Massachusetts general election, 2002

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 2002 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The election included:

• statewide elections for U.S. Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor;
• district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and
• ballot questions at the state and local levels.

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 17, 2002.

Statewide elections

United States Senator

Democratic incumbent John Kerry was re-elected over his Libertarian challenger Michael Cloud.

Governor & Lieutenant Governor

Republicans Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Democratic candidates Shannon O'Brien and Chris Gabrieli, Green-Rainbow candidates Jill Stein and Tony Lorenzen, Libertarian candidates Carla Howell and Rich Aucoin, and independent candidates Barbara C. Johnson and Joe Schebel.

Attorney General

Democrat Thomas Reilly ran unopposed.

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas Reilly	1,602,817	99.24%
	Write-in		12,326	0.76%
Turnout			1,615,143
	Democratic hold		Swing

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Democrat William F. Galvin was re-elected Secretary of the Commonwealth for a third term. He defeated Perennial candidate Jack E. Robinson III in the general election.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William F. Galvin	1,472,562	73.97%
	Republican	Jack E. Robinson III	516,260	25.93%
	Write-in		1,832	0.09%
Turnout			1,990,654
	Democratic hold		Swing

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Timothy P. Cahill was elected Treasurer and Receiver-General. He defeated Jim Segel, Stephen J. Murphy, and Michael P. Cahill in the Democratic primary and Daniel Grabauskas and James O'Keefe in the general election.

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic primary, 2002 [1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Timothy P. Cahill	226,505	35.79%
	Democratic	Jim Segel	153,940	24.33%
	Democratic	Stephen J. Murphy	135,612	21.43%
	Democratic	Michael P. Cahill	116,737	18.45%

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Republican primary, 2002 [2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dan Grabauskas	110,690	53.19%
	Republican	Bruce A. Herzfelder	96,851	46.54%
	Write-in		560	0.27

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Timothy P. Cahill	1,040,281	50.66
	Republican	Daniel Grabauskas	848,904	41.34
	Green-Rainbow	James O'Keefe	163,559	7.96
	Write-in		830	0.04
Turnout			2,053,574
	Democratic hold		Swing

Auditor

Democrat A. Joseph DeNucci was re-elected Auditor. He defeated Libertarian Kamal Jain and Independent John James Xenakis.

Massachusetts Auditor Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	A. Joseph DeNucci	1,456,880	77.96
	Independent	John James Xenakis	277,974	14.87
	Libertarian	Kamal Jain	133,997	7.17
	Write-in		2,065	0.11
Turnout			1,868,851
	Democratic hold		Swing

District elections

U.S. House of Representatives

see Massachusetts United States House election, 2002

State House of Representatives

see Massachusetts House election, 2002

State Senate

see Massachusetts Senate election, 2002

Governor's Council

See Massachusetts Governor's Council election, 2002

Ballot questions

There were three statewide ballot questions, all initiatives, which the Massachusetts voters voted on this election. There were also various local ballot questions around the state.

Statewide Questions:

• Question 1 - Abolishing the state income tax. A law to eliminate any state personal income tax for income or other gain realized on or after July 1, 2003. ^[3]
• Question 2 - Abolishing bilingual education and replacing it with a one-year program of rapid English immersion. A law that would require that, with limited exceptions, all public-school children must be taught all subjects in English. ^[4]
• Question 3 - Taxpayer funding for Clean Elections. A non-binding question relative to the funding of political campaigns for public office. ^[5]

Question 1: Abolishing the state income tax
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
	Yes	885,683	45.3%
✓	No	1,069,467	54.7%

Question 2: Abolishing bilingual education [6]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Yes	1,359,935	67.98%
	No	640,525	32.02%

Question 3: Taxpayer funding for Clean Elections
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Yes	1,462,435	73.87%
	No	517,285	26.13%

References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=1442
2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=1443
3. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/02511116.htm
4. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/02511116.htm
5. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/02511116.htm
6. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3258