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2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2006
← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →
 
Nominee Deval Patrick Kerry Healey Christy Mihos
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Running mate Tim Murray Reed V. Hillman John J. Sullivan
Popular vote 1,234,984 784,342 154,628
Percentage 55.64% 35.33% 6.97%
Municipality results
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Mitt Romney
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Deval Patrick
Democratic

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The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. Former US Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick was elected to a four-year term, from January 4, 2007 until January 6, 2011. In his first elected office, Patrick is the second African-American governor in the United States since Reconstruction. Every four years, Massachusetts holds elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, as part of the general statewide election. The Primary election was September 19, 2006.

One-term Republican governor Mitt Romney did not seek re-election; his term ended January 4, 2007. Polls had been mixed prior to Romney's announcement, with one poll showing Romney slightly leading Democrat Attorney General Tom Reilly and other polls showing Reilly, who was then the Democratic frontrunner, in the lead.[1] Romney endorsed Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey to succeed him in the 2006 gubernatorial election. Republican Christy Mihos left his party to run as an Independent, and the Green-Rainbow Party nominated a slate of candidates for statewide office. While the Libertarian Party has often run candidates for governor in the past, the deadline for filing signatures passed without a nominated Libertarian candidate. State law requires that candidates for statewide office be registered in their party (or unenrolled for independent candidates) by March 7.

As incumbent Kerry Healey ran for Governor, the position of Lieutenant Governor was open. In Massachusetts, the Lieutenant Governor candidates are nominated separately from the Gubernatorial candidates, then the nominated tickets from each party run together.

Gubernatorial primaries

Democratic

See Election results below for details.

The Democrats were the only party with a contested primary election. On September 19, 2006, Patrick won the Democratic primary with 50% of the vote, ahead of Gabrieli (27%) and Reilly (23%).[2]

Candidates

Caucuses

The Democratic State Caucuses were held in February in all cities and towns to elect delegates to the convention. The Patrick campaign organized their supporters, many of whom had never been involved in such party processes before, to win twice as many pledged delegates as the Reilly campaign. (Chris Gabrieli did not join the race until a month later, which played a major role in his difficulty in getting on the ballot).

Debates

The first two debates took place in late April, and were the first of many between then and September: WBZ-CBS4 News hosted a debate between Democratic candidates Chris Gabrieli, Deval Patrick, and Tom Reilly on April 21 and it aired at 8:30 AM on April 23.[4] A second Democratic candidate debate, moderated by Sy Becker from WWLP TV 22, was held at Agawam Middle School on April 27.[5] On April 25, Healey called for a series of four debates involving all four candidates between the September primaries and November general election, and this proposition was seconded by Patrick.[6]

The final two televised debates played a key role in the primary campaign, as they took place during the two weeks between Labor Day and Primary Day when the public and the media hold their greatest focus on the election. The first of the two was carried about by the media consortium (which includes the Boston Globe, NECN, and WBUR, among others) and moderated by former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen, while the second and final debate was held by WBZ-TV and moderated by their political analyst, Jon Keller.

Convention

At the Democratic Convention on June 3 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, each candidate needed to receive support from 15% of the delegates to be on the primary ballot in September, and there was some question as to whether Gabrieli could succeed after entering the race so late. Patrick received the convention's endorsement with 57.98% of the vote, Reilly made it with 26.66%, and Gabrieli just made it with 15.36%.[7][8]

Major events and controversies

On August 11, Joan Vennochi of The Boston Globe wrote that Reilly's campaign had been coordinating with an alleged attempt to swiftboat Deval Patrick over his experience at Coca-Cola.[9] The "Campaign to Stop Killer Coke", a group dedicated to holding Coca-Cola accountable for violence in its Colombian bottling plant in the mid-1990s, had begun to attack Patrick and his candidacy, even though he resigned from the company and said he'd done so after his attempts to get them to carry out an independent investigation were ignored and undermined.[10] Before the revelation of the Reilly campaign involvement, five Massachusetts unions filed a complaint against the group with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance,[11] a move supported by former Secretary of the Commonwealth candidate John Bonifaz[12] and based on research by David Kravitz of Blue Mass Group.[13]

