The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015. The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the resignation of Senator John Kerry, in order to become U.S. Secretary of State. On January 30, 2013, 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 ...

chose his former chief of staff,

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 chief ...

, to serve as interim U.S. Senator. Cowan declined to participate in the election. A party primary election was held on April 30, to determinate the nominees of each party for the general election. The Massachusetts Democrats nominated U.S. Representative Ed Markey, while the Massachusetts Republicans nominated Gabriel E. Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL. The race drew remarks from the media, because of its potential similarity to the 2010 special election, when Republican state senator

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

upset the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Attorney General

Martha Coakley Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is an American lobbyist and lawyer who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 to 2007 ...

. However, Gomez trailed Markey in every opinion poll taken, and Markey defeated him by a 10.2 percentage point margin, despite low turnout.

Background

The incumbent senator, John Kerry (

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 ...

), was nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of State by President Barack Obama on December 21, 2012. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 29, 2013, and in a letter to Massachusetts Governor

, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate, effective February 1. Kerry was sworn in as secretary of state on the same day. Patrick's former chief of staff,

, was appointed to replace Kerry in the Senate on the same day, and immediately ruled himself out of the special election. The special primary elections took place on April 30. Democratic U.S. Representative Ed Markey and Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez won their respective primaries.

Democratic primary

U.S. Representatives Ed Markey and

Stephen F. Lynch Stephen Francis Lynch (born March 31, 1955) is an American businessman, attorney and politician who has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts since 2001. He is a Democrat representing Massachusetts's 8th co ...

both announced campaigns for the open seat. Markey was perceived as more left-wing than Lynch.

Candidates

, U.S. representative from South Boston * Ed Markey, U.S. representative from Malden

Declined

* Ben Affleck, actor *

Michael Capuano Michael Everett Capuano ( ; born January 9, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1999 to 2019. A Democrat, his district included the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well a ...

, U.S. representative, 2010 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate *

, Attorney General of Massachusetts and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 *

, appointed incumbent U.S. senator * Benjamin Downing, state senator * Kimberly Driscoll, mayor of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

* Barney Frank, former U.S. representative *

Edward M. Kennedy, Jr. Edward Moore Kennedy Jr. (born September 26, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a partner at Epstein Becker & Green, a firm headquartered in New York City, and previously represented Connecticut's 12th State Senate district in th ...

, entrepreneur, investment banker, lawyer, and son of senator Ted Kennedy * Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of senator Ted Kennedy *

Gerard Leone Gerard T. “Gerry” Leone Jr. served as the District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 2007 to 2013. He is currently a partner at the law firm, Nixon Peabody. Early life and education Leone was born in Franklin, Massachusetts a ...

, Middlesex County District Attorney * Jim McGovern, U.S. representative * Marty Meehan, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and former U.S. Representative * Carmen Ortiz,

U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was held ...

, governor of Massachusetts * Jonah Pesner,

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

* Niki Tsongas, U.S. representative and widow of senator

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas (; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 197 ...

Debates

Complete video of debate
March 27, 2013 -

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 States ...

Complete video of debate
April 22, 2013 -

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Gabriel E. Gomez, businessman and former Navy SEAL * Michael J. Sullivan, former United States Attorney for the

District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was hel ...

and former Acting Director of the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...

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 ...

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Withdrawn

* Sean Bielat, nominee for

Massachusetts's 4th congressional district Massachusetts's 4th congressional district is located mostly in southern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Jake Auchincloss. Auchincloss was first elected in 2020. The district covers much of the area included in the before the 1992 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

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 ...

* Jon Fetherston, former Ashland Selectman

Declined

* Keith Ablow, psychiatrist and Fox News contributor * Charlie Baker, former state cabinet secretary and nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in

, former U.S. Senator * Lew Evangelidis, sheriff of Worcester County *

Kerry Healey Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural president of the Milken Institute' ...

, former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and nominee for governor in 2006 * Joe Malone, former Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts * Ann Romney, former First Lady of Massachusetts * Tagg Romney, businessman and son of former Governor Mitt Romney *

Jane Swift Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2003 and, concurrently, as acting governor from April 2001 to January 2003. She wa ...

, former

and acting governor * Bruce Tarr, State Senate Minority Leader * Richard Tisei, former State Senate Minority Leader *

William Weld William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, former Governor of Massachusetts and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1996

Debates

Complete video of debate
March 27, 2013 -

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

* Gabriel E. Gomez ( Republican), businessman and former Navy SEAL * Richard A. Heos (Twelve Visions Party) * Ed Markey (

), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts's 5th congressional district

Withdrawn

* Daniel Fishman (

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

), former teacher and nominee for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district in

* Jack E. Robinson III ( Independent), businessman and perennial Republican candidate

Debates

Complete video of debate
June 5, 2013 -

Complete video of debate
June 18, 2013 -

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Polling

;With Markey ;With Lynch ;With Brown ;With Weld

Results

References

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' {{Massachusetts elections

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

United States Senate Massachusetts Massachusetts 2013 Massachusetts 2013 United States Senate 2013

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declined

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrawn

Declined

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Withdrawn

Debates

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Polling

Results

References

External links