The 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Democratic

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

was re-elected to a second term. Party

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

were held on September 14, though all four candidates ran unopposed in their respective primaries.

Tim Murray Timothy Patrick Murray (born June 7, 1968) is an American lawyer and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the 71st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2 ...

, who ran on a

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

with Patrick, was re-elected

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. This election is the only gubernatorial election since

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

in which the two major parties did not have a woman on the gubernatorial ticket.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

, incumbent Governor

=Withdrew

= *

Grace Ross Grace Ross (born June 6, 1961) is an American activist in Massachusetts. Ross was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2010 until she withdrew from the race, citing a lack of signatures. Ross is also a former Green-Rainbow Part ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Green-Rainbow nominee for Governor

Polling

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a non-profit health services company based in Canton, Massachusetts serving the New England region of the United States. On August 14, 2019, the boards of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan announced ...

and former Secretary of Administration and Finance

=Eliminated at convention

= *

Christy Mihos Christy Peter Mihos (June 13, 1949 – March 25, 2017) was an American politician and businessman from Massachusetts. He was an Independent candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2006. He ran for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 ...

, independent candidate for governor in

=Declined

= *

Kerry Healey Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is an American politician and educator serving as President Emerita of Babson College. She previously served as the 70th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romne ...

, former Lieutenant Governor and nominee in

Bob Hedlund Robert L. Hedlund (born July 12, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the mayor of Weymouth, Massachusetts. He was formerly a member of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Massachusetts Senate's Plymouth and Norfolk ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from Weymouth *

Joe Malone Maurice Joseph Malone (February 28, 1890 – May 15, 1969) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Canadiens, and Hamilt ...

, former State Treasurer (ran for U.S. Representative) * Michael Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts

Polling

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Richard Tisei Richard R. Tisei (; born August 13, 1962) is an American politician from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court for a combined 26 years, eventually becoming Minority Leader in the Massachusetts ...

, Minority Leader of the

Massachusetts State 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 s ...

General election

Candidates

(Republican) :*Running mate:

, Minority Leader of the

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...

, State Treasurer and Receiver-General (Independent) :*Running mate: Paul Loscocco, former Republican State Representative *

, incumbent Governor (Democratic) :*Running mate:

, incumbent Lieutenant Governor *

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

, medical internist and co-chairperson of the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party (Green-Rainbow) :*Running mate: Richard P. Purcell, surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor

Campaign

Defection of Loscocco

On October 1, 2010, Loscocco announced that he would withdraw from the race and endorse Republican candidate Charlie Baker. Loscocco formally remained on the ballot, however. On October 7, Cahill filed a lawsuit against four former campaign aides, alleging that they conspired to undermine his candidacy and help Charlie Baker by arranging his defection. Cahill claimed that e-mails between Republican political consultants and Loscocco's top aide suggested that Loscocco may have been enticed to leave the ticket by future job promises. In response, Loscocco claimed that Cahill's top aide was coordinating strategy with the Patrick campaign and the Democratic Governors' Association and thus was never actually an independent effort.

Lottery ad

Soon after Cahill filed suit against him, Adam Meldrum, Cahill's former campaign manager, alleged that Cahill colluded with the Massachusetts Lottery, which is overseen by the state treasurer's office, to run an ad favorable to him during the campaign. The ad, paid for by the Commonwealth, described the Massachusetts Lottery "the most successful state lottery America" and "consistently well-managed", echoing themes from Cahill's gubernatorial campaign. Both Cahill and Massachusetts Lottery Director Mark Cavanagh denied the allegations. On October 18, e-mails released in conjunction with Cahill's lawsuit appeared to reveal that the campaign attempted to have the Lottery air a series of ads that praised the lottery's management. In the e-mails, Cahill's campaign media strategist Dane Strother told Meldrum to "Get the Lottery immediately cutting a spot and get it up...Needs to focus on the Lottery being the best in the country and above reproach." Two days later, Cahill's senior adviser Scott Campbell wrote, "I think the first thing is to figure out what/where/how we want to do this ... with Lottery people." On April 2, 2012, Cahill was indicted by a Grand Jury on charges that he used $1.65 million in Massachusetts State Lottery advertising to aid his campaign for governor. On December 12, 2012, a mistrial was declared in the corruption case after the jury failed to reach a verdict on two counts of conspiracy.

Predictions

Polling

with Christy Mihos
with Grace Ross

Fundraising

As of October 31, 2010.Source: Shading indicates candidate with the highest amount.

Results

By county

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican * Barnstable (largest municipality: Barnstable) *

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(largest municipality: Lynn) *

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

(largest municipality: Quincy) *

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

(largest municipality: Brockton) *

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

(largest municipality:

)

References

External links

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth – Elections DivisionMassachusetts Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Massachusetts Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com * (graph of multiple polls)
Election 2010: Massachusetts Governor
from ''

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

''
2010 Massachusetts Governor Race
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected politi ...

''
2010 Massachusetts Governor's Race
from ''

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Debates

* * *

Campaign

Charlie Baker for GovernorTim Cahill for GovernorDeval Patrick for GovernorJill Stein for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election, 2010

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2010 United States gubernatorial elections Charlie Baker Jill Stein

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

=Withdrew

Polling

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

=Eliminated at convention

=Declined

Polling

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Defection of Loscocco

Lottery ad

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

By county

See also

References

External links

Debates

Campaign