2010 Massachusetts elections

The Massachusetts general election, 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 14, 2010.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Governor Deval Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray sought re-election. Republicans nominated former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charlie Baker for Governor and Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei for Lieutenant Governor.^[1] State Treasurer Tim Cahill left the Democratic Party in September 2009 ran as an independent candidate.^[2]

Patrick and Murray were re-elected to a second term in office.

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Democratic incumbent William F. Galvin sought re-election. Republicans nominated Woburn City Clerk William Campbell.^[3] Galvin was also challenged by independent candidate James D. Henderson.^[4]

General election

Galvin was re-elected to a fourth term in office with 64% of the vote.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 2010^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William F. Galvin (incumbent)	1,420,481	64.34%
Republican	William Campbell	720,967	32.70%
Independent	James D. Henderson	61,812	2.80%
Write-in		1,424	0.16%

Attorney General

Attorney General Martha Coakley sought re-election.

Republican primary

The Republicans did not formally endorse a candidate at their state convention. Nevertheless, two late entry candidates, Jim McKenna,^[6] and Guy Carbone^[7] entered the campaign as write-in candidates. James McKenna received 27,711 certified write-in votes, which was a United States and Massachusetts electoral record.

Results

Massachusetts Attorney General Republican Primary, 2010^[8]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jim McKenna (Write-in)	27,711	54.38%
Republican	Guy Carbone (Write-in)	9,505	18.66%
Other		13,734	26.96%

General election

Coakley was re-elected.

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 2010^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Martha Coakley (incumbent)	1,417,538	62.76%
Republican	Jim McKenna	839,274	37.16%
Write-in		1,981	0.08%

Treasurer

Treasurer Tim Cahill retired to run for governor as an independent.

Democratic primary

Former Democratic National Committee National Chairman Steve Grossman won the Democratic primary against Boston City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, and was opposed by Republican State Representative Karyn Polito (of Shrewsbury) in the general election.^[9]

Results

Massachusetts Treasurer Democratic Primary, 2010^[10]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Steve Grossman	245,386	60.78%
Democratic	Stephen J. Murphy	157,284	38.96%
Write-in		1,071	0.26%

General election

Massachusetts Treasurer Election, 2010^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Steve Grossman	1,208,098	54.84%
Republican	Karyn Polito	993,127	45.08%
Write-in		1,784	0.08%

Auditor

Auditor Joe DeNucci retired.

Republican primary

Candidates

Mary Z. Connaughton, former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority^[11]
Kamal Jain, Libertarian nominee for Auditor in 2002^[12]

Results

Massachusetts Auditor Republican Primary, 2010^[10]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Mary Z. Connaughton	176,864	86.30%
Republican	Kamal Jain	27,017	13.20%
Write-in		848	0.41%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Suzanne Bump, former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
Guy Glodis, Worcester County Sheriff
Mike Lake

Results

Massachusetts Auditor Democratic Primary, 2010^[10]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Suzanne Bump	198,984	49.41%
Democratic	Guy Glodis	125,974	31.28%
Democratic	Mike Lake	76,764	19.06%
Write-in		1,027	0.26%

General election

Nathanael Fortune, the Green-Rainbow Party nominee, also appeared on the November ballot.^[4]

Massachusetts Auditor Election, 2010^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Suzanne Bump	1,027,710	48.45%
Republican	Mary Z. Connaughton	982,113	46.30%
Green-Rainbow	Nathanael Fortune	108,997	5.14%
Write-in		2,186	0.10%

United States Senate

Neither of Massachusetts's two seats in the United States Senate was 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.

United States House of Representatives

All of Massachusetts's ten seats in the United States House of Representatives 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.^[13]

State Legislature

Massachusetts Senate

All 40 seats in the Massachusetts Senate were up for election in 2010.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

All 160 seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

Ballot measures

There were three statewide 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 repealed an affordable housing statute. Question 3 would have lowered the sales tax rate.^[14]

Question No.	Subject	Description	Result	Yes	No
1	Taxes	Sales tax eliminated for alcohol sales in the state	Yes	52%	48%
2	Housing initiatives	Repeal a housing law	No	42%	58%
3	Taxes	Roll 6.25% sales tax back to 3%	No	43%	57%
Sources^[15]^[16]

County

Counties in Massachusetts will elect County Commissioners, District Attorneys, and Sheriffs.

