2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

Last updated
2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
  2004 November 4, 2008 2012  
  Obama portrait crop.jpg John McCain 2009 Official.jpg
Nominee Barack Obama John McCain
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Arizona
Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin
Electoral vote120
Popular vote1,904,0981,108,854
Percentage61.80%35.99%

Massachusetts Presidential Election Results 2008.svg
MA 2008 Presidential Election, by Town.svg
2008 US presidential election in Massachussetts by precinct.svg

President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place, as in all 50 states and D.C., as part of the 2008 United States presidential election of November 4, 2008. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who, in turn, voted for the office of president and vice president.

Contents

Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama won the state by a 25.8% margin of victory: slightly better than John Kerry's 25.2% margin in 2004. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations forecast that Obama would win Massachusetts, or otherwise considered it to be a safe blue state. Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, and has maintained extremely large Democratic margins since 1996. No Republican presidential nominee has won a single county in the state, nor obtained more than 40% of the vote, since George H. W. Bush in 1988. [1] [2] In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama captured the state's 12 electoral votes winning 61.80% of the popular vote to Republican John McCain's 35.99%. Massachusetts was also 1 of only 6 states in which neither Obama nor McCain won during the primary season.

Primaries

Democratic

2008 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
  2004 February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05) 2012  
  Hillary Rodham Clinton-cropped.jpg BarackObama2005portrait.jpg
Candidate Hillary Clinton Barack Obama
Party Democratic Democratic
Home state New York Illinois
Delegate count5538
Popular vote705,185511,680
Percentage56.01%40.64%

The Massachusetts Democratic primary took place on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008, and had a total of 93 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Massachusetts's 10 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 61. Another 32 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Hillary Clinton. The 93 delegates represented Massachusetts at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. 26 other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.

Polls indicated that Clinton was leading Barack Obama in the days leading up to the contest in Massachusetts. [3]

Hillary Rodham Clinton won a convincing victory in Massachusetts over Barack Obama due to a number of factors. According to exit polls, 85% of voters in the Massachusetts Democratic Primary were Caucasians and they opted for Clinton by a margin of 58–40% compared to the 6% of African American voters who backed Obama by a margin of 66–29. Hispanics/Latinos, which comprised 5% of the total voters, backed Clinton by a margin of 56–36%. Clinton narrowly won the youth vote (those ages 18–29) by a margin of 49–48 and tied the vote among voters ages 30–44; she also won all voters over the age of 45 by a margin of 60.5–38. Pertaining to socioeconomic class, Clinton won all levels of family income except highly affluent voters making $200,000 or more a year, as they backed Obama by a narrow margin of 53–47%. As for educational attainment levels, Clinton won all categories except those with postgraduate degrees who backed Obama by a margin of 51–47%. Among self-identified Democrats in the primary, which made up 65% of the total electorate, they went for Clinton by a 58–41 margin while Independents, which comprised a healthy 33% of the electorate, also went for Clinton by a 54–42 margin. She also won all ideological groups. Clinton also won most major religious denominations – Protestants 53–46; Roman Catholics 64-33; other Christians 51-47; and other religions 49-46. Obama won Jews by a margin of 52–48 as well as atheists/agnostics by a margin of 53-45.

Clinton performed extremely well statewide, carrying a majority of counties and sweeping most of the major urban areas and cities. Obama won Boston by fewer than 10,000 votes, while Clinton won other urban and conservative towns [4] such as Springfield and Worcester.

Obama had picked up major endorsements from the Massachusetts Democratic establishment prior to Super Tuesday. Both U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry threw their support behind Obama, along with Governor Deval Patrick. Clinton also picked up a number of top-tier endorsements from Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston and Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Salvatore DiMasi along with U.S. Representatives Richard Neal and Barney Frank, one of the three openly gay members of the U.S. Congress.

PartyCandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
Democratic Hillary Clinton 705,18556.01%55
Democratic Barack Obama 511,68040.64%38
Democratic John Edwards 20,1011.60%0
Democratic Uncommitted8,0410.64%0
Democratic Write-ins 3,2790.26%0
Democratic Joe Biden 3,2160.26%0
Democratic Dennis Kucinich 2,9920.24%0
Democratic Bill Richardson 1,8460.15%0
Democratic Mike Gravel 1,4630.12%0
Democratic Christopher Dodd 1,1200.09%0
Totals1,258,923100.00%93
Voter turnout %

Republican

2008 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
 2004February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)2012 
  Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6.jpg John McCain official photo portrait.JPG
Candidate Mitt Romney John McCain
Party Republican Republican
Home state Massachusetts Arizona
Delegate count2117
Popular vote255,892204,779
Percentage51.92%41.68%

The Massachusetts Republican Primary took place on February 5, 2008, with 40 national delegates. [5] Polls indicated that former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney was leading rival John McCain; [6] Romney ended up defeating McCain by roughly 10% of the vote.

Official Results [7]
CandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
Mitt Romney 255,89251.12%21
John McCain 204,77940.91%17
Mike Huckabee 19,1033.82%0
Ron Paul 13,2512.65%0
Rudy Giuliani*2,7070.54%0
Fred Thompson*9160.18%0
Duncan Hunter*2580.05%0
All Others1,6850.34%0
Uncommitted1,9590.39%0
Total500,550100%38

<tnowiki>*</tnowiki> Candidate dropped out of the race before the primary

Green-Rainbow

2008 Massachusetts Green-Rainbow presidential primary
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
 2004February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)2012 
  Ralph Nader headshot (1).jpg Cynthia McKinney (1).jpg
Candidate Ralph Nader Cynthia McKinney
Party Green Green
Home state District of Columbia Georgia
Delegate count320
Popular vote744474
Percentage39.91%25.43%

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party Presidential Primary Results By Town, 2008.png
Town results of the Massachusetts Green presidential primaries, 2008:
     Nader     McKinney
     Swift     Ball
     Mesplay     Brown
     No Votes

The Massachusetts Green-Rainbow primary took place on February 5. Six candidates appeared on the ballot. Ralph Nader won, despite not running for the nomination of the party.

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow presidential primary, February 5, 2008 [8] [9]
CandidateVotesPercentageNational delegates
Ralph Nader74439.91%32
Cynthia McKinney47425.43%-
Kat Swift603.22%-
Jared Ball422.25%-
Kent Mesplay392.09%-
Elaine Brown382.04%-
Others27325.1%-
No preference19410.41%-
Blank votes (not tallied)77n/an/a
Total1,941100%32

Working Families Party

The Working Families Party did not have any candidates run in its presidential primary. [10]

Campaign

Predictions

There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:

SourceRanking
D.C. Political Report [11] Likely D
Cook Political Report [12] Solid D
The Takeaway [13] Solid D
Electoral-vote.com [14] Solid D
Washington Post [15] Solid D
Politico [16] Solid D
RealClearPolitics [17] Solid D
FiveThirtyEight [15] Solid D
CQ Politics [18] Solid D
The New York Times [19] Solid D
CNN [20] Safe D
NPR [15] Solid D
MSNBC [15] Solid D
Fox News [21] Likely D
Associated Press [22] Likely D
Rasmussen Reports [23] Safe D

Polling

Very early on the election polls were tight, [24] with McCain even leading by 5 in one poll on January 21 and a tie in a poll on March 16, but Obama won every poll after March 18. He won each by a double-digit margin since August 8. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 56% to 36%. [25]

Fundraising

John McCain raised $4,072,206 in the state. Barack Obama raised $24,358,264. [26]

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $46,839 while the Republican ticket spent nothing. [27] Neither campaign visited the state. [28]

Analysis

In terms of voting in presidential elections, Massachusetts is one of the most heavily Democratic states in the nation. Massachusetts is ethnically diverse, highly educated, and less religious. The Bay State has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1960 except for Ronald Reagan's landslide victories of 1980 and 1984. In 1972, only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia voted for Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern as Republican Richard M. Nixon won reelection.

