| Election Name: | 2010 Massachusetts general election |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Country: | Massachusetts |
| Previous Election: | 2008 Massachusetts general election |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2012 Massachusetts general election |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 2010 |
| Seats For Election: | Part of the 2010 United States elections |
The Massachusetts general election, 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 14, 2010.
See main article: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2010.
See also: United States gubernatorial elections, 2010. 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.
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]
Galvin was re-elected to a fourth term in office with 64% of the vote.
Attorney General Martha Coakley sought re-election.
The Republicans did not formally endorse a candidate at their state convention. Nevertheless, two late entry candidates, Jim McKenna,[5] and Guy Carbone[6] 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.
Coakley was re-elected.
Treasurer Tim Cahill retired to run for governor as an independent.
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.[7]
Auditor Joe DeNucci retired.
Nathanael Fortune, the Green-Rainbow Party nominee, also appeared on the November ballot.[4]
See main article: United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010. 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.
See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2010. 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.[10]
See main article: Massachusetts Senate election, 2010. All 40 seats in the Massachusetts Senate were up for election in 2010.
All 160 seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.
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.[11]
| Question No. | Subject | Description | Result | Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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[12] [13] | ||||||
Counties in Massachusetts will elect County Commissioners, District Attorneys, and Sheriffs.