The 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick was re-elected to a second term.

Party primaries were held on September 14, though all four candidates ran unopposed in their respective primaries. Tim Murray, who ran on a ticket with Patrick, was re-elected lieutenant governor. This is the only gubernatorial election since 1994 in which the two major parties did not have a woman on the gubernatorial ticket.

Democratic primary Governor Candidates Deval Patrick, incumbent governor

Withdrew Grace Ross, 2006 Green-Rainbow nominee for governor

Polling Poll source Dates administered Deval Patrick Grace RossSuffolk University February 21–24, 2010 59% 15%

Lieutenant governor Candidates Tim Murray, incumbent lieutenant governor

Republican primary Governor Candidates Charlie Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and former secretary of administration and finance

Eliminated at convention Christy Mihos, independent candidate for governor in 2006

Declined Kerry Healey, former Lieutenant Governor and nominee in 2006 Bob Hedlund, state senator from Weymouth Joe Malone, former state treasurer (ran for U.S. representative) Michael Sullivan, former U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts

Polling Poll source Dates administered Charlie Baker Christy MihosThe Boston Globe/UNHThe Boston Globe/UNH July 15–21, 2009 27% 20%Suffolk UniversitySuffolk University November 4–8, 2009 30% 33%Suffolk University February 21–24, 2010 47% 17%

Lieutenant governor Candidates Richard Tisei, minority Leader of the Massachusetts State Senate

General election

Candidates Charlie Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (Republican) Running mate: Richard Tisei, minority Leader of the Massachusetts State Senate Tim Cahill, state treasurer and receiver-general (Independent) Running mate: Paul Loscocco, former Republican state representative Deval Patrick, incumbent governor (Democratic) Running mate: Tim Murray, incumbent lieutenant governor Jill Stein, medical internist and co-chairperson of the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow PartyStein to jump into gov race with Green-Rainbow bid Boston Herald, January 7, 2010 (Green-Rainbow) Running mate: Richard P. Purcell, surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor

Campaign Defection of Loscocco On October 1, 2010, Loscocco announced that he would withdraw from the race and endorse Republican candidate Charlie Baker. Loscocco formally remained on the ballot, however. On October 7, Cahill filed a lawsuit against four former campaign aides, alleging that they had conspired to undermine his candidacy and help Baker by arranging his defection. Cahill claimed that e-mails between Republican political consultants and Loscocco's top aide suggested that Loscocco might have been enticed to leave the ticket by future job promises. In response, Loscocco claimed that Cahill's top aide was coordinating strategy with the Patrick campaign and the Democratic Governors' Association, and thus was never actually an independent effort.

Lottery ad

Soon after Cahill filed suit against him, Adam Meldrum, Cahill's former campaign manager, alleged that Cahill had colluded with the Massachusetts Lottery, which is overseen by the state treasurer's office, to run an ad favorable to him during the campaign. The ad, paid for by the Commonwealth, described the Massachusetts Lottery as "the most successful state lottery in America" and "consistently well-managed", echoing themes from Cahill's gubernatorial campaign. Both Cahill and Massachusetts Lottery Director Mark Cavanagh denied the allegations. On October 18, e-mails released in conjunction with Cahill's lawsuit appeared to reveal that the campaign attempted to have the lottery air a series of ads that praised the lottery's management. In the e-mails, Cahill's campaign media strategist Dane Strother told Meldrum to "Get the Lottery immediately cutting a spot and get it up...Needs to focus on the Lottery being the best in the country and above reproach." Two days later, Cahill's senior adviser Scott Campbell wrote, "I think the first thing is to figure out what/where/how we want to do this ... with Lottery people."

On April 2, 2012, Cahill was indicted by a grand jury on charges that he had used $1.65 million of Massachusetts State Lottery advertising to aid his campaign for governor. On December 12, 2012, a mistrial was declared in the corruption case after the jury failed to reach a verdict on two counts of conspiracy.

Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 14, 2010 Rothenberg October 28, 2010 RealClearPolitics November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 28, 2010 CQ Politics October 28, 2010