Barack Obama won the state's 12 electoral votes with 61.80% of the vote to John McCain's 35.99%. This is slightly higher than Kerry's victory in 2004. Despite that, 4 counties in the state trended away from the Democratic party: Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk, and Worcester.

Both of Massachusetts's U.S. Senators and all 10 of its U.S. Representatives were Democrats, and Democrats held supermajorities in the Massachusetts Legislature. At the same time in 2008, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry was reelected with 65.86% of the vote over Republican Jeff Beatty's 30.93% as were all of the state's delegates in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the state level, Democrats picked up three seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and one seat in the Massachusetts Senate.

Results

2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,904,09861.80%12
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,108,85435.99%0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 28,8410.94%0
Independent Others (Write-In)14,4830.47%0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 13,1890.43%0
Green-Rainbow Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 6,5500.21%0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle4,9710.16%0
Totals3,080,985100.00%12
Voter turnout (Voting age population)62.1%

Results by County

CountyBarack Obama
Democratic
John McCain
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Barnstable 74,26456.11%55,69442.08%2,3951.81%18,57014.03%132,353
Berkshire 49,55874.94%14,87622.50%1,6962.56%34,68252.44%66,130
Bristol 146,86160.41%90,53137.24%5,7282.36%56,33023.17%243,120
Dukes 7,91374.98%2,44223.14%1981.88%5,47151.84%10,553
Essex 208,97659.12%137,12938.80%7,3572.08%71,84720.32%353,462
Franklin 27,91972.46%9,54524.77%1,0652.76%18,37447.69%38,529
Hampden 121,45461.43%71,35036.09%4,9162.49%50,10425.34%197,720
Hampshire 56,86971.47%20,61825.91%2,0832.62%36,25145.56%79,570
Middlesex 464,48463.98%245,76633.85%15,7812.17%218,71830.13%726,031
Nantucket 4,07367.30%1,86330.78%1161.92%2,21036.52%6,052
Norfolk 200,67558.18%136,84139.67%7,4002.15%63,83418.51%344,916
Plymouth 131,81752.77%112,90445.19%5,0962.04%18,9137.58%249,817
Suffolk 207,12876.94%57,19421.24%4,9001.82%149,93455.70%269,222
Worcester 202,10755.59%152,10141.83%9,3862.58%50,00613.76%363,594
Totals1,904,09861.80%1,108,85435.99%68,1172.21%795,24425.81%3,081,069

Results by Congressional district

Barack Obama swept all 10 congressional districts in Massachusetts.

DistrictRepresentative
re-elected
McCainObama
1 John Olver (D)33.54%64.17%
2 Richard Neal (D)38.88%59.04%
3 Jim McGovern (D)39.39%58.74%
4 Barney Frank (D)34.67%63.66%
5 Niki Tsongas (D)39.41%58.92%
6 John F. Tierney (D)40.71%57.65%
7 Ed Markey (D)33.34%64.96%
8 Mike Capuano (D)13.74%85.58%
9 Stephen Lynch (D)38.50%60.37%
10 William Delahunt (D)43.60%54.87%

