1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
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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.
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November 2, 1998
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| Turnout | 51.19%  18.86[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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Cellucci: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Harshbarger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.[2]
Polling
Results
On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.[4]
| 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
| 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 U.S.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[6]
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| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |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 |
Polling
Results
| 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
| 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.[9][10]
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 led Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.[11]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Paul Celluci (R) |
Scott Harshbarger (D) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RKM Research[3][B] | October 19–20, 1998 | 402 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 46% | 41% | 13% |
| The Boston Globe/WBZ[3] | October 6–7, 1998 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 46% | 40% | 14% |
| University of Massachusetts McCormack Institute[3] | October 2–6, 1998 | 630 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 43% | 35% | 22% |
| RKM Research[3][A] | January 22–23, 1998 | 414 (RV) | ± 5.0% | 55% | 29% | 16% |
Results
On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.[12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Cellucci (acting) | 967,160 | 50.87% | 20.00 | |
| Democratic | Scott Harshbarger | 901,843 | 47.44% |  19.17 | |
| Libertarian | Dean Cook | 32,184 | 1.69% | 1.01 | |
| Write-in | 2,149 | 0.11% | |||
| Total votes | 1,901,187 | 51.19% | |||
| N/A | Blank votes | 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)[13] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Cellucci - R % | Cellucci - R # | Harshbarger - D % | Harshbarger - D # | Others % | Others # | Total # |
| Barnstable | 54.7% | 50,690 | 43.4% | 40,259 | 1.9% | 1,718 | 92,667 |
| Berkshire | 50.6% | 20,679 | 47.9% | 19,593 | 1.5% | 1,086 | 40,900 |
| Bristol | 49.2% | 69,209 | 49.2% | 69,190 | 1.7% | 2,309 | 140,708 |
| Dukes | 41.7% | 2,639 | 56.0% | 3,550 | 2.4% | 147 | 6,336 |
| Essex | 53.4% | 118,540 | 44.8% | 99,452 | 1.9% | 4,147 | 222,139 |
| Franklin | 42.5% | 9,882 | 55.4% | 12,866 | 2.1% | 484 | 23,232 |
| Hampden | 50.3% | 58,517 | 47.9% | 55,709 | 1.8% | 2,138 | 116,364 |
| Hampshire | 40.9% | 19,239 | 57.1% | 26,836 | 2.0% | 957 | 47,032 |
| Middlesex | 48.9% | 230,004 | 49.4% | 232,302 | 1.8% | 8,285 | 470,691 |
| Nantucket | 49.8% | 1,755 | 47.7% | 1,681 | 2.5% | 89 | 3,525 |
| Norfolk | 52.1% | 120,729 | 46.2% | 106,999 | 1.7% | 3,958 | 231,686 |
| Plymouth | 56.5% | 81,047 | 41.5% | 59,525 | 2.1% | 2,997 | 143,569 |
| Suffolk | 40.6% | 58,384 | 57.7% | 83,048 | 1.7% | 2,398 | 143,830 |
| Worcester | 57.0% | 125,846 | 41.2% | 90,833 | 1.8% | 3,978 | 220,657 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
- Partisan clients
- Poll sponsored by the Boston Herald
- Poll sponsored by WCVB and the Boston Herald