Martha Coakley

United States Senate
Elections, 2010
Primary election dates, 2010

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Martha Coakley (born July 14, 1953, in Lee, Mass.) is the former Democratic Attorney General of Massachusetts. She was first elected attorney general on November 7, 2006, and was sworn in January 17, 2007, becoming the first woman to hold the office in Massachusetts history. Coakley was re-elected in 2010, running unopposed in the Democratic primary and then trouncing Republican challenger James P. McKenna in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Despite being eligible for a third term as attorney general, Coakley ran for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2014 elections. The governor's race was open in 2014 due to the retirement of Democratic incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick.^[1] Coakley won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the September 9 primary; she and running mate for lieutenant governor Steve Kerrigan faced the Republican ticket of Charles D. Baker and Karyn Polito and three Independent tickets in the general election on November 4, 2014. Martha Coakley lost the general election on November 4, 2014.

A former private practice attorney for the Boston firm Goodwin, Procter, & Hoar, Coakley joined the District Attorney's Office in 1986, and served there on and off until her appointment as Chief of the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit. Coakley also has two years of experience serving as Special Attorney for its Boston Organized Crime Strike Force, a role to which she was appointed by the United States Justice Department. She entered politics in 1997 with her campaign for District Attorney in the 54 cities and towns of Middlesex County. In 1998, Coakley was named Woman of the Year by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy.

Coakley ran unsuccessfully for United States Senate in the 2010 special election to fill the seat left vacant following the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on August 25, 2009. Despite a challenging primary campaign, Coakley received the Democratic nomination on December 8, 2009, garnering slightly over 46 percent of the vote over her three opponents.^[2] She went on to lose the January 19, 2010, general election to Republican Scott P. Brown. The election had predicted ramifications for the passage of federal healthcare reform in Congress.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick 2011 announced that he would not run for re-election in 2014. In April 2012, Coakley declared her intention to run for a third term as attorney general in 2014.^[3] On September 9, 2013, exactly one year before the 2014 primaries would be held, Coakley formally launched her 2014 gubernatorial campaign.^[4]^[5]

Biography

Coakley started out as an associate with the law firm of Parker, Coulter, Daley, & White, and later practiced as an attorney for Goodwin, Procter, & Hoar; both were based out of Boston.

She served in the District Court office in Lowell, Mass., as an assistant to the District Attorney in 1986. A year later, Coakley was invited by the United States Justice Department to join its Boston Organized Crime Strike Force as a Special Attorney. Coakley then returned to the District Attorney's Office in 1989 before being appointed the Chief of the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit two years later. She remained in this position until December 1997 when she resigned in order to campaign for District Attorney in the 54 cities and towns of Middlesex County.

In addition to her professional duties, Coakley has served in several leadership roles, including:

President, Massachusetts District Attorney's Association (2002)
Board of Directors, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Former Chair/Board of Directors, Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, Incorporated
Former President, Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts

She has also received many awards in recognition for her work as a lawyer and public servant, such as the Woman of the Year Award (1998) from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, the Leila J. Robinson Award (2000) from the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts, the Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Management in Government (2004) from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award (2006) from the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the Excellence in Computer Forensics Award (2009) from the Computer and Enterprise Investigations Conference (CEIC).

Education

Graduated from Drury High School (1971)
Bachelor's degree, Williams College (1975) cum laude
Juris Doctorate degree, Boston University School of Law (1979)

Political career

Attorney General (2007-2015)

Coakley was first elected attorney general of Massachusetts in November 2006. When she took her oath of office on January 17, 2007, she became the first woman in state history to serve as attorney general.

