The 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuse ...

, concurrently with the election of Massachusetts' Class II U.S. Senate seat, and other elections to the United States Senate in other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

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 the ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

and local elections. Incumbent

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

was eligible to seek a third term but stated in January 2011 that he would not run for re-election. The office of lieutenant governor had been vacant since the resignation of Tim Murray in June 2013. Primary elections for governor and lieutenant governor were conducted separately on September 9, 2014: the Democrats nominated Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and former CEO of the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Steve Kerrigan Stephen "Steve" Kerrigan is an American political executive who was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the 2014 election. From 2003 to 2007, Kerrigan served as Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Attorney General ...

, and the Republicans nominated former state cabinet secretary and 2010 gubernatorial nominee

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

and former state representative Karyn Polito. Baker defeated Coakley and three other candidates in the general election.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

= *

Donald Berwick Donald M. Berwick (born September 9, 1946) is a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to his work in the administration, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare I ...

, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement * Martha Coakley, Attorney General of Massachusetts and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 * Steven Grossman,

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts (commonly called the " treasurer") is an executive officer, elected statewide every four years. The Treasurer oversees the Office of Abandoned Property, escheated accounts, the State Retirement ...

, former chairman of the DNC and former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party

=Eliminated at convention

= *

Joseph Avellone Joseph Charles "Joe" Avellone III, M.D. (born September 29, 1948) is an American medical doctor, businessman, and politician from Massachusetts. He was a surgeon at Concord Hospital for four years, selectman for the town of Wellesley, Massachu ...

, executive at PAREXEL, former COO of

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) is a state licensed nonprofit private health insurance company under the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with headquarters in Boston. The Boston location located on 133 Federal Street is currentl ...

and former chairman of the Wellesley Board of selectmen *

Juliette Kayyem Juliette N. Kayyem (born August 16, 1969) is an American former government official and author. She is host of the WGBH podcast ''The SCIF''. She is a national security analyst for CNN and is a weekly guest on Boston Public Radio. She is the Belf ...

, columnist, lecturer and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

for Intergovernmental Affairs

=Withdrew

= * Dan Wolf, state senator and CEO of Cape Air

=Declined

= * Suzanne M. Bump, Massachusetts State Auditor (running for re-election) * Mike Capuano, U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 (running for re-election) *

Mo Cowan William Maurice Cowan (born April 4, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from February 1, 2013, to July 16, 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as legal counsel and chie ...

, former U.S. Senator * Joseph Curtatone,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of Somerville * Robert DeLeo, Speaker of the

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 ...

* Barney Frank, former U.S. Representative * Therese Murray, President 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 ...

* Tim Murray, former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and former

of Worcester * Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts *

, incumbent

* Rick Sullivan, chief of staff to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, former Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs and former mayor of Westfield

Endorsements

Debates/forums

Complete video of forum
February 4, 2014

Polling

;With Capuano and Coakley ;Without Coakley ;With Coakley and Murray

Results

Bold denotes candidate met the minimum threshold of fifteen percent to appear on the primary ballot.

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

= *

Leland Cheung Leland Cheung (born c. 1978) is a former City Councillor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served from 2009-2017. Education and career Cheung was first elected to the Cambridge City Council in 2009 while pursuing a Masters in Public Administration ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

city councilor and board member of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative *

, former CEO of the

* Michael Lake, candidate for state auditor in 2010

=Eliminated at convention

= * James Arena-DeRosa, former

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

northeast administrator

=Withdrew

= * Jonathan Edwards, Whately Selectman

Polling

Results

Bold denotes candidate met the minimum threshold of 15 percent to appear on the primary ballot 2014 Massachusetts Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results by municipality

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

= *

, former state cabinet secretary and nominee for governor in 2010 * Mark Fisher, businessman and Tea Party activist

=Declined

= * Scott Brown, former U.S. Senator ( running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire) * Gabriel E. Gomez, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2013 * Karyn Polito, former state representative and nominee for state treasurer in 2010 (running for lieutenant governor) *

Richard Tisei Richard R. Tisei (; born August 13, 1962) is an American politician and realtor from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court for a combined 26 years, eventually becoming Minority Leader in the ...

, former State Senate Minority Leader, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010 and nominee for MA-06 in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

(running for Congress) * William Weld, former governor *

Daniel Winslow Daniel B. Winslow (born May 13, 1958) is an American lawyer, Republican Party politician, and former Presiding Justice of the Wrentham District Court. He was the state Representative for the Ninth Norfolk district from January 2011 to Septemb ...

