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Massachusetts Secretary of State election, 2018 (September 4 Democratic primary)

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Massachusetts Secretary of State
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 5, 2018
Primary: September 4, 2018
General: November 6, 2018
Pre-election incumbent(s):
William Gavin (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Massachusetts
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2018
Impact of term limits in 2018
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Massachusetts
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Incumbent Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin (D) defeated Boston City Councillor Josh Zakim (D) in the Democratic primary. Galvin received 67.6 percent of the vote to Zakim's 32.4 percent.

For the first time since he was elected in 1994, Galvin did not receive the endorsement of the Democratic Party of Massachusetts in his bid for another term.[1]

Instead, the state party's endorsement of Zakim made him the first challenger to an incumbent to earn the party's endorsement since 1982.[2]

Galvin did receive 15 percent of delegates' votes, earning him a spot on the September 4 primary ballot.

Galvin's only previous primary challenge was in 2006 when he defeated John Bonifaz (D) by 66 percentage points.

Zakim criticized Galvin's administration of the state's voting system, and supported earlier primaries, easier early voting, weekend elections, and same-day voter registration.[2] He portrayed Galvin as out of touch and said Galvin was responsible for what Zakim called the state's low voter turnout rates.[3]

Galvin ran on his record, touting the creation of a central voter registration system, the introduction of motor voter registration, and a 1997 decision to move away from punch card voting due to the potential for hanging chads.[2][4] During an August debate, Galvin claimed that "every major progressive change that has occurred in Massachusetts election laws has come about because of me."[5]



For more information about secretary of state elections in 2018, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE
  • Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting secretary of state was William Galvin, who was first elected in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. On November 9, 2017, Galvin confirmed that he would seek election to a seventh term in 2018.
  • In 2018, Massachusetts was under divided government. It had held this status since Gov. Charles D. Baker (R) took office in 2015. Massachusetts was also under divided triplex control.
  • In presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Massachusetts was won by the Democratic candidate. The widest margin of victory was Al Gore's 27 percent margin in 2000 while the narrowest was Barack Obama's 23 percent margin in 2012.

    • Candidates and election results

    Incumbent William Galvin defeated Josh Zakim in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State on September 4, 2018.

    Democratic primary election

    Democratic primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State

    Candidate
    %
    Votes
    ✔
    Image of William Galvin
    		William Galvin
     
    67.6
     
    		433,086
    Image of Josh Zakim
    		Josh Zakim
     
    32.4
     
    		208,011

    Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

    		Total votes: 641,097
    Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
    If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

    Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

    Endorsements

    Democratic Party Josh Zakim

    Polls

    See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
    Massachusetts Secretary of State, 2018 Democratic primary
    Poll Poll sponsor Democratic Party Bill Galvin Democratic Party Josh ZakimUndecided/OtherMargin of errorSample size
    The MassINC Polling Group
    (June 22-25, 2018)    		WBUR 49%18%33%+/-4.9418
    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.

    Past elections

    2014

    See also: Massachusetts secretary of state election, 2014

    William Galvin ran for re-election as secretary of state of Massachusetts in the 2014 election. Galvin was unopposed in the Democratic primary election.[11]


    State overview

    Partisan control

    This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Massachusetts heading into the 2018 elections.

    Congressional delegation

    State executives

    State legislature

    • Democrats controlled both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court. They had a 117-34 majority in the state House and a 31-7 majority in the state Senate.

    Trifecta status

    • Massachusetts was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Charlie Baker (R) served as governor, while Democrats controlled the state legislature.

    2018 elections

    See also: Massachusetts elections, 2018

    Massachusetts held elections for the following positions in 2018:

    Demographics

    Demographic data for Massachusetts
     MassachusettsU.S.
    Total population:6,784,240316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):7,8003,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:79.6%73.6%
    Black/African American:7.1%12.6%
    Asian:6%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2.9%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:10.6%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:89.8%86.7%
    College graduation rate:40.5%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$68,563$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:13.1%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Massachusetts.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    As of July 2016, Massachusetts' three largest cities were Boston (pop. est. 685,000), Worcester (pop. est. 186,000), and Springfield (pop. est. 155,000).[12]

    State election history

    This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Massachusetts from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

    Historical elections

    Presidential elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Massachusetts every year from 2000 to 2016.