As attorney general, Coakley was responsible for overseeing the five bureaus which make up the Department of the Attorney General: Executive, Business and Labor Protection, Criminal, Government and Public Protection.^[6]

Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act

On March 11, 2013, Coakley, with 12 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, a bill that sought to ban for-profit colleges from using federal funds for marketing and recruiting techniques.^[7] Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chaired the chamber's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sponsored the bill. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) stated that the proposed law aimed to "ensure that scarce federal education dollars will be used to serve and educate students rather than to finance advertising campaigns, recruitment operations, and aggressive marketing."^[8]

In the letter, the attorneys general wrote, "Federal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for aggressive recruiting and deceptive sales tactics of colleges that have placed profits ahead of ensuring student success."^[8] At the time, there were an estimated 3,000 for-profit schools nationwide.^[9]

On March 12, 2013, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but no subsequent action was taken and the bill died in committee.^[10]

On April 23, 2013, a related bill — HR 340 — was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, but it also died in committee.^[11]

ACORN

See also: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

Coakley was one of six state attorneys general, all of whom belonged to the Democratic Party, who received the highest rating, a letter grade of A+, from the June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by the liberal political organization, ACORN. The report was published in an effort to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure," according to the group.^[12]

Illegal immigration

With the passage of SB1070 by the Arizona State Senate bringing the issue of illegal immigration to the forefront of the national stage, constituents in Massachusetts questioned why their state continues to attract illegal aliens. Though she was not present at a press conference held at the State House to address concerns over the matter, Coakley, in an interview conducted with local radio station WCRN, produced a seemingly contradictory statement, arguing that “technically it is not illegal to be illegal in Massachusetts.”^[13]

Regulation of e-cigarettes

Thirty-seven state attorneys general (Democrats and Republicans) sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on September 24, 2013, asking the agency to regulate the advertising, ingredients, and sale of e-cigarettes.^[14]

The letter was co-sponsored by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) and Coakley. Coakley stated, "People, especially kids, are being led to believe that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative, but they are highly addictive and can deliver strong doses of nicotine. We urge the FDA to act quickly to ensure that these products are regulated to protect the public, and are no longer advertised or sold to youth."^[15]

The FDA had authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco since 2009, but did not regulate pipe tobacco, cigars or e-cigarettes in 2013. Under the law, the FDA could expand their authority into these products only once it issued new regulations.^[16] The FDA began regulating e-cigarettes in 2016.^[17]

Alongside Massachusetts and Ohio, attorneys general from the following states signed the letter: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. They were also joined by the attorneys general of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.^[18]

District Attorney of Middlesex County (1999-2007)

Coakley served as District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2007.

Elections

2014

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014

Although eligible for re-election as attorney general in 2014, Coakley ran for the open seat of Governor of Massachusetts.

Coakley secured the Democratic nomination in the primary on September 9, 2014. She and lieutenant gubernatorial running mate Steve Kerrigan faced the Republican ticket of Charles D. Baker and Karyn Polito and three Independent tickets in the general election. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Results

Primary election

Governor of Massachusetts, Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Martha Coakley	42.4%	229,156
Steve Grossman	36.4%	196,594
Don Berwick	21.1%	113,988
Write-in candidates	0.2%	995
Total Votes		540,733
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State.

General election

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Charles D. Baker/Karyn Polito	48.4%	1,044,573
	Democratic	Martha Coakley/Steve Kerrigan	46.5%	1,004,408
	United Independent	Evan Falchuk/Angus Jennings	3.3%	71,814
	Independent	Scott Lively/Shelly Saunders	0.9%	19,378
	Independent	Jeffrey McCormick/Tracy Post	0.8%	16,295
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	1,858
Total Votes				2,158,326
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State

Campaign media

Primary election

Martha Coakley ad: For Us

General election

Martha Coakley ad: "Plan," September 15, 2014

Martha Coakley ad: "Edward," October 2, 2014

Race background

Current incumbent Deval Patrick, a Democrat first elected in 2006, was eligible to run for re-election in 2014. However, after winning re-election in 2010, Patrick stated that he would not seek a third term as governor in the 2014 election.^[19]^[20]