Media endorsements

Polls

Source Date MoE Patrick Reilly Gabrieli Other Und.
Survey USA September 15–17, 2006 ±3.8% 46% 22% 29% 3%
Suffolk University September 15–17, 2006 ±4.0% 37% 21% 29% 11%
Boston Globe September 12–15, 2006 ±4.4% 46% 18% 25% 4% 6%
Survey USA September 9–11, 2006 ±4.1% 45% 21% 29% 4%
State House News September 7–10, 2006 ±6.8% 35.6% 19.4% 25.6% 1.0% 16.2%
Boston Globe August 18–23, 2006 ±4.4% 30% 24% 27% 3% 15%
(including "leaners") 31% 27% 30% 4% 8%
Survey USA August 19–21, 2006 ±4.8% 34% 30% 30% 6%
Suffolk University August 17–21, 2006 ±5.2% 24% 20% 32% 24%
Survey USA July 31: August 2, 2006 ±4.6% 35% 27% 30% 8%
Survey USA July 9–11, 2006 ±4.9% 37% 26% 27% 10%
State House News June 28–30, 2006 ±7.0% 34.8% 19.3% 21.8% 1.6% 21.4%
Suffolk University June 22–26, 2006 ±4.0% 31% 25% 22% 21%
Survey USA June 16–18, 2006 ±4.8% 36% 31% 23% 9%
State House News May 3–5, 2006 ±6.8% 15% 37% 25% 5% 17%
Survey USA May 1–3, 2006 ±4.9% 28% 32% 29% 10%
Suffolk University May 3, 2006 ±4.9% 20% 35% 15% 29%
Survey USA April 7–8, 2006 ±4.8% 36% 33% 19% 11%
Suffolk University April 3, 2006 ±4.9% 21% 32% 11% 36%
Merrimack College February 25: March 8, 2006 ±4.8% 21.8% 37.5% 40.7%
Boston Globe March 12, 2006 ±4.9% 22% 35% 4% 14% 25%
Survey USA March 5–6, 2006 ±5% 37% 47% 17%
UMass Lowell February 16, 2006 ±5% 40% 40% 20%
Suffolk University February 2–4, 2006 ±4.9% 30% 39% 2% 29%
State House News January 25–27, 2006 ±7.1% 18% 58% 4% 19%
Rasmussen Reports January 15–18, 2006 ±5% 30% 29% 11% 30%

Results

Democratic gubernatorial primary[14]
Candidate Votes % ±
Deval Patrick 452,229 49.57%
Chris Gabrieli 248,301 27.22%
Tom Reilly 211,031 23.13%
Write-in 787 0.08%
Blanks 14,054
Majority 203,928 22.35%
Turnout 926,402

Green-Rainbow

Republican

  • Kerry Healey: incumbent Lieutenant Governor, elected in 2002 on ticket with Mitt Romney; has a background as a criminologist, former Massachusetts Republican Party chairwoman.

Independent

Lieutenant gubernatorial primaries

Democratic

See Election results for details.

The Democrats were the only party with a contested primary election. Tim Murray won the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor on September 19 with 43% of the vote.[17]

Candidates

Debates

On April 23, 2006, a "virtual debate" between Democrats Sam Kelley, Tim Murray, and Andrea Silbert was released on SaintKermit.com, hosted by Jim Henderson and 2002 Green-Rainbow Lieutenant Governor candidate Tony Lorenzen.[19] The Greater Lowell Area Democrats, the Lowell Democratic City Committee, and BlogLeft held a debate between all four candidates on May 21 at the Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, was broadcast on public-access television cable TV.[20] Four days later, on May 25, Kelley dropped out of the race and joined the Deval Patrick campaign as a volunteer advisor on health care issues.[21]

Convention

At the Democratic convention on June 3, Worcester Mayor Tim Murray was endorsed by a voice vote after receiving 49% on the first ballot. Deborah Goldberg and Andrea Silbert both qualified for the ballot with 22% and 29% respectively. Christy Mihos announced on June 8 that John Sullivan would join him as his running mate.[22]

