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2012 elections review: Few incumbents defeated in Massachusetts legislative primaries
September 7, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
The primary season continued yesterday with elections in Massachusetts.
Here's what happened in Massachusetts.
| 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 were no contested primaries for Massachusetts' U.S. Senate seat tomorrow. In the Republican primary, incumbent Scott Brown ran unopposed. He will face Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, who also faced 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 third-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 defeated former State Senator Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and Bill Shein in the Democratic primary. No Republicans filed, so Neal will be assured victory in November. This district covers the bulk of Western Massachusetts.- 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Jim McGovern defeated William Feegbeh in the Democratic primary. No Republicans filed.
- 3rd Congressional District: Jon Golnik defeated Tom Weaver in the Republican primary. He 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, defeated Rachel Brown and Herb Robinson in the Democratic primary. Elizabeth Childs and David Steinhof were defeated by Sean Bielat in the Republican primary.
- 5th Congressional District: Tom Tierney defeated Frank Addivinola and Jeff Semon in the Republican primary. Tierney will square off against incumbent Ed Markey (D) in the November general election.
- 6th Congressional District: There were 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) was unopposed in the Democratic primary. 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 was defeated by Joe Selvaggi in the Republican primary. Selvaggi will battle Stephen Lynch in the November general election.
- 9th Congressional District: Incumbent William Keating defeated a challenge from Sam Sutter, District Attorney for Bristol County. The new 9th District includes all of Cape Cod. Christopher Sheldon was defeated by 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 were 31 (16%) contested Democratic primaries and 8 (4%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there were 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 were a total of 20 incumbents facing primary opposition -- 19 Democrats and 1 Republican. There are three incumbents that have been confirmed as defeated, and a fourth that may eventually be once a recount has taken place. Those defeated incumbents are all from the House:
The fourth, Kevin Aguiar of Fall River, was losing by 7 votes to Alan Silvia according to unofficial results. The race will go to a recount and must be certified within six days.[1][2]
Some of the incumbents facing a primary challenge were:
Senate
- Hampden District: Freshman Senator James T. Welch faced Melvin A. Edwards. Edwards lost.
- Plymouth and Barnstable District: President of the Senate Therese Murray was challenged by Stephen Michael Palmer. Murray convincingly held on to her seat, taking 87% of the vote.[1]
House
- Tenth Bristol District: Longtime legislator William Straus faced a challenge from Abilio Soares. Straus won.
- Second Franklin District: Incumbent Denise Andrews, a freshman Senator, faced three opponents: Rebecca Bialecki, Genevieve Fraser, and Jim White. Andrews won.
- Twenty Seventh Middlesex District: Denise Provost defeated Harry Kortikere.
- Fourteenth Norfolk District: Alice Peisch kept her seat against opponent Jerome Carr, taking 93% of the vote.[1]
- Seventh Suffolk District: Gloria Fox, a Senator since 1985, is opposed by Rufus Jackson Faulk and Jed Hresko. Fox survived unscathed.
Second Worcester District: The lone Republican facing a primary battle was Freshman Senator Richard Bastien. He was opposed by Scott Graves, a local attorney and City Councillor. Bastien won with 67% of the vote.[1]
| 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
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