Polling

PollDateDevalPatrick (D)CharlieBaker (R)TimCahill (I)JillStein (GR)Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsJune 24, 200941%36%––The Boston Globe/UNHJuly 15–21, 200930%20%30%–35%41%––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsOctober 22, 200934%24%23%–Suffolk UniversityNovember 4–8, 200938%15%26%–Rasmussen ReportsNovember 23, 200933%28%25%–The Boston Globe/UNHJanuary 2–6, 201030%19%23%–Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingJanuary 7–9, 201029%27%21%–Suffolk UniversityFebruary 21–24, 201033%25%23%3%Rasmussen ReportsMarch 8, 201035%32%19%–Rasmussen ReportsApril 5, 201035%27%23%–April 17 – Baker secures Republican nomination at convention; Mihos eliminatedRasmussen ReportsMay 10, 201045%31%14%1%Suffolk UniversitySuffolk UniversityMay 25, 201042%29%14%8%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsJune 21, 201041%34%16%–The Boston Globe/UNHThe Boston Globe/UNHJune 17–23, 201038%31%9%2%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsJuly 22, 201038%32%17%–Statehouse NewsStatehouse NewsAugust 29–31, 201034%28%18%4%Rasmussen ReportsSeptember 1, 201039%34%18%–Rasmussen ReportsSeptember 17, 201045%42%5%–Suffolk University /7 NewsSuffolk University / 7 NewsSeptember 16–19, 201041%34%14%4%The Boston Globe/UNHThe Boston Globe/UNHSeptember 17–22, 201035%34%11%4%Western New England CollegeWestern New England College September 19–23, 201039%33%16%3%Rasmussen ReportsSeptember 30, 201047%42%6%–Suffolk University 7 NewsOctober 10–12, 201046%39%10%1%Public Opinion StrategiesPublic Opinion StrategiesOctober 11–13, 201035%42%10%2%Rasmussen ReportsOctober 18, 201047%42%6%–Western New England CollegeWestern New England CollegeOctober 22, 201044%36%8%5%Boston GlobeBoston GlobeOctober 24, 201043%39%8%2%Suffolk University/7NewsOctober 25–27, 201046%39%9%2%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsOctober 27, 201046%44%6%—Western New England CollegeWestern New England CollegeOctober 24–28, 201042%37%11%3%Results (for comparison)[November 2, 2010][ 48.4% ][ 42.0% ][ 8.0% ][ 1.4% ]

with Christy Mihos Poll sourceDates administered Deval Patrick Christy Mihos Jill Stein Tim CahillRasmussen ReportsJune 24, 2009 40%41% –– ––The Boston Globe/UNHJuly 15–21, 200931% 18% ––31% 40%41% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports August 20, 2009 35%40% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsOctober 22, 200934% 23% –– 23%Suffolk UniversityNovember 4–8, 200936% 20% –– 26%Rasmussen ReportsNovember 23, 200932% 26% –– 28%The Boston Globe/UNHJanuary 2–6, 201032% 19% –– 23%Public Policy PollingJanuary 7–9, 201028% 21% –– 25%Suffolk UniversityFebruary 21–24, 201034% 19% 3% 26%Rasmussen ReportsMarch 8, 201034% 19% –– 30%Rasmussen ReportsApril 5, 201038% 15% –– 33%

with Grace Ross Poll sourceDates administeredGrace RossCharlie BakerTim CahillRasmussen ReportsMay 10, 2010 27%32%16%

Fundraising As of October 31, 2010.Source: Shading indicates candidate with the highest amount.

Candidate (party) Raised Spent BalanceTim Cahill (I) $570,345.01 $277,655.73 $292,689.28Charlie Baker (R) $736,877.30 $491,089.99 $245,787.31Deval Patrick (D) $606,991.19 $459,858.16 $147,133.03Jill Stein (G) $64,454.75 $22,068.50 $42,386.25

Results

By county 2010 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) County Patrick % Patrick # Baker % Baker # Others % Others # Total #Barnstable 44.18% 47,124 47.45% 50,609 8.37% 8,930 106,663Berkshire 71.15% 30,269 21.78% 9,266 7.06% 3,006 42,541Bristol 47.23% 81,059 42.66% 73,220 10.11% 17,340 171,619Dukes 58.37% 4,908 32.79% 2,757 8.85% 744 8,409Essex 43.56% 116,360 47.90% 127,964 8.54% 22,827 267,151Franklin 61.45% 17,068 24.62% 6,838 13.93% 3,868 27,774Hampden 46.01% 62,816 40.03% 54,653 13.97% 19,071 136,540Hampshire 58.91% 33,317 28.28% 15,994 12.81% 7,246 56,557Middlesex 51.36% 283,221 40.90% 226,272 7.73% 42,846 553,477Nantucket 52.08% 2,454 39.18% 1,846 8.74% 412 4,712Norfolk 44.19% 119,806 44.20% 119,850 11.61% 31,489 271,145Plymouth 38.63% 74,355 50.19% 96,592 11.19% 21,512 192,459Suffolk 67.66% 125,961 25.15% 46,822 7.19% 13,377 186,160Worcester 41.76% 113,565 48.61% 132,183 9.63% 26,182 271,930

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Barnstable (largest municipality: Barnstable) Essex (largest municipality: Lynn) Norfolk (largest municipality: Quincy) Plymouth (largest municipality: Brockton) Worcester (largest municipality: Worcester)

See also 2009–2010 Massachusetts legislature 2010 United States gubernatorial elections

References

External links Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth – Elections Division Massachusetts Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart Campaign contributions for 2010 Massachusetts Governor from Follow the Money Massachusetts Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com (graph of multiple polls) Election 2010: Massachusetts Governor from Rasmussen Reports 2010 Massachusetts Governor Race from Real Clear Politics 2010 Massachusetts Governor's Race from CQ Politics Race Profile in The New York Times

Debates

Campaign Charlie Baker for Governor Tim Cahill for Governor Deval Patrick for Governor Jill Stein for Governor