, former state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2013

Campaign

At the Republican State Convention on March 22, 2014, Baker received 2,095 votes (82.708%), businessman and Tea Party activist Mark Fisher received 374 votes (14.765%) and there were 64 blank votes (2.527%). The threshold for making the ballot is 15% and the Party announced that Baker had thus received the nomination without the need for a primary election. However, Fisher argued that according to the Convention Rules, blank votes are not counted for the purposes of determining the winner and that he thus received 15.148%, enough to make the ballot. He sued the Massachusetts Republican State Committee and his case was due to be heard in Suffolk Superior Court between May 2 and June 18. The committee's lawyer, Louis M. Ciavarra, said that in negotiations with the committee, Fisher declined their offer of being placed on the ballot, and instead asked for $1 million in return for dropping the suit. Ciavarra said that after it was pointed out to Fisher and his representatives that this would be illegal, they allegedly lowered their request to $650,000. Fisher's lawyer, Thomas M. Harvey, has confirmed that Fisher had asked for $1 million, which he called a "starting point", saying that Fisher should be "compensated" for his efforts, in addition to receiving a place on the ballot. He later said that the request for $650,000 was "still negotiable" and added that "you don't ask for what you expect". Fisher himself has denied asking for a "payoff", instead saying that party officials had offered him a "bribe" in December 2013 in return for dropping out. He refused to say who made the offer, claiming to have been under a gag order, though no such order existed. He said that he only asked for $1 million during the negotiations because he had been asked for a figure and it was the sum that he claimed the party had offered to him. He further denied the claim that he had offered to withdraw in exchange for the money, saying that he wanted a place on the ballot, for the State Committee to release the "tally sheets" which he claims show that he rightfully won a place on the ballot, and to be reimbursed $100,000 in damages: for the cost of legal fees and of collecting signatures to make the ballot by petition. On May 9, 2014, a week into the case, Judge Douglas Wilkins accepted the State Committee's offer to certify Fisher on the primary ballot and put off the expedited June 16 trial date. The State Committee had not at that point turned over the "tally sheets" and the judge did not order them to do so, instead inviting Fisher's attorneys to submit an amended complaint. The State Committee also asked that the trial, discovery and deliberation over damages be postponed until after the election. The judge did not rule on that request, but he did rule that the other portions of Fisher's complaint would proceed at a later date, with no need for an expedited trial before the primary. A debate was held between Baker and Fisher on August 21. They clashed on jobs, gun control and higher education. Baker called for "constructive friction" in electing him governor to counterbalance the Democratic-controlled General Court and said that he would "clean up the regulatory morass, control spending ndreduce taxes." Fisher criticised the rise in food stamps, rising cost of entitlement programmes and illegal immigration. In the primary election on September 9, Baker defeated Fisher 116,004 votes (74.1%) to 40,240 (25.7%). In February 2015, Fisher settled with the State Party for $240,000. Executive Director Brian Wynne said that despite the settlement, the Party denied his accusations and said that the settlement was forced on them because of mounting legal costs.

Polling

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

= * Karyn Polito, former state representative and nominee for

in 2010

Independents and third parties

Candidates

Declared

Evan Falchuk The United Independent Party or UIP was a political party based in Massachusetts, United States. The chairman of the UIP was Evan Falchuk, a former health care executive who submitted enough signatures to be on the 2014 gubernatorial ballot. When ...

, healthcare executive, attorney and founder of the United Independent Party :*Running mate: Angus Jennings, professional planner/consultant * Scott Lively, evangelical pastor :*Running mate: Shelly Saunders * Jeff McCormick, co-founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Saturn Partners :*Running mate: Tracy Post, member of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 7, 2014 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...

Complete video of debate
October 21, 2014 -

Complete video of debate
October 27, 2014 -

Predictions

Polling

;With Avellone ;With Berwick ;With Capuano ;With Coakley ;With Cowan ;With Galvin ;With Grossman ;With Kayyem ;With Kennedy ;With Murray ;With Ortiz ;With Wolf

Results

Results by Congressional district

Baker won 6 of the 9 congressional districts.

References

External links

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Charlie BakerMartha CoakleyDon BerwickJoe AvelloneEvan FalchukMark FisherSeth GrossmanScott LivelyJuliette KayyemJeff McCormick
{{Massachusetts elections Gubernatorial

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

=Eliminated at convention

=Withdrew

=Declined

Endorsements

Debates/forums

Polling

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

=Eliminated at convention

=Withdrew

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

=Declined

Campaign

Polling

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

Independents and third parties

Candidates

Declared

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by Congressional district

See also

References

External links