2012 elections preview: Massachusetts voters to select winners in congressional, legislative primaries
September 5, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
The primary season continues tomorrow with elections in Massachusetts.
Here's what to watch for in Massachusetts, where polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Eastern Time on Election Day. However, municipalities may open as early as 5:45 AM.[1].
| Contested Primaries in Massachusetts -- September 6, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. House (9 seats) |
State Legislature (200 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 4 (44.44%) | 31 (16%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 5 (55.56%) | 8 (4%) | |||
Congress
U.S. Senate
There are no contested primaries for Massachusetts' U.S. Senate seat tomorrow. In the Republican primary, incumbent Scott Brown is running unopposed. He will face Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, who also faces no primary competition, in the November 6 general election.
The race is likely to be the most expensive congressional battle of the 2012 election season.
U.S. House
Massachusetts has nine congressional seats on the ballot in 2012. A total of 31 candidates filed to run, made up of 7 Democratic challengers, 13 Republican challengers, 8 incumbents, and 3 minor-party candidates. Including Massachusetts, a total of 397 U.S. House seats have held primaries. Thus far, 56.55% of possible primaries have been contested. Massachusetts' contested figure of 50% (9 out of 18 possible party primaries) is slightly less competitive than the national average.
1st Congressional District: Incumbent Richard Neal will face a challenge from former State Senator Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and Bill Shein in the Democratic primary. No Republicans have filed, so the winner of this race will be assured victory in November. This district covers the bulk of Western Massachusetts.- 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Jim McGovern faces William Feegbeh in the Democratic primary. No Republicans have filed.
- 3rd Congressional District: Jon Golnik and Tom Weaver will square off in the Republican primary. The winner will face incumbent Niki Tsongas (D) in the November general election.
- 4th Congressional District: Incumbent Barney Frank (D) is not running for re-election in this Boston-based district. Joseph Kennedy III, grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, faces Rachel Brown and Herb Robinson in the primary, and is the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Elizabeth Childs, Sean Bielat and David Steinhof are running in the Republican primary.
- 5th Congressional District: Frank Addivinola, Jeff Semon and Tom Tierney will face one another in the Republican primary. The winner will square off against incumbent Ed Markey (D) in the November general election.
- 6th Congressional District: There are no contested primaries in this district. However, the general election is expected to be close in a race that includes incumbent John Tierney (D), former State Senator Richard Tisei (R) and Daniel Fishman (L).
- 7th Congressional District: Incumbent Michael Capuano (D) is unopposed in the Democratic primary. There are no Republican candidates filed in this Boston-based district. Karla Romero will appear as an independent candidate in the general election.
- 8th Congressional District: Matias "Matt" Temperley faces Joe Selvaggi in the Republican primary. The winner will battle Stephen Lynch in the November general election.
- 9th Congressional District: Incumbent William Keating faces a primary challenge from Sam Sutter, District Attorney for Bristol County. The new 9th District includes all of Cape Cod. Christopher Sheldon faces Adam Chaprales in the Republican primary. Daniel Botelho will appear as an independent candidate in the general election.
| Members of the U.S. House from Massachusetts -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 10 | 9 | |
| Republican Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 9 | |
State legislature
In Massachusetts, there are 200 total legislative seats with elections in 2012. There are 31 (16%) contested Democratic primaries and 8 (4%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there are 39 (10%) races with at least two candidates on the ballot. The 10% figure of contested primaries in Massachusetts is lower than the current national contested average of 18.4% for states that have had filing deadlines.
There are a total of 20 incumbents facing primary opposition -- 19 Democrats and 1 Republican.
Some of the incumbents facing a primary challenge are:
Senate
- Hampden District: Freshman Senator James T. Welch will face Melvin A. Edwards.
- Plymouth and Barnstable District: President of the Senate Therese Murray is challenged by Stephen Michael Palmer.
House
- Tenth Bristol District: Longtime legislator William Straus faces a challenge from Abilio Soares.
- Tenth Essex District: Robert Fennell, in office since 1995, is challenged by Gardy Jean-Francois.
- Second Franklin District: Incumbent Denise Andrews, a freshman Senator, faces three opponents: Rebecca Bialecki, Genevieve Fraser, and Jim White.
- Twenty Seventh Middlesex District: Denise Provost will face Harry Kortikere.
- Fourteenth Norfolk District: Alice Peisch will attempt to keep her seat against opponent Jerome Carr.
- Seventh Suffolk District: Gloria Fox, a Senator since 1985, is opposed by Rufus Jackson Faulk and Jed Hresko.
Second Worcester District: The lone Republican facing a primary battle is Freshman Senator Richard Bastien. He is opposed by Scott Graves, local attorney and City Councillor.
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 127 | 131 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | 29 | |
| Total | 160 | 160 | |
| Massachusetts State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 35 | 36 | |
| Republican Party | 4 | 4 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
See also
|
- United States Senate elections in Massachusetts, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012
- Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2012
- Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2012
Footnotes
| |||||
