United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 2012
Encyclopedia
The 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts will take place on November 6, 2012 concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...

 as well as other elections to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

 is running for re-election to a first full term. He will face a Democratic candidate to be chosen in the primary on September 18, 2012.

Background

Democratic
Massachusetts Democratic Party
The Massachusetts Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The state party chairman is John E...

 U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy was re-elected with 69% of the vote in 2006. In May 2008, Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma
Glioma
A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine. It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells. The most common site of gliomas is the brain.-By type of cell:...

, a form of brain cancer. This led to widespread speculation that he would retire before the 2012 election but Kennedy died in August 2009. Paul Kirk was appointed to replace him until a special election could be held, and he began serving on September 24, 2009.

On January 19, 2010, a special election
United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013...

 was held, and Republican
Massachusetts Republican Party
The Massachusetts Republican Party is the Massachusetts branch of the United States Republican Party. Governance of the party takes the form of a State Committee which, in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 52, consists of one man and one woman from each of the 40 Senate Districts...

 State Senator
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 state...

 Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

 defeated Democratic State Attorney General
Massachusetts Attorney General
The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The office of Attorney-General was abolished in 1843 and re-established in 1849. The current Attorney General is Martha Coakley....

 Martha Coakley
Martha Coakley
Martha Mary Coakley is the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2007....

. Brown began serving the remainder of the term on February 4, 2010.

In September 2011, Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling is an American Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. PPP was founded in 2001 by businessman and Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, the firm's current president and chief executive officer...

 released a poll showing Democrat Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...

 with a 2-point lead over Brown, the first poll to show a Democrat leading Brown since the early days of the special election. PPP is a Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm; it had previously been the first pollster in the 2010 special election to find Brown ahead of Martha Coakley. Brown was reportedly very concerned about the result; other Republicans downplayed it as the work of "a Democrat polling firm funded in part by SEIU and which donates money to national Democrats". PPP's results have not been statistically biased towards either party in the past.

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...

Scott
Brown
"More conservative
challenger"
Other Undecided
Public Policy
Polling
Sept. 16-
18, 2011
255 ± 6.1% 70% 21% 9%

Democratic primary

The primary election is September 18, 2012, about seven weeks before the general election. Former candidate Bob Massie had proposed moving the primary to an earlier date.

Declared

  • Tom Conroy, State Representative for the 13th Middlesex District
  • Marisa DeFranco, immigration lawyer
  • James Coyne King, corporate law
    Corporate law
    Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...

    yer
  • Herb Robinson, engineer
  • Elizabeth Warren
    Elizabeth Warren
    Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...

    , Harvard Law School
    Harvard Law School
    Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

     professor, former Chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, and former Special Advisor for the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
    United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
    The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the federal agency that holds primary responsibility for regulating consumer protection in the United States. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama, who supported the establishment of the new agency, chose Richard Cordray, a former...



Withdrew
  • Alan Khazei
    Alan Khazei
    Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...

    , founder of City Year
    City Year
    City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...

     organization (Withdrew, October 26, 2011)
  • Bob Massie, entrepreneur and 1994 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor
    Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1994
    The 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. William Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts for a second term.-Primaries:William Weld ran unopposed for the Republican nomination....

    (Withdrew, October 7, 2011)
  • Setti Warren
    Setti Warren
    Setti David Warren , an American politician, is the mayor of Newton, Massachusetts and a former Democratic candidate for United States Senate. He is the first popularly elected African-American mayor in Massachusetts....

    , Newton
    Newton, Massachusetts
    Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

     mayor (Withdrew, September 29, 2011)

Potential

  • David D'Alessandro
    David F. D'Alessandro
    David F. D’Alessandro is a former Fortune 200 CEO and the author of three best-selling business books. While rising through the ranks and serving as chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, he guided the company through a period of diversification, growth and transformation from a...

    , former chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services
  • Gerry Kavanaugh, former Chief of Staff to Ted Kennedy
    Ted Kennedy
    Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

  • Scott W. Lang, Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts
    New Bedford, Massachusetts
    New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

  • Larry Lucchino
    Larry Lucchino
    Lawrence Lucchino, is the current President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and a member of John W...

    , President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox

Declined

  • Mike Capuano
    Mike Capuano
    Michael Everett "Mike" Capuano is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which was once represented by John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill, includes the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well as Somerville and Cambridge...

    , U.S. representative
  • Kim Driscoll, Salem
    Salem, Massachusetts
    Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

     mayor
  • Barney Frank
    Barney Frank
    Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...

    , U.S. representative
  • Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
    Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
    Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman and Democratic politician.He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S...

    , former U.S. representative
  • Victoria Reggie Kennedy
    Victoria Reggie Kennedy
    Victoria Reggie "Vicki" Kennedy is an American lawyer and the widow of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy.-Early life and education:...

    , Edward M. Kennedy's widow
  • Stephen Lynch
    Stephen Lynch (politician)
    Stephen F. Lynch is the U.S. representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker and lawyer, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court....

    , U.S. representative
  • Rachel Maddow
    Rachel Maddow
    Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...

    , radio personality
    Radio personality
    A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...

    , television host
    Presenter
    A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

    , and political commentator
  • Marty Meehan
    Marty Meehan
    Martin Thomas "Marty" Meehan is an American attorney and politician from the state of Massachusetts. He is the current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a position he assumed on July 1, 2007...

    , University of Massachusetts Lowell
    University of Massachusetts Lowell
    The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public university in Lowell, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system...

     chancellor and former U.S. representative
  • Thomas Menino
    Thomas Menino
    Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...

    , Boston mayor
  • Deval Patrick
    Deval Patrick
    Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...

    , Massachusetts governor
  • Robert Pozen
    Robert Pozen
    Robert C. Pozen is an American financial executive with a strong interest in public policy. He is the former chairman of MFS Investment Management, the oldest mutual fund company in the United States...