Polls

Source Date MoE Goldberg Murray Silbert Undecided
Suffolk University September 15–17, 2006 ±4.0% 35% 22% 21% 31%
Boston Globe September 12–15, 2006 ±4.4% 26% 20% 18% 27%
State House News September 7–10, 2006 ±6.8% 18.3% 15.2% 10.0% 53.4%
Suffolk University August 19–21, 2006 ±5.2% 6% 11% 5% 77%
Suffolk University June 22–26, 2006 ±4.0% 10% 6% 5% 79%

Media endorsements

Results

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary[14]
Candidate Votes % ±
Tim Murray 351,009 42.60%
Deborah Goldberg 279,771 33.95%
Andrea Silbert 191,638 23.26%
Write-in 1,591 0.19%
Blanks 102,393
Majority 71,238 8.65%
Turnout 926,402

Green-Rainbow

Republican

Independent

  • John J. Sullivan: Town moderator of Winchester, former selectman, and chair of the Winchester Co-operative Bank. A former Democrat, he disenrolled in March and became Christy Mihos's running mate.

General election

The general election campaign kicked off officially around 10 PM on Primary Election Day (September 19, 2006) after Tom Reilly and Chris Gabrieli conceded and Kerry Healey accepted her uncontested nomination. Deval Patrick followed with his acceptance speech at about 11 PM, appearing with his new running mate Tim Murray and former opponent Chris Gabrieli.

Debates

The first televised debate of the general election was held by WFXT and the Boston Herald] on September 25 on WFXT. Moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace on the day after his Bill Clinton interview.

The second debate was held in Springfield and broadcast on WGBH and NECN.

Major events and controversies

The general election campaign was very heated and was referred to by Mike Dukakis as "the dirtiest gubernatorial campaign in my memory".[25] Blame for this has primarily been placed on the Healey campaign and its supporters, for many reasons, including their reliance on attack ads implying that Deval Patrick supports sexual assault or murder of police (culminating in the now infamous "parking lot rape" ad), her supporters protesting at the homes of Patrick and campaign manager John E. Walsh, and documents leaked anonymously to media about Patrick's brother-in-law's criminal history.[26]

Also, Grace Ross generated some controversy in the GBLT media for not promoting herself through her sexuality in the course of the televised debates.[citation needed] Also, after the final debate, WRKO talk radio host John DePetro came under scrutiny for referring to Ross as a "fat lesbian". DePetro was suspended earlier in the year for calling Turnpike Authority chief Matt Amorello a "fag".[27]