    Election results (President of the United States), Massachusetts 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 60.0% Republican Party Donald Trump 32.8% 27.2%
    2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 60.7% Republican Party Mitt Romney 37.5% 23.2%
    2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 61.8% Republican Party John McCain 36.0% 25.8%
    2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 61.9% Republican Party George W. Bush 36.8% 25.1%
    2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 59.8% Republican Party George W. Bush 32.5% 27.3%

    U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Massachusetts from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

    Election results (U.S. Senator), Massachusetts 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Democratic Party Ed Markey 61.9% Republican Party Brian Herr 38.0% 23.9%
    2013[13] Democratic Party Ed Markey 57.3% Republican Party Gabriel Gomez 44.6% 12.7%
    2012 Democratic Party Elizabeth Warren 53.7% Republican Party Scott Brown 46.2% 7.5%
    2010[13] Republican Party Scott Brown 51.9% Democratic Party Martha Coakley 47.1% 4.8%
    2008 Democratic Party John Kerry 65.9% Republican Party Jeffrey Beatty 30.9% 35.0%
    2006 Democratic Party Ted Kennedy 69.3% Republican Party Kenneth Chase 30.5% 38.8%
    2002 Democratic Party John Kerry Unopposed -- -- Unopposed
    2000 Democratic Party Ted Kennedy 72.7% Republican Party Jack E. Robinson III 12.9% 59.8%

    Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Massachusetts.

    Election results (Governor), Massachusetts 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Republican Party Charlie Baker 48.4% Democratic Party Martha Coakley 46.5% 1.9%
    2010 Democratic Party Deval Patrick 48.4% Republican Party Charlie Baker 42.0% 6.4%
    2006 Democratic Party Deval Patrick 55.6% Republican Party Kerry Healey 35.3% 20.3%
    2002 Republican Party Mitt Romney 49.8% Democratic Party Shannon P. O'Brien 44.9% 4.9%

    Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

    Congressional delegation, Massachusetts 2000-2016
    Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
    2016 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 9 100% D+9
    2014 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 9 100% D+9
    2012 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 9 100% D+9
    2010 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10
    2008 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10
    2006 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10
    2004 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10
    2002 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10
    2000 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 10 100% D+10

    Trifectas, 1992-2017

    A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

    Massachusetts Party Control: 1992-2024
    Ten years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D


    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties by state

    There are no Pivot Counties in Massachusetts. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

    In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Massachusetts with 60 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 32.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1789 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Republican 36.2 percent of the time and Democratic 34.4 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Democratic all five times.[14]

    Presidential results by legislative district

    The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Massachusetts. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[15][16]

    In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 135 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 31.6 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 141 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. Clinton won 21 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
    In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 25 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 4.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 5.5 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


    See also

    Massachusetts government:

    Elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Democratic Party of Massachusetts, "Proposed Rules of the 2018 Massachusetts Democratic Endorsing Convention," accessed June 25, 2018
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Boston.com, "Could the longest-serving statewide elected official lose his job?" June 4, 2018
    3. ↑ Boston Globe, "What to know if you missed the combative debate between Bill Galvin and Josh Zakim," August 15, 2018
    4. ↑ MassLive, "Clear Ballot touts technology they say will aid election audits, ballot recounts," November 30, 2016
    5. ↑ Commonwealth Magazine, "The gloves are off in race for secretary of state," August 15, 2018
    6. ↑ New England Public Radio, "Massachusetts Dems Endorse Upstart Josh Zakim For Secretary Of State," June 4, 2018
    7. ↑ The Boston Globe, "Seth Moulton endorses Josh Zakim in race for secretary of state," May 31, 2018
    8. ↑ The Boston Globe, "Walsh officially endorses Zakim over Bill Galvin for secretary of state," June 12, 2018
    9. ↑ Beacon Hill Times, "Michlewitz Backs Zakim for Secretary of State," June 15, 2018
    10. ↑ Mass Live, "Massachusetts campaign roundup: Lesser endorses Zakim, Gobi chooses Palfrey, nurses weigh ballot question," July 16, 2018
    11. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Election Results," accessed September 29, 2017
    12. ↑ Massachusetts Demographics, "Massachusetts Cities by Population," accessed September 5, 2018
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Special election
    14. ↑ 270towin.com, "Massachusetts," accessed June 29, 2017
    15. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
    16. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
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