2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
	Kerry: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Beatty: 40–50% 50–60%; No votes
U.S. senator before election; John Kerry; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; John Kerry; Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry, who remained in the Senate after losing the presidency to incumbent President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, won re-election to a fifth term in office. Kerry later resigned his seat in 2013 to become Secretary of State under the Obama administration.

Democratic primary

Candidates

John Kerry, incumbent U.S. Senator
Edward O'Reilly, Gloucester city councilor

Campaign

At the state convention on June 7, 2008, Edward O'Reilly received 22.5% of the vote, thereby granting him a spot on the September primary ballot. Kerry, received the vast majority of votes, however, granting him the convention's endorsement.^[1] On July 25, O'Reilly challenged Kerry to a series of debates,^[2] and the two eventually met for one debate in early September. On September 16, Kerry defeated O'Reilly in the Democratic primary.^[3]

Results

2008 United States Senate Democratic primary in Massachusetts
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Kerry (incumbent)	335,923	68.92%
	Democratic	Edward O'Reilly	151,473	31.08%
Turnout			487,396

General election

Candidates

Jeff Beatty (R), military officer, businessman and nominee for MA-10 in 2006^[4]
John Kerry (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
Robert Underwood (L)

Campaign

Democrat John F. Kerry, the incumbent since 1985, was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for President of the United States in the 2004 election. He had historically attracted strong Republican challengers, including two former Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman, Ray Shamie in 1984, Jim Rappaport in 1990, and former state Governor William Weld in 1996.

Kerry had explored the possibility of seeking the Democratic nomination for president once again in 2008, a circumstance which prompted many of Massachusetts's all-Democratic House delegation, including Marty Meehan, Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch, to declare that they would run in the Democratic primary for Senate should Kerry not seek re-election.^[5] However, on January 24, 2007, Kerry announced that he would run for re-election to the United States Senate and not for the Presidency. A December 23, 2007, poll indicated his approval rating at 52%, with 43% disapproving.^[6]

Massachusetts held primary elections on September 16, 2008.^[7] Unlike in 2002, when Kerry was re-elected against only third-party opposition, the Democratic nominee faced a Republican opponent in 2008. The Republican candidate, former U.S. Army Delta Force officer and FBI special agent Jeff Beatty who had lost a congressional race two years earlier, was not considered a serious contender in this overwhelmingly Democratic state. Massachusetts had not elected a Republican Senator since Edward Brooke in 1972, although Republican Scott Brown would go on to win a special Senate election in 2010.

On September 16, 2008, Kerry defeated Edward O'Reilly in the Democratic primary and faced Republican Beatty in the November general election.^[8]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[9]	Safe D	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[10]	Safe D	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[11]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[12]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Polling

Source	Date	Jeff Beatty (R)	John Kerry (D)
Rasmussen Reports^[13]	April 25, 2008	30%	55%
	June 1, 2008	25%	63%
	August 5, 2008	32%	59%
	September 23, 2008	30%	65%

Results

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Kerry (incumbent)	1,971,974	65.86%	−14.2%
	Republican	Jeff Beatty	926,044	30.93%	+30.93%
	Libertarian	Robert J. Underwood	93,713	3.13%	−15.1%
Majority			1,037,116
Turnout			2,994,247
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

General

^ Viser, Matt (June 8, 2008). "Gloucester lawyer to challenge Kerry". The Boston Globe.
^ Kerry's primary challenger proposes debates, Associated Press
^ "cbsnews.com". CBS News.^{[dead link]}
^ "CQPolitics Rates Safe Democratic Senate Races in '08". New York Times.
^ Blake, Aaron (January 25, 2007). "In '08, Kerry to run for Senate not White House". The Hill. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
^ "Survey USA".
^ "Candidates guide from Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division" (PDF).
^ "John Kerry bests 1st primary opponent in 24 years". ap.google.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008.
^ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
^ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ Rasmussen Reports

Specific

John Kerry not running for President
GOP ready to pounce on vulnerable poll^{[permanent dead link]}
Senator Kerry's SurveyUSA Job Approval Ratings
7News/Suffolk University, Mass. Statewide Likely Voters Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Elections Division from the Massachusetts Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for Massachusetts at Project Vote Smart
Massachusetts U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
Massachusetts U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
Massachusetts U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Beatty (R) vs Kerry (D-i) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
County Results - Election Center 2008 - Elections & Politics from CNN.com

Democrats

Republicans

[1] Viser, Matt (June 8, 2008). "Gloucester lawyer to challenge Kerry". The Boston Globe.

[2] Kerry's primary challenger proposes debates, Associated Press

[3] "cbsnews.com". CBS News.^{[dead link]}

[4] "CQPolitics Rates Safe Democratic Senate Races in '08". New York Times.

[5] Blake, Aaron (January 25, 2007). "In '08, Kerry to run for Senate not White House". The Hill. Retrieved June 3, 2024.

[6] "Survey USA".

[7] "Candidates guide from Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division" (PDF).

[8] "John Kerry bests 1st primary opponent in 24 years". ap.google.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008.

[Cook_PR-9] "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[10] Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics

[Inside_Elections-11] "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[12] "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[13] Rasmussen Reports

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t e Federal elections in Massachusetts
U.S. President	1788 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate Class 1	1803 1808 1839 1851 1857 1863 1869 1887 1893 1899 1905 1911 1916 1922 s/1926 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 s/1962 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 s/2010 2012 2018 2024
U.S. Senate Class 2	s/1855 1859 1865 1871 s/1873 1877 1883 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1942 s/1944 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 s/2013 2014 2020
U.S. House	1788–89 1790–92 1792-93 1794–95 1796–97 1798–99 1800–01 1802–03 1804 1806 1808 1810–11 1812–13 1814–15 1816–17 1818–19 1820–21 1822–23 1824–25 1826–27 1828 1830–1970 1972 1974–2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
U.S. House Special Elections	1796–1797 s/1st s/10th s/11th 1800–1801 s/3rd s/4th s/10th s/4th s/12th s/14th 1804 s/12th 1807 s/12th 1808 s/2nd 1810–1811 s/10th s/11th s/4th 1812 s/17th 1814–1815 s/4th s/12th s/3rd 1816–1817 s/11th s/1st 1818 s/20th 1820 s/1st s/8th s/13th 1823 s/10th 1824 s/10th 1827 s/1st 1834–1991 listed here 2001 s/9th 2007 s/5th 2013 s/5th
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For statewide elections, see Template:State elections in Massachusetts footer.

v t e (2007 ←) 2008 United States elections (→ 2009)
U.S. President	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Guam (straw poll)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Mississippi (special) Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming Wyoming (special)
U.S. House (election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California 12th sp Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 14th sp Indiana 7th sp Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana 1st sp 6th sp Maine Maryland 4th sp Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi 1st sp Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio 11th sp Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	American Samoa Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Puerto Rico Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
Attorneys General	North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington Ohio (special)
Other statewide elections	Pennsylvania Auditor General Treasurer Washington Secretary of State Wisconsin Supreme Court
State legislatures	Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Senate Iowa House Senate Massachusetts House Senate Michigan House Minnesota House Montana House New Mexico House Senate New York Assembly North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Senate Texas House Senate Washington (state) House Senate West Virginia Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate
Mayors	Augusta, GA Bakersfield, CA Baton Rouge, LA Fresno, CA Honolulu, HI Irvine, CA Mesa, AZ Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA Stockton, CA Virginia Beach, VA
States	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links