Democratic nomination

The field of Democrats competing for their party's nomination in the primary, which took place on September 9, 2014, included several current officeholders. Treasurer Steven Grossman won the state Democratic convention on June 14, 2014, while Attorney General Martha Coakley came in second. Physician Donald Berwick also secured a place on the primary ballot. Candidates Joe Avellone and Juliette Kayyem failed to achieve 15 percent of the convention backing to reach the primary ballot.^[21]^[22] Coakley was the leading candidate in all polls against Grossman, but did not win over the party itself prior to the primary. Grossman was the former chairman of the state and national Democratic parties.^[23] Coakley defeated Grossman and Berwick in the September primary to reach the general election ballot.

Republican nomination

Daniel Wolf, a Republican state senator who announced his intentions to run early on, dropped out of the race after his campaign was suspended indefinitely since his Aug 2, 2013 disqualification by the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for being a stakeholder in an airline he previously founded, CapeAir. Since CapeAir became a quasi-public agency whose board was controlled by the governor, the commission ruled Wolf's ties to be a violation of state conflict of interest prohibitions.^[24]^[25] On September 19, the commission granted Wolf a second extension to his compliance deadline, beyond which he would be forced to resign his state senate seat and officially withdraw from the gubernatorial race.^[26]^[27]^[28] Wolf officially withdrew from the race on October 21, 2013. ^[29]^[30]^[31]^[26]

Charlie Baker, a venture capitalist who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2010, again won his party's nomination at the convention on March 22, 2014. The other Republican challenger, Mark Fisher, originally appeared to have missed an appearance on the primary ballot after failing to achieve 15 percent of the vote with 14.765 percent, but after challenging the results in court, the judge ruled that Fisher should be allowed to appear with Baker on the primary ballot.^[32]^[33] The blank ballots that were cast at the convention were counted in the total, reducing the percentage that Fisher received just enough to keep him off the ballot.^[34]^[35]^[36] Baker defeated Fisher in the Republican primary on September 9, 2014.

Debates

Debate media

August 21 independent debate

August 21 Republican debate

General election

October 7 debate

All five candidates met for a debate prior to the general election. Coakley and Baker discussed the state's child welfare system and Baker's tenure as chief executive for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

Baker mentioned Coakley's defense of the state in 2010 from a lawsuit filed by a child welfare group concerned about the department's handling of foster care. Coakley responded that she was tasked with defending the state's interests as attorney general.^[37]

Coakley criticized Baker for accepting a growing salary during his time at Harvard Pilgrim after he was brought in to improve the company's financial outlook. She argued that Baker's salary grew from $600,000 per year to $1.7 million per year while senior citizens were dropped from coverage. Baker argued that his salary was established by a board of directors and that his work helped prevent Harvard Pilgrim from going under, which would have weakened health services in the state.^[37]

Primary election

August 21 independent debate

Evan Falchuk and Jeffrey McCormick discussed Massachusetts' economic state, taxes, and a statewide initiative on casinos in a debate hosted by Middlesex Community College. Falchuk, who was running as the United Independent Party candidate, argued that high healthcare costs and limited housing options had led to the state's economic struggles. McCormick argued that job creation and energy costs were the main culprits for economic problems.^[38]

McCormick was criticized by Falchuk over his proposal for a lowered state income tax and shrinking of state agencies. This proposal would have established a 5 percent income tax and reduced the number of state jobs by eliminating positions as employees retired or moved to new jobs. Falchuk suggested that the proposal didn't make financial sense and pushed McCormick to name specific jobs that should be eliminated. McCormick stated that investigations into corruption at the state probation department revealed the state's wasteful spending.^[38]

The two independent candidates also disagreed on Question 3 on the November 4 ballot, which would have repealed a 2011 law allowing resort casinos to operate in Massachusetts. McCormick supported Question 3, claiming that the law was only beneficial to casino operators. Falchuk opposed Question 3, arguing that the people of Massachusetts and their representatives had already made a decision. He compared the measure to efforts by congressional Republicans to sue President Barack Obama over the Affordable Care Act.^[38]