Results by Municipality

Town/CityBarack Obama

Democratic

John McCain

Republican

OthersTotal Votes County
%#%#%#
Abington 50.6%4,09446.5%3,7652.9%2388,097
Acton 67.8%7,89429.9%3,4772.3%26411,635
Acushnet 57.8%3,23237.7%2,1104.5%2515,593
Adams 74.8%3,06621.8%8933.4%1404,099
Agawam 52.3%7,59544.3%6,4283.4%48714,510
Alford 80.8%26117.6%571.5%5323
Amesbury 59.6%5,11137.6%3,2222.8%2388,571
Amherst 86.6%11,19810.1%1,3073.3%43212,937
Andover 55.5%10,17742.5%7,7982.0%36918,344
Aquinnah 89.5%2808.3%262.2%7313
Arlington 72.1%18,36525.1%6,4072.8%71625,488
Ashburnham 52.7%1,78743.8%1,4863.5%1173,390
Ashby 47.0%88549.5%9323.4%641,881
Ashfield 79.5%90317.4%1983.1%351,136
Ashland 59.7%5,06037.5%3,1842.8%2368,480
Athol 55.5%2,64741.0%1,9563.5%1684,771
Attleboro 55.1%10,52341.9%8,0032.9%55919,085
Auburn 53.6%4,79443.0%3,8493.4%3078,950
Avon 48.4%1,17347.8%1,1593.8%922,424
Ayer 55.8%1,89541.2%1,3973.0%1023,394
Barnstable 53.8%13,55944.0%11,0842.2%56625,209
Barre 52.0%1,40944.5%1,2053.5%952,709
Becket 70.1%67226.6%2553.3%32959
Bedford 60.7%4,51636.6%2,7182.7%2017,435
Belchertown 62.4%4,82934.7%2,6832.9%2217,733
Bellingham 51.9%4,36445.0%3,7833.2%2668,413
Belmont 68.1%9,40428.8%3,9823.1%42613,812
Berkley 48.4%1,58547.6%1,5584.0%1323,275
Berlin 52.6%87043.1%7124.3%711,653
Bernardston 68.2%84928.4%3543.4%421,245
Beverly 59.4%12,24737.7%7,7802.8%58720,614
Billerica 49.6%9,70047.5%9,2802.9%56619,546
Blackstone 52.2%2,22944.1%1,8853.7%1564,270
Blandford 48.4%33949.1%3442.6%18701
Bolton 55.2%1,59841.9%1,2142.9%832,895
Boston 78.6%185,97619.3%45,5482.1%5001236,525
Bourne 49.9%5,07647.7%4,8592.4%24410,179
Boxborough 62.7%1,79834.8%9962.5%722,866
Boxford 45.9%2,28651.9%2,5862.2%1094,981
Boylston 51.0%1,35245.9%1,2153.1%822,649
Braintree 49.4%9,29847.6%8,9643.0%57018,832
Brewster 58.5%3,90338.0%2,5353.4%2296,667
Bridgewater 48.6%5,88948.4%5,8613.0%36012,110
Brimfield 48.0%98447.8%9794.2%862,049
Brockton 69.0%23,29928.6%9,6462.4%80833,753
Brookfield 49.4%87546.8%8293.7%661,770
Brookline 80.4%22,48417.3%4,8422.3%64527,971
Buckland 72.8%78523.1%2494.1%441,078
Burlington 53.1%6,82244.4%5,7032.6%33012,855
Cambridge 87.5%40,87610.1%4,6972.5%115446,727
Canton 53.2%6,46044.4%5,3962.4%28812,144
Carlisle 65.2%2,11632.4%1,0532.4%773,246
Carver 47.5%2,93747.0%2,9015.5%3396,177
Charlemont 70.0%48625.2%1754.8%33694
Charlton 44.4%2,88352.6%3,4113.0%1926,486
Chatham 53.8%2,58544.1%2,1162.1%1014,802
Chelmsford 52.9%10,36044.5%8,7122.6%51119,583
Chelsea 73.4%5,92622.5%1,8204.1%3288,074
Cheshire 69.5%1,31826.8%5083.7%701,896
Chester 52.0%36943.7%3104.2%30709
