The Massachusetts general election, 2008 were held on November 4, 2008 throughout Massachusetts. Among the elections which took place were those for the office of President of the United States, John Kerry's seat in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, all ten seats in the Massachusetts delegation to the House of Representatives, all eight seats in the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and all of the seats of the Massachusetts Senate and Massachusetts House of Representatives. There were also three ballot questions: to eliminate the commonwealth's 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 Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

; and to prohibit

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

. Numerous local elections also took place throughout the state.

President

United States Senate

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

John Kerry (D) defeated Democratic challenger Edward O'Reilly in the primary on September 16, 2008. He defeated Republican

Jeff Beatty Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

and Libertarian Robert Underwood in the general election. The seat was considered safe for John Kerry.

United States House of Representatives

All 10 members of the delegation to the United States House of Representatives 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, Republican Nathan Bech opposed Democratic incumbent John Olver. ( John Olver 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, in Finland *Aussersi ...

, Republican Earl Sholley and Unenrolled candidate Susan Allen opposed Democratic incumbent Barney Frank. In District 6, Republican Richard Baker opposed Democratic incumbent John Tierney. In District 7, Republican John Cunningham opposed Democratic incumbent Ed Markey. Despite these challenges, all ten seats were considered safe for their incumbents.

Governor's Council

All 8 current members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council 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 Massachusetts Senate were up for election in 2008. The Massachusetts Democratic Party maintained a

supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...

of 35 seats, with the remaining 5 seats under the control of the Massachusetts Republican Party.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

All 160 seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives were up for election in 2008. The Massachusetts Democratic Party maintained a

of 144, with the remaining 16 seats under the control of the Massachusetts Republican Party.

Local Races

Register of Probate

Each of Massachusetts' fourteen counties elected a Register of

Probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

, who will administer the county's family and probate court. Races in Barnstable County,

Bristol County Bristol County may refer to: Places * Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the no ...

, Hampden County, and Nantucket County are expected to feature more than one candidate in the general election.

County Treasurer

, 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

Barnstable 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 Massachusetts