August 21 Republican debate

Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher discussed jobs, schools, and firearms regulations in a debate hosted by Middlesex Community College. Both candidates argued that government spending and regulations should be reduced to create a better environment for job creation. Baker suggested that a Republican should be elected governor in order to create "constructive friction" with the Democratic-controlled legislature that would yield new ideas. Fisher supported ending state spending on food stamps and other programs, arguing that they were used by immigrants residing in the country without legal permission.^[39]

The debate also included a discussion of higher education costs in Massachusetts. Baker supported ideas including three-year undergraduate programs, online education options, and co-op programs at state universities. Fisher supported vocational education as a solution to college debt and as job preparation for graduates.^[39]

Baker and Fisher held differing views regarding the state's approach to violence involving firearms. Baker argued that smart-gun technology, which would require fingerprint identification before a gun can be discharged, should be available for gun owners. He also cited illegal weapons trafficking as a major issue facing the state. Fisher disagreed with Baker's assessment, suggesting that existing laws were restrictive and only impacted lawful gun owners.^[39]

August 20 Democratic debate

Martha Coakley, Steve Grossman, and Don Berwick discussed the Question 3 measure on casinos and gambling in Massachusetts during their debate at Stonehill College. Berwick differentiated himself from Coakley and Grossman by supporting Question 3, citing negative impacts on communities that host casinos. Coakley argued that she preferred other methods of economic growth, but she said that revenue streams from casinos were used to strengthen programs to reduce gambling addiction. Grossman noted that casinos would add 15,000 jobs to the state and would keep money from heading to casinos in other states.^[40]

Polls

General election
All candidates: October 2014

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Five-way race: October 2014
Poll	Martha Coakley	Charlie Baker	Evan Falchuk	Jeff McCormick	Scott Lively	Don't know/ Refused	Margin of error	Sample size

WBUR October 22-25, 2014	40%	41%	4%	1%	2%	12%	+/-4.4	494
UMass Lowell October 21-25, 2014	41%	45%	3%	2%	1%	8%	+/-3.6	601
The Boston Globe October 19-21, 2014	37%	46%	3%	2%	2%	8%	+/-4.9	400
WBUR October 15-18, 2014	42%	43%	1%	2%	1%	10%	+/-4.4	501
The Boston Globe October 12-14, 2014	37%	39%	3%	2%	2%	17%	+/-4.9	400
WBUR October 8-11, 2014	42%	39%	2%	2%	1%	14%	+/-4.4	500
The Boston Globe October 5-7, 2014	39%	34%	3%	2%	2%	20%	+/-4.9	400
WBUR October 1-4, 2014	41%	39%	2%	2%	1%	15%	+/-4.4	504
UMass Amherst/WBZ September 26-October 2, 2014	48%	44%	2%	2%	2%	2%	+/-5.5	414
AVERAGES	40.78%	41.11%	2.56%	1.89%	1.56%	11.78%	+/-4.6	468.22
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

All candidates through September 2014

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Five-way race: Through September 2014
Poll	Martha Coakley	Charlie Baker	Evan Falchuk	Jeff McCormick	Scott Lively	Don't know/ Refused	Margin of error	Sample size

SocialSphere September 28-30, 2014	36%	39%	2%	1%	1%	21%	+/-4.89	401
The Boston Globe September 25-28, 2014	43.8%	43.2%	2%	1.6%	0.4%	9%	+/-4	500
WBUR September 24-27, 2014	41%	38%	1%	2%	1%	17%	+/-4.4	503
The Boston Globe September 21-23, 2014	38%	40%	2%	2%	1%	18%	+/-4.9	400
Western New England University Polling Institute September 20-28, 2014	43%	44%	2%	2%	1%	8%	+/-4	598
UMass Amherst/WBZ September 19-23, 2014	46%	45%	2%	2%	2%	3%	+/-4.4	600
WBUR September 16-21, 2014	43%	34%	2%	1%	1%	19%	+/-4.4	502
AVERAGES	41.54%	40.46%	1.86%	1.66%	1.06%	13.57%	+/-4.43	500.57
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Four-way race
Poll	Martha Coakley	Charlie Baker	Evan Falchuk	Jeff McCormick	Don't know/ Refused	Margin of error	Sample size

