ted Kennedy
.
are up for election in 2010. All of the incumbent Representatives are seeking re-election, with the exception of Bill Delahunt
of District 10
. Massachusetts is expected to lose one congressional seat in the redistricting
that will follow the 2010 census.
All ten seats were won by Democrats.
sought re-election. He was challenged by former Green-Rainbow Party
co-chair Grace Ross
in the Democratic primary, but she failed to get enough signatures on her nomination petition.
Former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charles D. Baker, Jr.
was the Republican candidate for Governor. Convenience store franchise owner Christy Mihos
dropped out of the race after a poor showing at the 2010 Massachusetts Republican Convention.
State Treasurer
Tim Cahill left the Democratic Party in September 2009 ran as an independent candidate.
Physician, activist, and Green-Rainbow Party
co-chair Jill Stein
ran as the Green-Rainbow candidate.
Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei
(Republican), former State Representative Paul Loscocco
(Independent), and surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor Richard P. Purcell (Green-Rainbow).
sought re-election. He was opposed by Woburn
City Clerk William Campbell, who ran as a Republican. and James D. Henderson, who ran as an independent.
, a Democrat, sought re-election. The Republicans did not formally nominate a candidate at their convention nor has any candidate collected enough signatures to be on the primary ballot. Nevertheless, two late entry candidates, Jim McKenna, and Guy Carbone
were seeking to get the nomination if they can receive 10,000 write-in votes. James McKenna received 27,711 certified write-in votes, which was a United States and Massachusetts Electoral record. The ballot then listed Martha Coakley (D) and James McKenna (R)
Coakley was re-elected.
Former Democratic National Committee
National Chairman Steve Grossman won the Democratic primary against Boston City Counselor
Stephen J. Murphy
, and was opposed by Republican State Representative Karyn Polito
(of Shrewsbury
) in the general election. Grossman won.
retired.
Mary Z. Connaughton
, former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Kamal Jain, the 2002 Libertarian candidate for auditor and current operations and customer service manager for Vivo
competed for the Republican nomination.
Suzanne Bump (former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development), Guy Glodis
(Worcester County Sheriff), and Mike Lake (Clinton-era White House intern) competed for the Democratic nomination.
Nathanael Fortune, the Green-Rainbow Party
nominee, also appeared on the November ballot.
Bump won.
were up for election in 2010.
were up for election in 2010.
Question 1 repealed the sales tax on alcohol. Question 2 would have repealled an affordable housing statute. Question 3 would have lowered the sales tax rate.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Primary elections took place on September 14, 2010.
United States Senate
Neither of Massachusetts's two seats in the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
is up for election in the 2010 general election. In January 2010, Republican Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
won a special election
United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013...
to fill the seat of Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
.
United States House of Representatives
All of Massachusetts's ten seats in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
are up for election in 2010. All of the incumbent Representatives are seeking re-election, with the exception of Bill Delahunt
Bill Delahunt
William D. Delahunt is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Delahunt did not seek re-election in 2010, and left Congress in January 2011. He was replaced by Norfolk County District Attorney Bill Keating...
of District 10
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is a political constituency that includes parts of the South Shore of Massachusetts, and all of Cape Cod and the islands. With a population of 635,901 and a land area of , it is the most populous of Massachusetts's ten congressional districts and the...
. Massachusetts is expected to lose one congressional seat in the redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
that will follow the 2010 census.
All ten seats were won by Democrats.
State
All state-wide offices were won by Democrats. The Senate and the House were overwhelmingly won by Democrats as well.Governor
Governor Deval PatrickDeval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...
sought re-election. He was challenged by former Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...
co-chair Grace Ross
Grace Ross
Grace Ross, is a Massachusetts activist. Ross was a Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2010 until she left the race, citing a lack of signatures. She is from Worcester, Massachusetts...
in the Democratic primary, but she failed to get enough signatures on her nomination petition.
Former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charles D. Baker, Jr.
Charles D. Baker, Jr.
Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker, Jr. , is an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial...
was the Republican candidate for Governor. Convenience store franchise owner Christy Mihos
Christy Mihos
Christy P. Mihos is an American politician and businessman from the U.S. commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was an Independent candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2006 and ran again as a Republican in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election...
dropped out of the race after a poor showing at the 2010 Massachusetts Republican Convention.
State Treasurer
Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts
The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts is an executive officer, elected state-wide every four years....
Tim Cahill left the Democratic Party in September 2009 ran as an independent candidate.
