A Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 2002 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The election included: statewide elections for U.S. Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor; district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and ballot questions at the state and local levels.
Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 17, 2002.
Governor and lieutenant governor
Republicans Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey were elected governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, over Democratic candidates Shannon O'Brien and Chris Gabrieli, Green-Rainbow candidates Jill Stein and Tony Lorenzen, Libertarian candidates Carla Howell and Rich Aucoin, and independent candidates Barbara C. Johnson and Joe Schebel.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Democrat William F. Galvin was re-elected Secretary of the Commonwealth for a third term. He defeated perennial candidate Jack E. Robinson III in the general election.
Attorney general
Democrat Thomas Reilly ran unopposed.
Treasurer and Receiver-General
Democratic primary Candidates Michael P. Cahill, State Representative from Beverly Timothy P. Cahill, Norfolk County Treasurer Stephen J. Murphy, member of the Boston City Council Jim Segel, former State Representative from Brookline and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association
Results
Republican primary Candidates Dan Grabauskas, Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles Bruce A. Herzfelder, businessman
Results
General election Results
Auditor Democrat A. Joseph DeNucci was re-elected Auditor. He defeated Libertarian Kamal Jain and Independent John James Xenakis.
United States Senator
Democratic incumbent John Kerry was re-elected over his Libertarian challenger Michael Cloud.
United States House of Representatives
Massachusetts Senate see 2002 Massachusetts Senate election
Massachusetts House of Representatives see 2002 Massachusetts House of Representatives election
Governor's Council See 2002 Massachusetts Governor's Council election
Ballot measures There were three statewide ballot questions, all initiatives, which Massachusetts voters considered in this election. There were also various local ballot questions around the commonwealth. NumberTitleTypeSubjectResult (excludes blank ballots)Ref.Question 1Eliminating State Personal Income TaxInitiative PetitionTaxes Failed (48%–40%)Question 2English Language Education in Public SchoolsInitiative PetitionEducation Passed (61%–29%)Question 3Taxpayer Funding for Political CampaignsAdvisory QuestionTaxes, Elections Failed (66%–23%)
Question 1
Abolishing the state income tax. A law to eliminate any state personal income tax for income or other gain realized on or after July 1, 2003.
Question 2 English Language Education in Public Schools Initiative: Abolishing bilingual education and replacing it with a one-year program of rapid English immersion. A law that would require that, with limited exceptions, all public-school children must be taught all subjects in English.
Question 3
Taxpayer funding for Clean Elections. A non-binding question relative to the funding of political campaigns for public office, with the "no" vote indicating voters were not in favor of publicly funded elections. This was a reversal of opinion against the Clean Elections Law passed by voter referendum in 1988. The law was repealed by the legislature as part of the 2003 state budget. The legislature had refused to fund the law, which prompted state courts to order the sale of a disused state hospital, state-owned automobiles, and desks and sofas in the offices of legislative leaders Thomas M. Finneran, Salvatore F. DiMasi, and Joseph F. Wagner.
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