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| Turnout | 51.19% 18.86[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Municipality resultsCellucci: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Harshbarger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting GovernorPaul Cellucci was elected to his first term asGovernor of Massachusetts.
The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.[2]
On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.[3]
| 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 | 232,663 | 100.00% | ||
| 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 | 214,210 | 100.00% | ||
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | |||||||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 |
| 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 | 576,899 | 100.00% | ||
| 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 | 503,809 | 100.00% | ||
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.[8][9]
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||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 |
In a January opinion poll, Cellucci lead Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.[10]
On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Cellucci (acting) | 967,160 | 50.87% | 20.00 | |
| Democratic | Scott Harshbarger | 901,843 | 47.44% |  19.17 | |
| Libertarian | Dean Cook | 32,184 | 1.69% | 1.01 | |
| Write-in | 2,149 | 0.11% | |||
| Total votes | 1,901,187 | 51.19% | |||
| N/A | Blank votes | 31,941 | 1.65% | ||
| Turnout | 1,935,277 | 51.19% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
| 1998 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county)[12] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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