The Massachusetts general election, 2008 were held on November 4, 2008 throughout

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Among the elections which took place were those for the office of

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

's seat in the Senate, all ten seats in the Massachusetts delegation to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, all eight seats in the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Counc ...

, and all of the seats of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

and

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. There were also three ballot questions: to eliminate the commonwealth's

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

; to

decriminalize Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This reform ...

possession of a small amount of marijuana; and to prohibit greyhound racing. Numerous local elections also took place throughout the state.

President

United States Senate

U.S. Senator

(D) defeated Democratic challenger Edward O'Reilly in the primary on September 16, 2008. He defeated Republican Jeff Beatty and Libertarian Robert Underwood in the general election. The seat was considered safe for

United States House of Representatives

All 10 members of the delegation to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in Massachusetts were up for re-election in 2008. All 10 seats were under Democratic control. Republican candidates contested four of the races. In

District 1 District 1 may refer to: * I District, Turku, in Finland * District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany * Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania * District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary * Distric ...

, Republican Nathan Bech opposed Democratic incumbent

John Olver John Walter Olver (born September 3, 1936) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 1st congressional district from 1991 to 2013. Raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, Olver graduated from college at the age ...

. (

defeated a Democratic challenger, Robert Feuer, in the primary on September 16, 2008.) In

District 4 District 4 can refer to: * District 4, Düsseldorf, in Germany * District 4, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia * District 4 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam * District 4 (New York City Council), in the United States *IV District, Turku The IV Distr ...

, Republican Earl Sholley and Unenrolled candidate Susan Allen opposed Democratic incumbent

Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committ ...

. In

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Distri ...

, Republican Richard Baker opposed Democratic incumbent John Tierney. In

District 7 District 7 could refer to: * District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 7 (Zürich), Switzerland *District 7, Düsseldorf, Germany *VII District, Turku, Finland *District 7 School (Groton, Massachusetts), United States *District 7 School (Han ...

, Republican John Cunningham opposed Democratic incumbent

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...

. Despite these challenges, all ten seats were considered safe for their incumbents.

Governor's Council

All 8 current members of the

were up for re-election in 2008. The Governor's Council's most important role is to approve the governor's judicial nominees, serving as an important check on the power of the Governor. Because Governor's Council districts are so large, and because the office of Governor's Councillor has very little awareness in the state, it is notoriously difficult to unseat an incumbent. In 2008, six of the eight incumbent Governor's Councillors defeated a Democratic challenger in the primary on September 16, 2008. One of the eight incumbents, Thomas Merrigan, faced a Republican challenger, Michael Franco, in the general election. One of the seats was uncontested.

Massachusetts Senate

All 40 seats in the

were up for election in 2008. The

Massachusetts Democratic Party The Massachusetts Democratic Party (MassDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is chaired by Gus Bickford. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all nine of Massachusetts' U ...

maintained a supermajority of 35 seats, with the remaining 5 seats under the control of the

Massachusetts Republican Party The Massachusetts Republican Party (MassGOP) is the Massachusetts branch of the U.S. Republican Party. In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 52, the party is governed by a state committee which consists of one man and one woma ...

Massachusetts House of Representatives

All 160 seats in the

were up for election in 2008. The

maintained a supermajority of 144, with the remaining 16 seats under the control of the

Local Races

Register of Probate

Each of Massachusetts' fourteen counties elected a Register of Probate, who will administer the county's family and probate court. Races in

Barnstable County Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 228,996. Its shire town is Barnstable. The county consists of Cape Cod and associated islands (some adjacent islands are in Duk ...

, Bristol County, Hampden County, and

Nantucket County Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

are expected to feature more than one candidate in the general election.

County Treasurer

Bristol County, Duke's County, Norfolk County and Plymouth County each elected a County Treasurer in the 2008 Massachusetts general election. Only the race in Plymouth County featured more than one candidate for the position.

County Commissioner

, Bristol County, Duke's County, Norfolk County and Plymouth County will each elect one or two County Commissioners in the 2008 Massachusetts general election. Every race will feature more than one candidate for the position.

Ballot Questions

Source:

References

External links

*
Imagine Election
— Sample ballots, candidate profiles and polling place information for Massachusetts voters.
Project Vote Smart
— Candidate information including issue positions and voting records. {{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts General Election, 2008