Chesterfield 60.3%44436.0%2653.7%27736
Chicopee 60.4%14,17235.2%8,2684.4%103823,478
Chilmark 80.5%59716.8%1252.7%20742
Clarksburg 70.2%63526.1%2363.8%34905
Clinton 56.9%3,70139.4%2,5633.7%2426,506
Cohasset 51.5%2,38346.6%2,1561.9%904,629
Colrain 69.4%65426.0%2454.7%44943
Concord 70.3%7,43527.4%2,9032.3%24410,582
Conway 75.7%95221.7%2732.6%331,258
Cummington 69.5%37627.4%1483.1%17541
Dalton 71.7%2,55925.7%9162.6%923,567
Danvers 53.8%7,55843.4%6,0932.8%39914,050
Dartmouth 62.1%10,44235.0%5,8762.9%49216,810
Dedham 55.3%7,10841.7%5,3613.0%38812,857
Deerfield 71.5%2,19825.6%7863.0%913,075
Dennis 54.4%5,20942.8%4,0982.8%2669,573
Dighton 48.1%1,73247.8%1,7194.1%1473,598
Douglas 45.4%1,96251.7%2,2352.9%1254,322
Dover 50.8%1,74147.1%1,6142.1%733,428
Dracut 48.5%7,21648.9%7,2842.6%38414,884
Dudley 49.9%2,52546.7%2,3663.4%1745,065
Dunstable 49.1%91647.8%8923.1%581,866
Duxbury 50.5%4,77647.4%4,4792.1%1959,450
East Bridgewater 46.1%3,33251.3%3,7062.6%1867,224
East Brookfield 42.7%50655.0%6512.3%271,184
East Longmeadow 49.7%4,29647.6%4,1092.7%2358,640
Eastham 61.1%2,34936.8%1,4162.0%783,843
Easthampton 69.6%6,21427.0%2,4103.4%3058,929
Easton 50.7%6,11147.0%5,6672.3%28212,060
Edgartown 68.4%1,69229.1%7192.5%612,472
Egremont 77.7%65820.1%1702.2%19847
Erving 70.1%56526.8%2163.1%25806
Essex 55.2%1,22042.9%9471.9%422,209
Everett 64.2%8,33831.9%4,1403.9%50512,983
Fairhaven 62.3%5,29934.3%2,9143.5%2958,508
Fall River 71.0%22,59124.9%7,9334.1%130431,828
Falmouth 59.6%11,72538.1%7,5032.3%45819,686
Fitchburg 59.6%8,59637.3%5,3783.2%45814,432
Florida 62.1%26734.2%1473.7%16430
Foxborough 51.4%4,70246.1%4,2162.5%2319,149
Framingham 65.9%17,83931.2%8,4642.9%78227,085
Franklin 52.4%8,80044.9%7,5352.7%45816,793
Freetown 49.7%2,40546.1%2,2284.2%2054,838
Gardner 58.6%4,93637.6%3,1713.8%3218,428
Georgetown 49.7%2,35847.9%2,2712.5%1174,746
Gill 73.1%67223.9%2202.9%27919
Gloucester 63.5%9,96732.6%5,1133.9%60415,684
Goshen 65.8%40330.2%1853.9%24612
Gosnold 65.0%5232.5%262.5%280
Grafton 52.3%4,72244.9%4,0572.7%2489,027
Granby 54.9%1,96741.9%1,5023.2%1153,584
Granville 43.3%38152.6%4624.1%36879
Great Barrington 81.5%3,07415.2%5743.3%1263,774
Greenfield 72.9%6,24523.2%1,9874.0%3398,571
Groton 56.2%3,45039.7%2,4394.0%2486,137
Groveland 49.1%1,89848.3%1,8672.6%1023,867
Hadley 68.9%2,13828.2%8762.9%893,103
Halifax 47.1%1,92849.5%2,0263.5%1434,097
Hamilton 52.7%2,49444.8%2,1202.4%1144,728
Hampden 48.4%1,45048.7%1,4572.9%872,994
Hancock 62.2%24833.1%1324.8%19399
Hanover 44.1%3,60054.0%4,4112.0%1618,172
Hanson 46.9%2,57150.3%2,7582.8%1535,482
Hardwick 54.8%77641.1%5824.0%571,415
