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1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
← 1994
November 2, 1998
2002 →
Turnout51.19% Decrease 18.86 [1]
 
Nominee Paul Cellucci Scott Harshbarger
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Jane Swift Warren Tolman
Popular vote 967,160 901,843
Percentage 50.9% 47.4%
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

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.

Republican primary

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Governor

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Candidates

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Campaign

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The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.[2]

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Paul
Cellucci 		Joe
Malone 		Undecided
The Boston Globe/WBZ[3] August 29–30, 1998 400 (RV) ± 4.9% 55% 30% 15%
RKM Research[3][A] August 25–26, 1998 413 (LV) ± 4.8% 50% 32% 18%

Results

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On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.[4]

Republican primary results by municipality
Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1998[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

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Candidates

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  • Janet E. Jeghelian, radio host (running with Malone)
  • Jane Swift, Secretary of Consumer Affairs (running with Cellucci)
Declined
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  • Charlie Baker, Secretary of Administration and Finance
  • Ralph C. Martin II, Suffolk County District Attorney

Results

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Massachusetts Republican Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998 [5]
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

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Governor

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Candidates

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Withdrew
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Debate

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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

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Patricia
McGovern 		Scott
Harshbarger 		Brian J.
Donnelly 		Undecided
The Boston Globe/WBZ[3] August 29–30, 1998 400 (RV) ± 4.9% 19% 50% 8% 23%
RKM Research[3][A] June 2–3, 1998 409 (LV) ± 5.0% 15% 47% 8% 30%

Results

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Democratic primary results by municipality
Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1998 [7]
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

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Candidates

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Results

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Massachusetts Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998 [8]
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

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Campaign

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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

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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

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In a January opinion poll, Cellucci lead 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

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On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.[12][13]

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Paul Cellucci (acting) 967,160 50.87% Decrease20.00
Democratic Scott Harshbarger 901,843 47.44% Increase19.17
Libertarian Dean Cook 32,184 1.69% Increase 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

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1998 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [13]
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

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. ^ a b c Poll sponsored by the Boston Herald
  2. ^ Poll sponsored by WCVB and the Boston Herald

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b c d e f g h "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Massachusetts 1998 Polls". CNN. Retrieved February 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  6. ^ Harden, Blaine (August 29, 1997). "Joseph Kennedy Ends Gubernatorial Bid". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  8. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  9. ^ Adrian Walker (September 19, 1998). "Democratic Dissidents Back Cellucci". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  13. ^ a b "PD43+ » Search Elections".
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