    , former MFS Investment Management
    MFS Investment Management
    MFS Investment Management is an American-based global asset manager, formerly known as Massachusetts Financial Services. It is owned by Sun Life Financial of Canada, with subsidiary headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and offices worldwide. MFS was founded in 1924 and is one of the oldest asset...

     chairman
  • John Tierney
    John F. Tierney
    John F. Tierney is the United States representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate for liberal policies and government oversight. A former attorney, he has served since 1997....

    , U.S. representative
  • Warren Tolman
    Warren Tolman
    Warren E. Tolman is a Massachusetts lawyer and former member of the Massachusetts General Court, serving in both of the Court's houses...

    , former state legislator

Polling

Poll
source
Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...

Tom
Conroy
Marisa
DeFranco
Alan
Khazei
Bob
Massie
Herb
Robinson
Elizabeth
Warren
Setti
Warren
Other Undecided
YouGov America/Umass Amherst Nov. 9–22, 2011 122 ± 4.6% 7% 6% 2% 73% 13%
UMass Lowell Sep. 22–28, 2011 1005 ± 3.8% 5% 4% 3% 3% 1% 36% 3% 1% 32%
Public Policy Polling Sep. 16–18, 2011 461 ± 4.6% 7% 2% 9% 2% 1% 55% 1% 22%

Polling

Bolded shading indicated largest share.
Poll
source
↑ Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...

Democrats Republicans Other Undecided
Capuano
Mike Capuano
Michael Everett "Mike" Capuano is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which was once represented by John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill, includes the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well as Somerville and Cambridge...

Coakley
Martha Coakley
Martha Mary Coakley is the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2007....

Conroy DeFranco J. Kennedy
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman and Democratic politician.He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S...

V. Kennedy Khazei
Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...

Lynch
Stephen Lynch (politician)
Stephen F. Lynch is the U.S. representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker and lawyer, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court....

Maddow
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...

Markey
Ed Markey
Edward John "Ed" Markey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1976. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Boston's northern and western suburbs, such as Medford and Framingham. Markey is the Dean of both the Massachusetts and New England House delegations...

Massie Murray Patrick
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...

Robinson E. Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...

S. Warren
Setti Warren
Setti David Warren , an American politician, is the mayor of Newton, Massachusetts and a former Democratic candidate for United States Senate. He is the first popularly elected African-American mayor in Massachusetts....

Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

Public Policy
Polling
Nov. 29 –
Dec. 1, 2010
500 ±
4.4%
36% 52% 12%
41% 48% 11%
30% 49% 20%
39% 49% 13%
42% 49% 9%
Western
N.E.
College
Mar. 6 –
10, 2011
472 ±
4.5%
38% 51% 10%
34% 51% 14%
7News/
Suffolk
University
Apr. 3 –
5, 2011
500 ±
4.4%
26% 52% 1% 19%
40% 45% 0% 13%
30% 52% 0% 16%
26% 53% 0% 19%
23% 51% 1% 22%
37% 52% 0% 11%
9% 52% 3% 32%
Public Policy
Polling
Jun. 2 –
5, 2011
957 ±
3.2%
38% 48% 14%
40% 49% 10%
31% 50% 19%
29% 49% 21%
37% 47% 16%
25% 48% 27%
32% 47% 21%
23% 48% 29%
WBUR
MassInc
Aug. 30 –
Sep. 1, 2011
500 ±
4.4%
30% 45% 2% 21%
29% 45% 3% 22%
35% 44% 2% 18%
28% 46% 3% 23%
Public Policy
Polling
Sept. 16–
18, 2011
957 ±
3.2%
33% 48% 18%
31% 49% 21%
46% 44% 10%
32% 47% 21%
UMass Lowell Sept. 22–
28, 2011
1005 ±
3.8%
40% 41% 4% 12%
25% 40% 5% 17%
22% 48% 4% 16%
45% 37% 4% 12%
28% 40% 6% 18%
27% 43% 5% 19%
43% 36% 5% 13%
18% 51% 5% 17%
38% 41% 3% 14%
28% 43% 6% 16%
Western N.E. College Sept. 29–
Oct. 5, 2011
475 ±
4.5%
35% 52% 12%
42% 47% 10%
YouGov America/Umass Amherst Nov. 9–22,
2011
433 ±
4.4%
43% 39% 4% 14%
Poll
source
↑ Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...

Capuano
Mike Capuano
Michael Everett "Mike" Capuano is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which was once represented by John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill, includes the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well as Somerville and Cambridge...

Coakley
Martha Coakley
Martha Mary Coakley is the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2007....

Conroy DeFranco J. Kennedy
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman and Democratic politician.He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S...

V. Kennedy Khazei
Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...

Lynch
Stephen Lynch (politician)
Stephen F. Lynch is the U.S. representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker and lawyer, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court....

Maddow
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...

Markey
Ed Markey
Edward John "Ed" Markey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1976. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Boston's northern and western suburbs, such as Medford and Framingham. Markey is the Dean of both the Massachusetts and New England House delegations...

Massie Murray Patrick
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...

Robinson E. Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...

S. Warren
Setti Warren
Setti David Warren , an American politician, is the mayor of Newton, Massachusetts and a former Democratic candidate for United States Senate. He is the first popularly elected African-American mayor in Massachusetts....

Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

Other Undecided
Democrats Republicans

See also

  • United States Senate elections, 2012
    United States Senate elections, 2012
    Elections to the United States Senate are to be held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill vacancies...

  • United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012
    United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012
    The 2012 congressional elections in Massachusetts will be held on November 6, 2012, to determine the nine members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Massachusetts has ten seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census, but will be reduced...


Campaigns

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