References

^ Chabot, Hillary; McConville, Christine; Van Sack, Jessica (July 8, 2009). "Charles D. Baker leaving Harvard Pilgrim to run for governor". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
^ Estes, Andrea (September 10, 2009). "Cahill enters race for governor". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
^ O’Sullivan, Jim (April 13, 2010). "GOP chair sees Christy Mihos earning ballot spot". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "2010 State Election Candidates". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election (PDF). 2010.
^ Millbury lawyer to run against Coakley https://www.telegram.com/article/20100719/NEWS/100719742/1116 Retrieved August 22, 2010.
^ Election overview: What's on the ballot statewide https://www.salemnews.com/opinion/x666132227/Election-overview-Whats-on-the-ballot-statewide Retrieved August 22, 2010.
^ "09/14/2010 State Primary" (PDF). Retrieved July 2, 2011.
^ Martin Finucane (April 28, 2010). "Grossman announces candidacy for treasurer". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "09/14/2010 State Primary" (PDF). Retrieved July 2, 2011.
^ Haneisen, Rob (February 3, 2010). "Connaughton gets big crowd at fundraiser". The MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
^ Murphy, Matt (April 21, 2010). "Jain launches campaign for state auditor". Lowell Sun. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
^ Brace, Kimball (December 22, 2008). "New Population Estimates Show Slight Changes For 2008 Congressional Apportionment, But Point to Major Changes for 2010 – Table E" (PDF). ElectionDataServices. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
^ Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2010 Statewide Ballot Questions https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepip10/pip101.htm Retrieved August 22, 2010.
^ "Ballot Questions - Overview - Campaign 2010". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
^ "Statewide Ballot Questions — Statistics by Year: 2010". sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved March 11, 2018.

External links

Elections Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State
"Nov 2, 2010 general election", PD43+ Massachusetts Election Statistics, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Candidates for Massachusetts State Offices at Project Vote Smart
Massachusetts Polls at Pollster.com
Massachusetts Congressional Races in 2010 campaign finance data from OpenSecrets
Massachusetts 2010 campaign finance data from Follow the Money
Local politics at The Boston Herald

[1] Chabot, Hillary; McConville, Christine; Van Sack, Jessica (July 8, 2009). "Charles D. Baker leaving Harvard Pilgrim to run for governor". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 25, 2010.

[2] Estes, Andrea (September 10, 2009). "Cahill enters race for governor". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2010.

[3] O’Sullivan, Jim (April 13, 2010). "GOP chair sees Christy Mihos earning ballot spot". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 3, 2010.

[2010_State_Election_Candidates-4] "2010 State Election Candidates". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved October 15, 2010.

[ReturnofVotes-5] Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election (PDF). 2010.

[6] Millbury lawyer to run against Coakley https://www.telegram.com/article/20100719/NEWS/100719742/1116 Retrieved August 22, 2010.

[7] Election overview: What's on the ballot statewide https://www.salemnews.com/opinion/x666132227/Election-overview-Whats-on-the-ballot-statewide Retrieved August 22, 2010.

[RepPrimaries-8] "09/14/2010 State Primary" (PDF). Retrieved July 2, 2011.

[9] Martin Finucane (April 28, 2010). "Grossman announces candidacy for treasurer". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2010.

[DemPrimaries-10] "09/14/2010 State Primary" (PDF). Retrieved July 2, 2011.

[11] Haneisen, Rob (February 3, 2010). "Connaughton gets big crowd at fundraiser". The MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved April 6, 2010.

[12] Murphy, Matt (April 21, 2010). "Jain launches campaign for state auditor". Lowell Sun. Retrieved April 24, 2010.

[Electiondataservices-13] Brace, Kimball (December 22, 2008). "New Population Estimates Show Slight Changes For 2008 Congressional Apportionment, But Point to Major Changes for 2010 – Table E" (PDF). ElectionDataServices. Retrieved December 25, 2008.

[14] Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2010 Statewide Ballot Questions https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepip10/pip101.htm Retrieved August 22, 2010.

[globe-15] "Ballot Questions - Overview - Campaign 2010". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 8, 2010.

[SecState-16] "Statewide Ballot Questions — Statistics by Year: 2010". sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved March 11, 2018.

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v t e State elections in Massachusetts
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