United States Senate elections in Massachusetts, 2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Ed MarkeyIncumbent | 59% | 1,289,944 | |
| Republican | Brian Herr | 36.2% | 791,950 | |
| Write-in | Other | 0.1% | 3,078 | |
| Blank | None | 4.7% | 101,819 | |
| Total Votes | 2,186,791 | |||
| Source:Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
 |
November 4, 2014 |
September 9, 2014 |
Ed Markey  |
Ed Markey |
 |
Cook Political Report:Safe D[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball:Solid D[2] |
 |
Voters inMassachusettselectedEd Markey (D) to theU.S. Senate in theelection on November 4, 2014.
IncumbentEd Markey, who was first elected in aspecial election on June 25, 2013, won the general election againstBrian Herr (R). The 2013 special election was held to replaceJohn Kerry, who was appointed to the position ofUnited States Secretary of State.
Markey entered the election cycle with favorable odds in a state that generally supports Democratic policies.Cook Political Report rated the Massachusetts Senate race as "Safe D." October polls confirmed Markey's advantage.
The U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts received limited media attention in 2014.Markey ran a lower-profile campaign compared to the special election in 2013, spending significantly less on his re-election effort. With a strong lead in the polls, observers noted that his campaign strategy appeared focused on maintaining that advantage.[3]
Markey andHerr differed on a range of policy issues, including theAffordable Care Act. The two candidates participated in a debate in October 2014, where their policy differences were a central focus. Massachusetts’ political landscape generally favored Democratic candidates, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by about three to one in voter registration.[4] Moreover, Herr's platform was critical of the Obama administration.[5]
Markey faced no opposition in the primary election. Herr also faced no opposition in his primary. Two other Republican candidates ran as write-in candidates.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Aprimary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Massachusetts utilizes asemi-closed primary system where voters who are affiliated with a political party and unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary.[6][7]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.
Voter registration: Tovote in the primary, voters had to register by August 20, 2014. For thegeneral election, the voter registration deadline was October 15, 2014.[8]
- See also:Massachusetts elections, 2014
Incumbent: The election was held to fill the Class 2 Senate seat held byEd Markey (D). Markey was first elected in aspecial election on June 25, 2013. The special election was held to replaceJohn Kerry, who was appointed to the position of Secretary of State.
Candidates
General election candidates
September 9, 2014, primary resultsDemocratic Primary
- Ed Markey - Incumbent
a
Republican Primary
Not on ballot
General election results
The state of Massachusetts held an election for theU.S. Senate on November 4, 2014. IncumbentEd Markey (D) defeated challengerBrian Herr (R) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed MarkeyIncumbent | 59% | 1,289,944 | |
| Republican | Brian Herr | 36.2% | 791,950 | |
| Write-in | Other | 0.1% | 3,078 | |
| Blank | None | 4.7% | 101,819 | |
| Total Votes | 2,186,791 | |||
| Source:Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
Race background
Reports circulated in September 2013 that Gomez was mulling a rematch againstEd Markey (D) in 2014.[13] Gomez lost to Markey by 10 points in thespecial election for the vacantSenate seat in 2013.[13] Gomez ultimately did not seek a rematch.
Key votes
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the113th Congress.
