Massachusetts, Governor

Massachusetts held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2018.

for more information on the Democratic gubernatorial primary and here for more information on the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.
for more information on the Republican gubernatorial primary and here for more information on the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting governor was Charles D. Baker (R), who was first elected in 2014. On November 28, 2017, Baker announced that he would seek re-election in 2018.
At the time of the 2018 election, Massachusetts was under divided government. It first gained this status when Baker took office in 2015. Massachusetts was under divided triplex control in 2018.
Massachusetts was won by the Democratic candidate in each of the five presidential elections leading up to the 2018 election. 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.

Massachusetts was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

Polls

Race rating

Race ratings: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2018

Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican

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	Hillary Clinton	60.0%	Donald Trump	32.8%	27.2%
2012	Barack Obama	60.7%	Mitt Romney	37.5%	23.2%
2008	Barack Obama	61.8%	John McCain	36.0%	25.8%
2004	John Kerry	61.9%	George W. Bush	36.8%	25.1%
2000	Al Gore	59.8%	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	Ed Markey	61.9%	Brian Herr	38.0%	23.9%
2013	Ed Markey	57.3%	Gabriel Gomez	44.6%	12.7%
2012	Elizabeth Warren	53.7%	Scott Brown	46.2%	7.5%
2010	Scott Brown	51.9%	Martha Coakley	47.1%	4.8%
2008	John Kerry	65.9%	Jeffrey Beatty	30.9%	35.0%
2006	Ted Kennedy	69.3%	Kenneth Chase	30.5%	38.8%
2002	John Kerry	Unopposed	--	--	Unopposed
2000	Ted Kennedy	72.7%	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	Charlie Baker	48.4%	Martha Coakley	46.5%	1.9%
2010	Deval Patrick	48.4%	Charlie Baker	42.0%	6.4%
2006	Deval Patrick	55.6%	Kerry Healey	35.3%	20.3%
2002	Mitt Romney	49.8%	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 (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	0%	9	100%	D+9
2014	0%	9	100%	D+9
2012	0%	9	100%	D+9
2010	0%	10	100%	D+10
2008	0%	10	100%	D+10
2006	0%	10	100%	D+10
2004	0%	10	100%	D+10
2002	0%	10	100%	D+10
2000	0%	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: 1992-2019
Eight years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas

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
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
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
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

Demographics

Demographic data for Massachusetts

	Massachusetts	U.S.
Total population:	6,784,240	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	7,800	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	51.5%	50.8%
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) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Massachusetts.

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).