1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Massachusetts presidential no 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1994 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 2002 November 2, 1998 51.19% 18.86Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998 https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=219 150x150px File:Paul Cellucci gubernatorial photo (1).jpg Paul Cellucci Republican Party (United States) Jane Swift 967,160 50.87% File:L. Scott Harshbarger (3x4a).png Scott Harshbarger Democratic Party (United States) Warren Tolman 901,843 47.44% 300px County results 300px| Municipality results 1 250px Cellucci: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% Harshbarger: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% Governor Paul Cellucci (acting) Republican Party (United States) Paul Cellucci Republican Party (United States) The 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting governor Paul Cellucci was elected to his first term as governor of Massachusetts. Primary elections were held on September 16. In the Republican primary, Cellucci defeated a challenge from state treasurer Joe Malone. Harshbarger won the Democratic nomination over state senator Patricia McGovern and former U.S. representative Brian J. Donnelly. Joseph P. Kennedy II was an early favorite for the Democratic nomination but withdrew in August 1997 following a series of personal scandals, including a tell-all book published by his ex-wife and media scrutiny of his brother Michael. He later retired from politics entirely after Michael's death from a skiing accident in December 1997. Republican primary Governor Candidates Paul Cellucci, acting governor Joe Malone, Massachusetts treasurer and receiver-general Withdrew Bill Weld, incumbent governor since 1991 (to focus on nomination as U.S. ambassador to Mexico) Campaign Early in 1997, popular incumbent Bill Weld was expected to run for re-election to a third term in office, setting up a fierce between him and Democratic U.S. representative Joseph P. Kennedy II.AllPolitics - Uproar in Mass. Governor's Race - April 29, 1997 https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/04/29/kennedy/ 2026-09-28 www.cnn.com However, Weld withdrew from consideration after his nomination as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and he resigned as governor entirely on July 29, 1997. His withdrawal and resignation left acting governor Paul Cellucci as the favorite for the Republican nomination.BUREAU PATRICK COLLINS TIMES BOSTON Kennedy drops out of race https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/1997/08/08/kennedy-drops-out-race/51050888007/ 2026-09-28 Cape Cod Times en-US The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.Jill Zuckman and Frank Phillips Malone, Cellucci trade blows on ethics https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/33790802.html?dids=33790802:33790802&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090303/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/33790802.html?dids=33790802:33790802&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT dead November 3, 2012 Boston Globe September 10, 1998 2010-07-26 After Kennedy withdrew from the Democratic race in August 1997, some Republicans viewed the race as significantly more winnable and called on Malone to drop out, avoiding an acrimonious primary and unifying behind Cellucci. Polling Poll source Date(s)administered SamplesizeKey Marginof error PaulCellucci JoeMalone UndecidedThe Boston Globe/WBZAugust 29–30, 1998400 (RV)± 4.9%55%30%15%RKM ResearchBH Poll sponsored by the Boston HeraldAugust 25–26, 1998413 (LV)± 4.8%50%32%18% Results On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=16324 Our Campaigns - MA Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998 www.ourcampaigns.com thumb|Republican primary results by municipality Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1998 Republican Party (United States) Paul Cellucci (acting) 136,258 58.57% Republican Party (United States) Joe Malone 95,963 41.25% Write-in All others 442 0.19% 232,663 100.00% Lieutenant governor Candidates Janet E. Jeghelian, radio host (running with Malone) Jane Swift, secretary of consumer affairs (running with Cellucci) Declined Charlie Baker, secretary of administration and finance Ralph C. Martin II, Suffolk County district attorney Results Massachusetts Republican lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557524 Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998 www.ourcampaigns.com Republican Party (United States) Jane Swift 116,476 54.38% Republican Party (United States) Janet E. Jeghelian 97,411 45.48% Write-in All others 323 0.15% 214,210 100.00% Democratic primary Governor Candidates Brian J. Donnelly, former U.S. representative and U.S.ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Scott Harshbarger, Massachusetts attorney general Patricia McGovern, former state senator from Lawrence Withdrew Joseph P. Kennedy II, U.S. representative from Brighton, Boston and son of Robert F. Kennedy (withdrew August 1997)https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/ma082997.htm Harden, Blaine 1997-08-29 Joseph Kennedy Ends Gubernatorial Bid The Washington Post 2009-08-27 Declined Marty Meehan, U.S. representative from Lowell Lois Pines, state senator from Newton (to run for lieutenant governor) Raymond Flynn, former mayor of Boston Campaign Joseph P. Kennedy II was a prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination and the favorite for the gubernatorial race as a whole. He was the first member of the Kennedy family to run for governor of any U.S. state, but the Kennedy family had won eighteen elections to public office while losing none. As a scion of the state's most prominent political family, he was considered an early favorite for the nomination, but his campaign was quickly derailed by personal scandal: In early 1997, his ex-wife, Sheila Rauch Kennedy, published her memoir Shattered Faith, in which she accused Kennedy of forcing her to agree to a 1991 annulment of their 12-year marriage against her wishes and against the interests of their twin sons.AllPolitics - Joe Kennedy's Troubles - May 29, 1997 https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/05/29/kennedy.morton/ 2026-09-28 www.cnn.com1998-03-13 A Poster Boy For Bad Behavior? - CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-poster-boy-for-bad-behavior/ 2026-09-28 www.cbsnews.com en-US Shortly after the publication of Shattered Faith, Kennedy's brother Michael, who had been expected to run the campaign, faced legal scrutiny and negative media attention for an extramarital affair with his family's underage babysitter, including an investigation for statutory rape. In July 1997, Kennedy injured his 16-year-old son by lighting illegal fireworks at the family's Hyannisport compound. Finally, in August 1997, Kennedy faced dissent from within the family when his cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr., publicly labeled both him and Michael "poster boys for bad behavior" who had "chased an idealized alternative to their life" in his magazine, George.AllPolitics - By George, JFK Jr. Bares A Lot - Aug. 11, 1997 https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/08/11/kennedy/ 2026-09-28 www.cnn.com Kennedy repeatedly apologized for the scandals, including to delegates at the Massachusetts Democratic state convention, while minimizing his own responsibility for his brother's alleged behavior. In April 1997, he told reporters, "It's a big family. There's always going to be a few little problems along the way, and this one might not be such a little one for everybody." Attorney general Scott Harshbarger, who had been considered a longshot against Kennedy, began to gain in the polls, pulling into a statistical tie in an April 1997 University of Massachusetts poll. The onslaught of negative press eroded Kennedy's popularity among voters, particularly women, a core constituency, and he fell behind Harshbarger in opinion polling. In July, a Boston Globe poll found that only 34 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Kennedy, down from 60 percent as recently as January 1997.AllPolitics - Joe Kennedy Bails Out Of Governor's Race - Aug. 28, 1997 https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/08/28/joekennedy/ 2026-09-28 www.cnn.com Amid the mounting scrutiny and scandal, Kennedy withdrew from the race on August 28, 1997. His decision left Harshbarger as the lone candidate in the race. Kennedy supporters, including fellow U.S. representative Barney Frank, blamed Michael for the decision. When Michael was killed in December 1997, Joseph Kennedy retired from politics entirely, opting not to run for re-election to the U.S. House. Debate + 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Democratic primary debate No. Number Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Democratic DemocraticKey:black #90ff90  P  Participant  black #FFFFDD  A  Absent  black #ff9090  N  Not invited  black #CCFFCC  I  Invited #f0e68c W Withdrawn Brian J. Donnelly Scott Harshbarger Patricia McGovern1 Sep. 8, 1998 WWLP Jim Madigan C-SPAN P P P Polling Poll source Date(s)administered SamplesizeKey Marginof error PatriciaMcGovern ScottHarshbarger Brian J.Donnelly UndecidedThe Boston Globe/WBZAugust 29–30, 1998400 (RV)± 4.9%19%50%8%23%RKM ResearchBH Poll sponsored by the Boston HeraldJune 2–3, 1998409 (LV)± 5.0%15%47%8%30% Results thumb|Democratic primary results by municipality Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1998http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=16323 Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998 www.ourcampaigns.com Democratic Party (United States) Scott Harshbarger 296,212 51.35% Democratic Party (United States) Patricia McGovern 180,429 31.28% Democratic Party (United States) Brian J. Donnelly 98,774 17.12% Write-in All others 1,484 0.26% 576,899 100.00% Lieutenant governor Candidates Dorothy Kelly Gay, governor's councilor from Somerville Warren Tolman, state senator from Watertown Withdrew Lois Pines, state senator from Newton Results Massachusetts Democratic lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=665324 Our Campaigns - MA Lt. Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998 www.ourcampaigns.com Democratic Party (United States) Warren Tolman 270,791 53.75% Democratic Party (United States) Dorothy Kelly Gay 232,250 46.10% Write-in All others 768 0.15% 503,809 100.00% General election Candidates Paul Cellucci, incumbent governor of Massachusetts since 1997 (Republican) Running mate: Jane Swift, former Massachusetts secretary of consumer affairs and state senator from Williamstown Dean Cook (Libertarian) Scott Harshbarger, Massachusetts attorney general (Democratic) Running mate: Warren Tolman, state senator from Watertown Campaign After Harshbarger's primary victory, many moderate Democrats who had voted for McGovern or Donnelly chose to support the socially liberal, fiscally moderate Cellucci instead of the more liberal Harshbarger.Adrian Walker Democratic Dissidents Back Cellucci https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/34440396.html?dids=34440396:34440396&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090441/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/34440396.html?dids=34440396:34440396&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT dead November 3, 2012 Boston Globe September 19, 1998 2010-07-26 Scot Lehigh Cellucci Seen Seizing Initiative from Harshbarger https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/34829708.html?dids=34829708:34829708&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090453/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/34829708.html?dids=34829708:34829708&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT dead November 3, 2012 Boston Globe October 6, 1998 2010-07-26 Debate + 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election debate No. Number Date Host Moderator Link Republican DemocraticKey:black #90ff90  P  Participant  black #FFFFDD  A  Absent  black #ff9090  N  Not invited  black #CCFFCC  I  Invited #f0e68c W Withdrawn Paul Cellucci Scott Harshbarger1 Oct. 26, 1998 Boston HeraldThe Boston GlobeNew England Cable NewsWCVB-TVWHDH-TVWBZ-TV Charles Ogletree C-SPAN P P Polling In a January opinion poll, Cellucci led Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.Brian C. Mooney Surplus Stumble Illustrates Why Cellucci's Falling https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/33182115.html?dids=33182115:33182115&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090428/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/33182115.html?dids=33182115:33182115&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT dead November 3, 2012 Boston Globe August 15, 1998 2010-07-26 Poll source Date(s) Samplesize"Key" Key:A – all adultsRV – registered votersLV – likely votersV – unclear Marginof error Paul Cellucci(R) Scott Harshbarger(D) Other / undecidedCalculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined. Harris Insights & AnalyticsFiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings Raw Polls File https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fivethirtyeight/data/refs/heads/master/pollster-ratings/2023/raw-polls.csv October 15, 2026 GitHub FiveThirtyEight October 30, 1998 1,083 — 54% 43% 3% RKM Research and Communications Inc. October 28, 1998 402 — 47% 38% 15% SurveyUSA October 28, 1998 500 — 48% 44% 8% KRC/Communications Research October 27, 1998 400 — 46% 41% 13% Harris Insights & Analytics October 20, 1998 907 — 56% 36% 8% RKM Research and Communications Inc.CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Massachusetts 1998 Polls https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/MA/polls/MA98G.html CNN 8 February 2026 https://archive.today/20250629222231/https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/MA/polls/MA98G.html 29 June 2025 livePoll sponsored by WCVB and the Boston HeraldOctober 19–20, 1998402 (LV)± 5.0%46%41%13%The Boston Globe/WBZOctober 6–7, 1998400 (LV)± 5.0%46%40%14% Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy October 19, 1998 625 — 46% 41% 13%University of Massachusetts McCormack InstituteOctober 2–6, 1998630 (LV)± 5.0%43%35%22%September 16, 1998Primary elections heldRKM ResearchBHJanuary 22–23, 1998414 (RV)± 5.0%55%29%16% Results On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=219 Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998 www.ourcampaigns.comhttps://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/search/year_from:1972/year_to:2020/office_id:1/stage:General PD43+ » Search Elections Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998 Republican Party (United States) Paul Cellucci (incumbent) 967,160 50.87% 20.00 Democratic Party (United States) Scott Harshbarger 901,843 47.44% 19.17 Libertarian Party (US) Dean Cook 32,184 1.69% 1.01 2,149 0.11% 1,901,187 51.19% N/A Blank votes 31,941 1.65% 1,935,277 51.19% Republican Party (United States) Results by county 1998 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) County Cellucci - R % Cellucci - R # Harshbarger - D % Harshbarger - D # Others % Others # Total #Barnstable 54.7% 50,690 43.4% 40,259 1.9% 1,718 92,667Berkshire 50.6% 20,679 47.9% 19,593 1.5% 1,086 40,900Bristol 49.2% 69,209 49.2% 69,190 1.7% 2,309 140,708Dukes 41.7% 2,639 56.0% 3,550 2.4% 147 6,336Essex 53.4% 118,540 44.8% 99,452 1.9% 4,147 222,139Franklin 42.5% 9,882 55.4% 12,866 2.1% 484 23,232Hampden 50.3% 58,517 47.9% 55,709 1.8% 2,138 116,364Hampshire 40.9% 19,239 57.1% 26,836 2.0% 957 47,032Middlesex 48.9% 230,004 49.4% 232,302 1.8% 8,285 470,691Nantucket 49.8% 1,755 47.7% 1,681 2.5% 89 3,525Norfolk 52.1% 120,729 46.2% 106,999 1.7% 3,958 231,686Plymouth 56.5% 81,047 41.5% 59,525 2.1% 2,997 143,569Suffolk 40.6% 58,384 57.7% 83,048 1.7% 2,398 143,830Worcester 57.0% 125,846 41.2% 90,833 1.8% 3,978 220,657 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Dukes Franklin Hampshire Middlesex Suffolk Notes Polling Clients See also Massachusetts general election, 1998 1997–1998 Massachusetts legislature References Gubernatorial 1998 Category:1998 United States gubernatorial elections