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United States Senate elections in Massachusetts, 2012
 Massachusetts's 2012 elections: • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Ballot measures |
| 2014 →
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Elizabeth Warren  |
Scott Brown  |
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Tossup (Prior to election) |
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The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run is June 5, 2012. The primary elections will be held on September 6, 2012 (originally scheduled for September 18 but moved to avoid Rosh Hashanah[1]; another change of date is possible though unlikely[2]).
The election will fill the Class 1 Senate seat, which is currently held by Scott Brown (R). First elected during a special election in 2010, Brown is running for re-election in 2012.
Candidates
Democratic Primary
- Marisa DeFranco: Lawyer[3]
- Jim King: Lawyer[4]
- Elizabeth Warren: Professor[5]
Dropped out prior to the primary
- Setti Warren, Mayor of Newton
- Alan Khazei, City Year Co-Founder
- Thomas Conroy, state representative
- Robert Massie, state representative
- Herb Robinson, dropped out to run for U.S. House elections in Massachusetts, 2012[6]
Republican primary
- Scott Brown: Incumbent[7]
Race rating
Cook Political Report
Each month the Cook Political Report releases race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There are seven possible designations: [8]
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Solid Democratic
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Tossup |
Lean Republican
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| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- Massachusetts Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| March 1, 2012[9] | |
| January 26, 2012[10] | |
| December 22, 2011[11] | |
| December 1, 2011[12] | |
Sabato's Crystal Ball
The University of Virginia's Center for Politics published an article called Sabato's Crystal Ball on March 22, 2012 detailing the 8 races in the Senate in 2012 that will decide the political fate of which party will end up with control in 2013.[13] The seat rated a a toss-up that the Sabato's Crystal Ball believes is second most likely to end up Republican, second only to Montana, is the Senate seat in Massachusetts.[13] The article notes that Scott Brown has had recent campaigning success in Massachusetts, and despite mixed polls, Brown’s "blue-collar appeal" might be enough against his opponent, Democrat Elizabeth Warren.[13]
Polls
Scott Brown vs. Elizabeth Warren
| Scott Brown vs. Elizabeth Warren | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | UMass/Boston Herald (December 1-6, 2011) | Western NE College (October 17-23, 2011) | Average | |||||||||||
| Scott Brown | 42% | 47% | 44.5% | |||||||||||
| Elizabeth Warren | 49% | 42% | 45.5% | |||||||||||
| Neither | 3% | 1% | 2% | |||||||||||
| Don't know | 6% | 10% | 8% | |||||||||||
| Number polled | 505 | 475 | 490 | |||||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-5.3 | +/-4.5% | 4.9% | |||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
Election history
2010
On January 19, 2010, Brown won a special election to the United States Senate. He defeated Martha Coakley (D) and Joseph L. Kennedy (L) in the special election.[14]
| U.S. Senate Special Election, Massachusetts, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Scott Brown |
51.9% | 1,168,178 | |
| Democratic | Martha Coakley | 47.1% | 1,060,861 | |
| Libertarian | Joseph L. Kennedy | 1% | 22,388 | |
| Independent | Write-In | 0.1% | 1,155 | |
| Total Votes | 2,252,582 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jeffrey Beatty and Robert Underwood in the general election.[15]
| U.S. Senate General Election, Massachusetts, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Kerry Incumbent |
65.9% | 1,971,974 | |
| Republican | Jeffrey Beatty | 31% | 926,044 | |
| Libertarian | Robert Underwood | 3.1% | 93,713 | |
| Total Votes | 2,991,731 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
References
- ↑ Massachusetts Elections Division "2012 Massachusetts State Primary and State Election Schedule," retrieved March 5, 2012
- ↑ OnPolitix "Primary date to stay put despite mix-up," January 5, 2012
- ↑ MassLive.com "Massachusetts U.S. Senate race profile: Marisa DeFranco," December 16, 2011
- ↑ Attleboro Patch "US Senate Race: Jim King Wants to Face Scott Brown," December 29, 2011
- ↑ Huffington Post "Elizabeth Warren Senate Race," January 20, 2012
- ↑ Boston Herald "Democrat Herb Robinson to drop out of Senate race to run for House," December 16, 2011
- ↑ Huffington Post "Scott Brown 2012 Campaign Officially Starts," January 19, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Our Accuracy," Accessed December 12, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 1, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," January 26, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 27, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 1, 2011
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Center for Politics "Tilting the Toss Ups – the Eight Races That Will Decide the Senate" Accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ Elections Division, State of Massachusetts "Special Election Results, January 19, 2010"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
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