Physician, activist, and Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...
co-chair Jill Stein
Jill Stein
Jill Stein is an American physician, activist, co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party and candidate for President of the United States in 2012. Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2002 and the 2010 gubernatorial elections. Stein is a resident of Lexington, Massachusetts and a...
ran as the Green-Rainbow candidate.
Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray sought re-election. He was challenged in the general election by Massachusetts SenateMassachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei
Richard R. Tisei
Richard R. Tisei is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in the Massachusetts state legislature for 26 years, most recently as the minority leader in the Massachusetts Senate...
(Republican), former State Representative Paul Loscocco
Paul Loscocco
Paul J.P. Loscocco is a former Massachusetts Republican State Representative and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election....
(Independent), and surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor Richard P. Purcell (Green-Rainbow).
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Democratic incumbent William F. GalvinWilliam F. Galvin
William Francis Galvin is the 27th and current Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth .-Early life and career:...
sought re-election. He was opposed by Woburn
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
City Clerk William Campbell, who ran as a Republican. and James D. Henderson, who ran as an independent.
Attorney General
Attorney General Martha CoakleyMartha Coakley
Martha Mary Coakley is the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2007....
, a Democrat, sought re-election. The Republicans did not formally nominate a candidate at their convention nor has any candidate collected enough signatures to be on the primary ballot. Nevertheless, two late entry candidates, Jim McKenna, and Guy Carbone
Guy Carbone
Guy A. Carbone is an American attorney and Perennial candidate in Massachusetts who was Metropolitan District Commissioner from 1979–1980.-Electoral history:-Other races:...
were seeking to get the nomination if they can receive 10,000 write-in votes. James McKenna received 27,711 certified write-in votes, which was a United States and Massachusetts Electoral record. The ballot then listed Martha Coakley (D) and James McKenna (R)
Coakley was re-elected.
Treasurer
Treasurer Tim Cahill retired to run for Governor.Former Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
National Chairman Steve Grossman won the Democratic primary against Boston City Counselor
Boston City Council
The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councilors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve...
Stephen J. Murphy
Stephen J. Murphy
Stephen John Murphy is a member of the Boston City Council in Boston, Massachusetts. He has served on the City Council since 1997.-External links:* * . Articles about Murphy* . Blog posts about Murphy*...
, and was opposed by Republican State Representative Karyn Polito
Karyn Polito
Karyn Polito is an American politician from the state of Massachusetts. Since 2001 she has been a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives representing the Eleventh Worcester - consisting of the town of Shrewsbury, and precincts 1 and 4 of the town of Westborough, both in the county...
(of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,640 people, 12,366 households, and 8,693 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 12,696 housing units at an average density of...
) in the general election. Grossman won.
Auditor
Auditor Joe DeNucciA. Joseph DeNucci
A. Joseph "Joe" DeNucci is a former middle-weight boxer and former Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.-Early Life and career:...
retired.
Mary Z. Connaughton
Mary Z. Connaughton
Mary Zarrilli Connaughton is a former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority...
, former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Kamal Jain, the 2002 Libertarian candidate for auditor and current operations and customer service manager for Vivo
Vivo
-Computer and technology:* Video In Video Out* Vivo Software, streaming format, acquired in 1998 by RealNetworks* VivoActive, Vivo Software's video format* Vivo S.A., a major Brazilian mobile phone company...
competed for the Republican nomination.
Suzanne Bump (former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development), Guy Glodis
Guy Glodis
Guy William Glodis is an American politician who served as Sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts from 2005 to 2011...
(Worcester County Sheriff), and Mike Lake (Clinton-era White House intern) competed for the Democratic nomination.
Nathanael Fortune, the Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...
nominee, also appeared on the November ballot.
Bump won.
Massachusetts Senate
All 40 seats in the Massachusetts SenateMassachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
were up for election in 2010.
Massachusetts House of Representatives
All 160 seats in the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMassachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
were up for election in 2010.
Ballot measures
There were three state-wide ballot questions, all initiatives. Question 1 passed, but Questions 2 and 3 failed.Question 1 repealed the sales tax on alcohol. Question 2 would have repealled an affordable housing statute. Question 3 would have lowered the sales tax rate.
County
Counties in Massachusetts will elect County Commissioners, District Attorneys, and Sheriffs.External links
- Elections Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State
- Candidates for Massachusetts State Offices at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Massachusetts Polls at Pollster.com
- Massachusetts Congressional Races in 2010 campaign finance data from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Massachusetts 2010 campaign finance data from Follow the Money
- Local politics at The Boston Herald