Media endorsements

Polls

Poll Date MoE Patrick (D) Healey (R) Mihos (I) Ross (GR) Und/Other Lead
Suffolk University November 2-November 5, 2006 ±4.9% 53% 31% 6% 2% 9% D+22
State House News November 1-November 2, 2006 ±5% 50.9% 27.1% 8.0% 2.1% 6.7% D+23.8
SurveyUSA/WBZ October 31-November 1, 2006 ±3.9% 55% 34% 6% 3% D+21
Zogby/WSJ October 23-October 27, 2006 ±3.7% 58.1% 32.7% 4% D+25.4
UNH/Boston Globe October 22–25, 2006 ±4.1% 54% 29% 8% 2% 6% D+25
Survey USA October 21–23, 2006 ±4% 56% 31% 8% 2% 4% D+25
Suffolk University October 20–23, 2006 ±4.9% 53% 26% 9% 2% 11% D+27
Zogby/WSJ October 10–16, 2006 ±3.6% 56% 33.6% 6.4% 4% D+22.4
Suffolk University October 10–11, 2006 ±4.9% 46% 33% 7% 1% 12% D+13
Survey USA October 8–10, 2006 ±4% 52% 34% 9% 1% 4% D+18
Suffolk University October 2–4, 2006 ±4.5% 49% 28% 6% 1% 16% D+21
Boston Globe/WBZ September 26–29, 2006 ±4.3% 55% 30% 7% 1% 7% D+25
Zogby/WSJ September 25, 2006 ±3.9% 58.7% 27.3% 8.3% 5.7% D+31.4
Merrimack College September 20–24, 2006 ±4.5% 54.2% 20.9% 5.3% 0.5% 19.1% D+33.3
Rasmussen September 20, 2006 ±4.5% 57% 24% 9% 10% D+33
Survey USA September 19–21, 2006 ±3.9% 64% 25% 5% 1% 5% D+39
Zogby/WSJ September 11, 2006 ±3.9% 57.5% 33.0% 9.5% D+24.5
State House News September 7–10, 2006 ±4.7% 43% 30% 7% 1% 19% D+13
Suffolk University August 17–21, 2006 ±4.1% 38% 30% 10% 2% 20% D+8
Zogby/WSJ August 15–21, 2006 ±3.8% 49.6% 23.9% 26.5% D+25.7
Rasmussen August 12, 2006 ±4.5% 39% 29% 14% 18% D+10
Zogby/WSJ July 24, 2006 ±4.2% 57.4% 30.8% 11.8% D+26.6
Rasmussen June 27, 2006 ±4.5% 43% 23% 15% 19% D+20
State House News June 28–30, 2006 ±5.0% 40.1% 30.5% 9.3% 1.7% 18.4% D+9.6
Suffolk University June 22–26, 2006 ±4.0% 38% 25% 10% 1% 26% D+13
Zogby/WSJ June 21, 2006 ±3.5% 55.7% 33.7% 10.6% D+22
Rasmussen May 15, 2006 ±4.5% 36% 26% 16% 22% D+10
Survey USA May 8, 2006 ±4.4% 34% 32% 17% 17% D+2
State House News May 5, 2006 ±4.8% 29% 31% 15% 17% R+2
Suffolk University May 3, 2006 ±4.9% 26% 28% 10% 4% 33% R+2
Rasmussen April 14, 2006 ±4.5% 34% 27% 19% 20% D+7
Suffolk University April 3, 2006 ±4.9% 29% 24% 9% 1% 38% D+5
Zogby/WSJ March 30, 2006 ±3.5% 53% 31.5% D+21.5
State House News March 16–18, 2006 ±4.8% 25% 32% 18% 25% R+7
Suffolk University March 18-March 20, 2006 ±4.9% 29% 26% 13% 32% D+3
Rasmussen March 13, 2006 ±4.5% 38% 25% 17% 20% D+13
Merrimack College February 25, 2006:
March 8, 2006 		±5.6% 32.0% 28.0% 13.0% 27.0% D+4
±4.8% 34.5% 39.4% ** 26.1% R+4.9
Boston Globe March 3–9, 2006 ±4.4% 36% 29% 13% 22% D+5
44% 38% ** 18% D+6
Survey USA March 3–5, 2006 ±3.8% 30% 35% 20% 14% R+5
UMass Lowell February 16, 2006 ±5% 34% 34% 12% 20% T
40% 38% ** 22% D+2
Suffolk University February 6, 2006 ±4.9% 39% 32% 29% D+7
State House News November 17–20, 2005 ±4.8% 44% 32% 24% D+12

**Polls from when Mihos was considering running in Republican primary.

Results

Official results certified by the Massachusetts Secretary of State, as of December 6, 2006, with all 2,166 precincts reporting.[42]

2006 gubernatorial election, Massachusetts[42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Deval Patrick (Tim Murray) 1,234,984 55.64% Increase 10.70
Republican Kerry Healey (Reed V. Hillman) 784,342 35.33% Decrease 14.44
Independent Christy Mihos (John J. Sullivan) 154,628 6.97% Increase 6.27
Green-Rainbow Grace Ross (Martina Robinson) 43,193 1.95% Decrease 1.54
Write-in All others 2,632 0.12 Increase .06
Total votes 2,219,779 55.63% Increase 0.40
Blank 24,056
Turnout 2,243,835
Majority 450,642 20.30%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing Increase 25.13

Patrick won a majority of the vote in every county in the state.

