1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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.

1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 2, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	51.19% 18.86 [1]
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 results Cellucci:      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

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]

Results

On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.^[3]

Republican primary results by municipality

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1998 ^[3]

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 ^[4]

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^[5]

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Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn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

Democratic primary results by municipality

Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1998 ^[6]

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 ^[7]

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.^[8][9]

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.^[10]

Results

On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.^[11][12]

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) [12]
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

See also

• Massachusetts general election, 1998
• 1997–1998 Massachusetts legislature

References

1. "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998".
2. 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.
3. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
4. "Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
5. Harden, Blaine (August 29, 1997). "Joseph Kennedy Ends Gubernatorial Bid". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
6. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
7. "Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
8. Adrian Walker (September 19, 1998). "Democratic Dissidents Back Cellucci". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
12. "PD43+ » Search Elections".