Jennifer Benson (Massachusetts)
Jennifer Benson is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 37th Middlesex District. Benson assumed office in 2009. She resigned on January 8, 2020, to lead the Alliance for Business Leadership.[1]
Benson was first elected to the chamber in 2008.
Benson has served as chair of the Democratic Town Committee and the Lunenburg School Committee.[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Benson was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Joint, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2015 |
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| • Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Joint, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Health Care Financing Joint, Vice chair |
| • Public Service Joint |
| • Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy Joint |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education Joint |
| • Personnel and Administration, Vice chair |
| • Post Audit and Oversight |
| • Revenue Joint |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Education Joint |
| • Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy Joint |
| • Personnel and Administration |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District
Incumbent Jennifer Benson won election in the general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jennifer Benson (D) | 98.7 | 15,738 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 210 | ||
| Total votes: 15,948 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District
Incumbent Jennifer Benson advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District on September 4, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Benson | 100.0 | 5,081 |
| Total votes: 5,081 | |||
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2016
Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Jennifer Benson ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Thirty-seventh Middlesex District general election.[3][4]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Thirty-seventh Middlesex District General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Jennifer Benson Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth | ||
Incumbent Jennifer Benson ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Thirty-seventh Middlesex District Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Thirty-seventh Middlesex District Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Benson Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Jennifer Benson was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.[7]
2012
Benson won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts House of Representatives Thirty-Seventh Middlesex District. Benson was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
2010
Benson won re-election to the Thirty-seventh Middlesex seat in 2010. She had no primary opposition. She defeated Kurt Hayes (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[10]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives General Election, Thirty-seventh Middlesex District (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Jennifer Benson (D)
|
9,495 | |||
| Kurt Hayes (R) | 7,833 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Benson won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Thirty Seventh Middlesex, defeating opponent Kurt Hayes (R).[11]
Benson raised $79,067 for her campaign while Hayes raised $28,746.[12]
| Massachusetts State House of Representatives, Thirty-Seventh Middlesex (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Jennifer Benson (D)
|
11,700 | |||
| Kurt Hayes | 9,268 | |||
| All Others | 17 | |||
| Blanks | 1,609 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 1 to January 5.
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on public interest issues.
- Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Benson has been a member of the League of Women Voters, Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Sierra Club, Capital Planning Committee, Charter Review Committee, and the Primary School Building Committee.[2]
See also
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Joint Committees
- Massachusetts state legislative districts
- Massachusetts State Legislature
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Benson's website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008
- Jennifer Benson on Facebook
- Jennifer Benson on Twitter
- Jennifer Benson on LinkedIn
Footnotes
- ↑ Alliance for Business Leadership "Staff" accessed January 8, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart - Rep. Benson
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidates (Democratic)," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonweath of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Election Statistics," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2012 State Primary Results," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 4, 2008," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Massachusetts 2008 - General Election Results," accessed February 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jennifer Benson (D) |
Massachusetts House of Representatives Middlesex 37 2009–2020 |
Succeeded by Danillo Sena (D) |