See also

References

  1. ^ Polls show Romney gaining on Reilly, Reilly leading Healey Boston Globe November 17, 2005
  2. ^ WBZ-TV, September 19, 2006
  3. ^ Gabrieli readies run for governor Boston Globe March 22, 2006
  4. ^ The April 23 debate can be viewed online at cbs4boston.com
  5. ^ Agawam Candidates' Forum Tonight! MassLive: The Fray April 2006. The April 27 debate and can be heard on MassLive.com
  6. ^ Healey challenges fellow gubernatorial hopefuls to four debates Boston Globe April 25, 2006
  7. ^ Patrick garners most votes; Reilly touts success at convention Boston Globe June 3, 2006
  8. ^ All candidates make it.. Boston Globe June 3, 2006
  9. ^ For Reilly, things go better with Coke Boston Globe August 11, 2006, Holy sh*t!! Vennochi finds Reilly campaign's fingerprints all over Killer Coke Blue Mass Group August 11, 2006
  10. ^ Patrick's path from courtroom to boardroom Boston Globe August 13, 2006
  11. ^ Pro-Patrick unions file OCPF complaint against Killer Coke Boston Phoenix August 9, 2006
  12. ^ Patrick critic heading for Massachusetts, intending to dog candidate State House News Service August 8, 2006
  13. ^ Who is "Killer Coke"? Blue Mass Group August 7, 2006
  14. ^ a b State Primary Election Results 2006 Massachusetts Elections Division official results (PDF, 196k)
  15. ^ Green-Rainbow Party Press Release on Nominations March 7, 2006
  16. ^ Mihos to run as independent Boston Globe March 1, 2006
  17. ^ cbs4boston.com: Election Results: Boston & Beyond
  18. ^ St. Fleur Withdraws As Reilly's Running Mate
  19. ^ SaintKermit.com
  20. ^ The May 21 Lt. Governor debate is available online at Lowell Telecommunications Corporation.
  21. ^ "Sam Kelley out of Lt. Gov. race Political Intelligence, boston.com, May 25, 2006
  22. ^ Mihos picks John Sullivan Political Intelligence, boston.com, June 8, 2006
  23. ^ A new LG candidate for Green Rainbow Party Political Intelligence September 7, 2006
  24. ^ Green-Rainbow Party LG candidate drops out Political Intelligence September 1, 2006
    Nurse quits lieutenant governor race Boston Globe September 2, 2006
  25. ^ Enough by Mike Dukakis The Boston Globe, October 29, 2006
  26. ^ Blue Mass. Group:: Message to Kerry Healey: don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry
  27. ^ ‘Fat lesbian’ quip about Ross lands WRKO jock in hot water Boston Herald, November 3, 2006
  28. ^ Healey-Hillman for Corner Office Boston Herald, October 30, 2006
  29. ^ In the governor's race, our choice is Healey Springfield Republican, October 30, 2006
  30. ^ [1] The Eagle-Tribune November 1, 2006
  31. ^ [2] Sentinel & Enterprise November 1, 2006
  32. ^ [3] Lowell Sun November 1, 2006
  33. ^ [4] Cape Cod Times November 4, 2006
  34. ^ Patrick for governor, The Boston Globe, October 29, 2006
  35. ^ A promising change: Patrick, Murray would be strong Statehouse team, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, October 29, 2006
  36. ^ Endorsement: Patrick for governor, MetroWest Daily News, October 29, 2006
  37. ^ Patrick for governor, Providence Journal, October 29, 2006
  38. ^ Patrick for Governor Berkshire Eagle, October 31, 2006
  39. ^ Deval Patrick for governor Boston Phoenix, November 1, 2006
  40. ^ Editorial: Patrick for Governor Newton Tab, November 1, 2006
  41. ^ Editorial: Patrick is our pick West Roxbury & Roslindale Transcript, October 26, 2006
  42. ^ a b 2006 Massachusetts General Election Results: Governor/Lt. Governor Mass.gov
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