2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015. The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the resignation of Senator John Kerry, in order to become U.S. Secretary of State. On January 30, 2013, Governor Deval Patrick chose his former chief of staff, Mo Cowan, to serve as interim U.S. Senator. Cowan declined to participate in the election. A party primary  election was held on April 30, to determinate the nominees of each party for the general election. The Massachusetts Democrats nominated U.S. Representative Ed Markey, while the Massachusetts Republicans nominated Gabriel E. Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL. The race drew remarks from the media, because of its potential similarity to the 2010 special election, when Republican state senator Scott Brown upset the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. However, Gomez trailed Markey in every opinion poll taken, and Markey defeated him by a 10.2 percentage point margin, despite low turnout. Background. The incumbent senator, John Kerry (Democratic ), was nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of State by President Barack Obama on December 21, 2012. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 29, 2013, and in a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate, effective February 1. Kerry was sworn in as secretary of state on the same day. Patrick's former chief of staff, Mo Cowan, was appointed to replace Kerry in the Senate on the same day, and immediately ruled himself out of the special election. The special primary elections took place on April 30. Democratic U.S. Representative Ed  Markey and Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez won their respective primaries. Democratic primary. U.S. Representatives Ed Markey and Stephen F. Lynch both announced campaigns for the open seat. Markey was perceived as more left-wing than Lynch.