# 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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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.

## Republican primary
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Paul Cellucci, acting Governor
* Joe Malone, Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General

#### Campaign

The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.

#### Results

On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.
Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Paul Cellucci (acting) | 136,258 | 58.57% |
| | Republican | Joe Malone | 95,963 | 41.25% |
| | Write-in | All others | 442 | 0.19% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 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, 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jane Swift | 116,476 | 54.38% |
| | Republican | Janet E. Jeghelian | 97,411 | 45.48% |
| | Write-in | All others | 323 | 0.15% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 214,210 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Brian J. Donnelly, former U.S. Representative and United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
* Scott Harshbarger, Massachusetts Attorney General
* Patricia McGovern, State Senator from Lawrence

##### Withdrew

* Joseph Kennedy II, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 8th congressional district

#### Debate

1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Democratic primary debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Brian J. Donnelly | Scott Harshbarger | Patricia McGovern |
| 1 | Sep. 8, 1998 | WWLP | Jim Madigan | C-SPAN | P | P | P |

#### Results

Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Scott Harshbarger | 296,212 | 51.35% |
| | Democratic | Patricia McGovern | 180,429 | 31.28% |
| | Democratic | Brian J. Donnelly | 98,774 | 17.12% |
| | Write-in | All others | 1,484 | 0.26% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 576,899 | 100.00% |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Dorothy Kelly Gay, Governor's Councilor from Somerville
* Warren Tolman, State Senator from Watertown

#### Results

Massachusetts Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Warren Tolman | 270,791 | 53.75% |
| | Democratic | Dorothy Kelly Gay | 232,250 | 46.10% |
| | Write-in | All others | 768 | 0.15% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 503,809 | 100.00% |

## General election
### 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.

### Debate

1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Paul Cellucci | Scott Harshbarger |
| 1 | Oct. 26, 1998 | Boston Herald The Boston Globe New England Cable News WCVB-TV WHDH-TV WBZ-TV | Charles Ogletree | C-SPAN | P | P |

### Polling

In a January opinion poll, Cellucci lead Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.

### Results

On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Paul Cellucci (acting) | 967,160 | 49.97% | −20.09 |
| | Democratic | Scott Harshbarger | 901,843 | 46.60% | +29.08 |
| | Libertarian | Dean Cook | 32,184 | 1.66% | |
| | Write-in | | 2,149 | 0.11% | |
| | Blank | | 31,941 | 1.65% | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,935,277 | 51.19% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |

### 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 | 53.8% | 50,690 | 42.7% | 40,259 | 3.6% | 3,357 | 94,306 |
| Berkshire | 49.8% | 20,679 | 47.1% | 19,593 | 3.1% | 1,287 | 41,559 |
| Bristol | 48.37% | 69,209 | 48.36% | 69,190 | 3.3% | 4,676 | 143,075 |
| Dukes | 40.9% | 2,639 | 55.1% | 3,550 | 4.0% | 256 | 6,445 |
| Essex | 52.4% | 118,540 | 44.0% | 99,452 | 3.6% | 8,113 | 226,105 |
| Franklin | 41.9% | 9,882 | 54.6% | 12,866 | 3.5% | 819 | 23,567 |
| Hampden | 49.3% | 58,517 | 46.9% | 55,709 | 3.8% | 4,484 | 118,710 |
| Hampshire | 40.4% | 19,239 | 56.3% | 26,836 | 3.4% | 1,598 | 47,673 |
| Middlesex | 48.2% | 230,004 | 48.7% | 232,302 | 3.1% | 14,900 | 477,206 |
| Nantucket | 48.8% | 1,755 | 46.7% | 1,681 | 4.6% | 164 | 3,600 |
| Norfolk | 51.2% | 120,729 | 45.4% | 106,999 | 3.4% | 7,936 | 235,664 |
| Plymouth | 55.6% | 81,047 | 40.8% | 59,525 | 3.6% | 5,239 | 145,811 |
| Suffolk | 39.5% | 58,384 | 56.2% | 83,048 | 4.2% | 6,210 | 147,642 |
| Worcester | 56.2% | 125,846 | 40.6% | 90,833 | 3.2% | 7,235 | 223,914 |