The Boston Globe July 13-15, 2014	38%	33%	1%	8%	19%	+/-5	625
Western New England University Polling Institute March 31-April 7, 2014	54%	25%	3%	3%	15%	+/-5	424
AVERAGES	46%	29%	2%	5.5%	17%	+/-5	524.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Major-party candidates

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 - Coakley v. Baker
Poll	Martha Coakley	Charlie Baker	Independent/other	Don't know/Refused	Margin of error	Sample size

Emerson College Polling Society October 26-29, 2014	42%	48%	4%	6%	+/-3.85	627
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov October 16-23, 2014	45%	41%	1%	13%	+/-3	2,218
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner October 20-22, 2014	45%	44%	5%	5%	+/-4	611
Rasmussen Reports October 13-14, 2014	46%	48%	2%	5%	+/-3	980
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20-October 1, 2014	47%	41%	1%	11%	+/-2	2,389
Rasmussen Reports September 16-17, 2014	42%	42%	5%	10%	+/-4	750
The Boston Globe September 14-16, 2014	39%	36%	6%	19%	+/-4.9	407
WBUR September 11-14, 2014	44%	35%	15%	6%	+/-4.4	504
AVERAGES	43.75%	41.88%	4.88%	9.38%	+/-3.64	1,060.75
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Primary and hypothetical polls

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Four-way race with Grossman
Poll	Steve Grossman	Charlie Baker	Evan Falchuk	Jeff McCormick	Don't know	Refused	Margin of error	Sample size

Western New England University Polling Institute March 31-April 7, 2014	38%	29%	4%	9%	19%	1%	+/-5	424
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Democratic Primary
Poll	Martha Coakley	Steve Grossman	Don Berwick	Joe Avellone	Dan Wolf	Juliette Kayyem	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size

Public Policy Polling (September 20-23, 2013)	57%	10%	6%	4%	3%	2%	17%	+/-5.4	324
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Democratic Primary
Poll	Martha Coakley	Steve Grossman	Don Berwick	Don't know	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Massachusetts-Lowell (August 25-31, 2014)	52%	20%	9%	19%	+/-4.55	685
Suffolk University/Boston Herald (August 2014)	42.3%	30%	15.7%	12%	+/-0	400
The Boston Globe (July 13-15, 2014)	46%	18%	5%	30%	+/-5	347
AVERAGES	46.77%	22.67%	9.9%	20.33%	+/-3.18	477.33
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Hypothetical Match-up: Charlie Baker vs. Democratic Candidates
Poll	Charlie Baker	Martha Coakley	Steve Grossman	Donald Berwick	Juliette Kayyem	Not sure	Margin of error	Sample size

UMass-Amherst Internet Poll of Massachusetts March 31-April 6, 2014	32%	0%	0%	0%	32%	36%	+/-5.9	500
UMass-Amherst Internet Poll of Massachusetts March 31-April 6, 2014	32%	0%	0%	29%	0%	37%	+/-5.9	500
UMass-Amherst Internet Poll of Massachusetts March 31-April 6, 2014	29%	0%	35%	0%	0%	36%	+/-5.9	500
UMass-Amherst Internet Poll of Massachusetts March 31-April 6, 2014	34%	45%	0%	0%	0%	21%	+/-5.9	500
AVERAGES	31.75%	11.25%	8.75%	7.25%	8%	32.5%	+/-5.9	500
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.