Government shutdown
- See also:United States budget debate, 2013
During the shutdown in October 2013, theSenate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made bySenate Democrats was to require income verification forObamacare subsidies.[14] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill fromRepublican members. Markey voted with theDemocratic Party for the bill.[15]
Issues
Herr files ethics complaint
Brian Herr (R) issued a statement on March 17, 2014, saying he filed a complaint against incumbentEd Markey with the Senate ethics committee.[16][17] Herr accused Markey of using his position to manipulate stock.[16] Markey wrote letters to federal regulators urging an investigation into the nutritional supplement firmHerbalife.[16]
"All you have to do is connect the dots to easily see that Sen. Markey used his public office to manipulate the stock of a publicly traded company in order to financially benefit a campaign donor,"Herr said.[16]
TheSun Chronicle reported that Markey responded by saying he "only wrote the letters because Herbalife's practices were hurting consumers."[18]
Campaign Finances
| Ed Markey (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| October Quarterly[19] | October 15, 2013 | $944,599 | $265,563 | $(453,487) | $756,675 | ||||
| Year End[20] | January 31, 2014 | $756,675 | $854,809 | $(200,164) | $1,411,320 | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | April 15, 2014 | $1,411,320 | $588,254 | $(325,929) | $1,673,646 | ||||
| July Quarterly[22] | July 15, 2014 | $1,673,646 | $1,034,875 | $(604,142) | $2,104,379 | ||||
| October Quarterly[23] | October 15, 2014 | $2,390,725 | $547,658 | $(330,101) | $2,608,283 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $3,291,159 | $(1,913,823) | ||||||||
| Brian Herr (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[24] | April 15, 2014 | $0 | $29,624 | $(18,913) | $10,711 | ||||
| July Quarterly[25] | July 15, 2014 | $10,711 | $21,282 | $(23,211) | $8,782 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $50,906 | $(42,124) | ||||||||
Election history
2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed MarkeyIncumbent | 59% | 1,289,944 | |
| Republican | Brian Herr | 36.2% | 791,950 | |
| Write-in | Other | 0.1% | 3,078 | |
| Blank | None | 4.7% | 101,819 | |
| Total Votes | 2,186,791 | |||
| Source:Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
2013
On June 25, 2013,Ed Markey won election to theUnited States Senate seat vacated byJohn Kerry, after his confirmation by the U.S. Senate to the position of Secretary of State.[26][27] He defeatedGabriel Gomez andRichard Heos in the general election.
2012
On November 6, 2012,Elizabeth Warren won election to theUnited States Senate. She defeated incumbentScott Brown andBill Cimbrelo in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Elizabeth Warren | 53.3% | 1,696,346 | |
| Republican | Scott BrownIncumbent | 45.8% | 1,458,048 | |
| N/A | All Others | 0.1% | 2,159 | |
| N/A | Blank Votes | 0.9% | 27,643 | |
| Total Votes | 3,184,196 | |||
| Source:Massachusetts Secretary of State "Return of Votes" | ||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, John Kerry won re-election to theUnited States Senate. He defeated Jeffrey K. Beatty (R) and Robert J. Underwood (L) in the general election.[28]
| U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Kerryincumbent | 63.6% | 1,971,974 | |
| Republican | Jeffrey K. Beatty | 29.8% | 926,044 | |
| Libertarian | Robert J. Underwood | 3% | 93,716 | |
| N/A | All Others | 0.1% | 2,516 | |
| N/A | Blank/Scattering | 3.5% | 108,748 | |
| Total Votes | 3,102,998 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2014
- United States Senate elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑Cook Political Report, "2014 SENATE RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 18, 2014," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 Senate Races," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑WBUR, "Commentary: The U.S. Senate Race That Isn’t A Race," September 26, 2014
- ↑Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Registered Voter Enrollment: 1948–2012," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑Huffington Post, "Massachusetts: Obama Job Approval," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑Massachusetts Legislature, "Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 53, § 37," accessed December 6, 2025
- ↑Massachusetts Legislature, "Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 53, § 38," accessed December 6, 2025
- ↑Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Website, "Voter Registration Information," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbruce - ↑Masslive.com, "Republican Frank Addivinola launches campaign for U.S. Senate seat held by Ed Markey," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑Milford Daily News, "Addivinola anounces run for U.S. Senate seat," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑Mark Inman for Senate Facebook page, "Info," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑13.013.1Politico, "Gabriel Gomez mulls rematch vs. Ed Markey," accessed September 19, 2013
- ↑The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑Senate.gov, "H.R. 2775 As Amended," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑16.016.116.216.3NewsMax, "Democratic Sen. Ed Markey Accused of Using Office to Manipulate Stock," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑Brian Herr for Congress, "Republican lodges ethics complaint against rival over Herbalife," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑"Sun Chronicle","Brian Herr, Markey's GOP foe, reaches out to area officials", accessed August 13, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "Year End Report," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed April 19, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑Boston Globe ,"" December 27, 2012
- ↑Yahoo news, "Mo Cowan appointed interim U.S. senator for Massachusetts"
- ↑U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
