1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

(Redirected from Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998)

← 1994

November 2, 1998

2002 →

Turnout

51.19%

18.86


Nominee	Paul Cellucci	Scott Harshbarger
Party	Republican	Democratic
Running mate	Jane Swift	Warren Tolman
Popular vote	967,160	901,843
Percentage	49.98%	46.60%

County results

Municipality resultsCellucci: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Harshbarger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

Governor before election

Paul Cellucci (acting)
Republican

Elected Governor

Paul Cellucci
Republican

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The 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting Governor Paul Cellucci was elected to his first term as Governor of Massachusetts.

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Paul Cellucci, acting Governor
Joe Malone, Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General

Campaign

The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.

Results

On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Cellucci (acting)	136,258	58.57%
	Republican	Joe Malone	95,963	41.25%
	Write-in	All others	442	0.19%
Total votes			232,663	100.00%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Janet E. Jeghelian, radio host (running with Malone)
Jane Swift, Secretary of Consumer Affairs (running with Cellucci)

Declined

Charlie Baker, Secretary of Administration and Finance
Ralph C. Martin II, Suffolk County District Attorney

Results

Massachusetts Republican Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jane Swift	116,476	54.38%
	Republican	Janet E. Jeghelian	97,411	45.48%
	Write-in	All others	323	0.15%
Total votes			214,210	100.00%

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Brian J. Donnelly, former U.S. Representative and United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
Scott Harshbarger, Massachusetts Attorney General
Patricia McGovern, State Senator from Lawrence

Withdrew

Joseph Kennedy II, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 8th congressional district

Debate

1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Democratic primary debate
No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn
					Brian J. Donnelly	Scott Harshbarger	Patricia McGovern
1	Sep. 8, 1998	WWLP	Jim Madigan	C-SPAN	P	P	P

Results

Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott Harshbarger	296,212	51.35%
	Democratic	Patricia McGovern	180,429	31.28%
	Democratic	Brian J. Donnelly	98,774	17.12%
	Write-in	All others	1,484	0.26%
Total votes			576,899	100.00%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Dorothy Kelly Gay, Governor's Councilor from Somerville
Warren Tolman, State Senator from Watertown

Results

Massachusetts Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Warren Tolman	270,791	53.75%
	Democratic	Dorothy Kelly Gay	232,250	46.10%
	Write-in	All others	768	0.15%
Total votes			503,809	100.00%

General election

Campaign

After Harshbarger's primary victory, many moderate Democrats who had voted for McGovern or Donnelly, chose to support the socially liberal, fiscally moderate Cellucci instead of the more liberal Harshbarger.

Debate

1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election debate
No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn
					Paul Cellucci	Scott Harshbarger
1	Oct. 26, 1998	Boston Herald The Boston Globe New England Cable News WCVB-TV WHDH-TV WBZ-TV	Charles Ogletree	C-SPAN	P	P

Polling

In a January opinion poll, Cellucci lead Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.

Results

On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paul Cellucci (acting)	967,160	49.97%	−20.09
	Democratic	Scott Harshbarger	901,843	46.60%	+29.08
	Libertarian	Dean Cook	32,184	1.66%
	Write-in		2,149	0.11%
	Blank		31,941	1.65%
Turnout			1,935,277	51.19%
	Republican hold		Swing

Results by county

1998 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county)
County	Cellucci - R %	Cellucci - R #	Harshbarger - D %	Harshbarger - D #	Others %	Others #	Total #
Barnstable	53.8%	50,690	42.7%	40,259	3.6%	3,357	94,306
Berkshire	49.8%	20,679	47.1%	19,593	3.1%	1,287	41,559
Bristol	48.37%	69,209	48.36%	69,190	3.3%	4,676	143,075
Dukes	40.9%	2,639	55.1%	3,550	4.0%	256	6,445
Essex	52.4%	118,540	44.0%	99,452	3.6%	8,113	226,105
Franklin	41.9%	9,882	54.6%	12,866	3.5%	819	23,567
Hampden	49.3%	58,517	46.9%	55,709	3.8%	4,484	118,710
Hampshire	40.4%	19,239	56.3%	26,836	3.4%	1,598	47,673
Middlesex	48.2%	230,004	48.7%	232,302	3.1%	14,900	477,206
Nantucket	48.8%	1,755	46.7%	1,681	4.6%	164	3,600
Norfolk	51.2%	120,729	45.4%	106,999	3.4%	7,936	235,664
Plymouth	55.6%	81,047	40.8%	59,525	3.6%	5,239	145,811
Suffolk	39.5%	58,384	56.2%	83,048	4.2%	6,210	147,642
Worcester	56.2%	125,846	40.6%	90,833	3.2%	7,235	223,914

References

"Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998".
Jill Zuckman and Frank Phillips (September 10, 1998). "Malone, Cellucci trade blows on ethics". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
Harden, Blaine (August 29, 1997). "Joseph Kennedy Ends Gubernatorial Bid". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
"Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
Adrian Walker (September 19, 1998). "Democratic Dissidents Back Cellucci". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
Scot Lehigh (October 6, 1998). "Cellucci Seen Seizing Initiative from Harshbarger". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
Brian C. Mooney (August 15, 1998). "Surplus Stumble Illustrates Why Cellucci's Falling". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
"Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
^ "PD43+ » Search Elections".

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Categories:

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Campaign

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Declined

Results

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Withdrew

Debate

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Results

General election

Campaign

Debate

Polling

Results

Results by county

See also

References