Harvard 63.2%2,20633.2%1,1583.6%1253,489
Harwich 55.7%4,53840.7%3,3143.6%2918,143
Hatfield 66.2%1,40531.0%6582.8%592,122
Haverhill 57.3%15,55239.8%10,8142.8%77227,138
Hawley 57.4%10136.9%655.7%10176
Heath 66.7%29630.6%1362.7%12444
Hingham 52.9%7,12945.2%6,0991.9%26013,488
Hinsdale 65.4%72330.0%3324.6%511,106
Holbrook 52.6%2,85844.0%2,3913.4%1825,431
Holden 51.2%5,36045.9%4,8052.9%30010,465
Holland 48.8%65447.4%6363.8%511,341
Holliston 58.4%4,83038.9%3,2192.7%2218,270
Holyoke 71.1%11,03425.8%4,0003.2%48915,523
Hopedale 54.4%1,84742.8%1,4512.8%963,394
Hopkinton 53.1%4,45544.7%3,7532.2%1868,394
Hubbardston 46.5%1,18849.8%1,2723.8%962,556
Hudson 57.4%5,63938.9%3,8263.7%3619,826
Hull 58.9%3,51137.9%2,2583.3%1945,963
Huntington 53.2%60842.2%4824.6%531,143
Ipswich 56.0%4,57341.4%3,3812.6%2138,167
Kingston 48.7%3,27949.0%3,3032.3%1546,736
Lakeville 42.8%2,45653.4%3,0603.8%2175,733
Lancaster 48.3%1,77548.2%1,7703.5%1293,674
Lanesborough 69.2%1,16428.8%4842.0%341,682
Lawrence 79.5%15,63218.4%3,6242.1%40419,660
Lee 72.1%2,19224.6%7483.3%1003,040
Leicester 51.1%2,82145.4%2,5033.5%1945,518
Lenox 75.5%2,30521.7%6622.8%843,051
Leominster 54.8%10,06342.0%7,7093.2%58018,352
Leverett 83.8%1,05313.4%1682.8%351,256
Lexington 72.3%12,98425.6%4,5932.1%38517,962
Leyden 72.4%34423.6%1124.0%19475
Lincoln 75.1%2,62722.6%7912.2%783,496
Littleton 57.0%2,96340.5%2,1062.4%1275,196
Longmeadow 57.0%5,51740.8%3,9462.2%2119,674
Lowell 64.7%20,64632.6%10,3932.7%86631,905
Ludlow 56.5%5,63840.5%4,0383.0%3009,976
Lunenburg 50.2%2,88947.0%2,7062.8%1615,756
Lynn 67.7%20,27629.1%8,7193.2%96129,956
Lynnfield 43.2%3,01854.6%3,8112.2%1556,984
Malden 67.2%13,86529.5%6,0753.3%68820,628
Manchester-by-the-Sea 59.8%2,04637.7%1,2902.5%853,421
Mansfield 51.8%6,05244.3%5,1763.9%45411,682
Marblehead 60.3%7,51337.4%4,6592.3%28812,460
Marion 57.6%1,80440.4%1,2662.0%643,134
Marlborough 57.2%9,36739.8%6,5203.1%50016,387
Marshfield 49.7%7,25548.1%7,0262.2%32314,604
Mashpee 52.7%4,29743.7%3,5643.5%2888,149
Mattapoisett 53.8%2,17742.8%1,7333.4%1374,047
Maynard 62.5%3,54934.7%1,9672.8%1585,674
Medfield 52.8%3,84844.8%3,2642.5%1817,293
Medford 65.0%17,59832.0%8,6553.0%81127,064
Medway 53.2%3,73644.4%3,1222.4%1687,026
Melrose 59.3%9,13937.9%5,8462.7%42015,405
Mendon 46.6%1,51350.5%1,6412.9%943,248
Merrimac 53.6%1,91843.3%1,5513.1%1123,581
Methuen 53.4%11,26344.1%9,3032.6%54321,109
Middleborough 45.1%5,15551.2%5,8573.7%42911,441
Middlefield 64.7%19432.7%982.7%8300
Middleton 45.4%1,98251.9%2,2662.7%1204,368
Milford 57.1%7,07340.0%4,9582.9%36312,394
Millbury 51.6%3,44044.9%2,9963.5%2336,669
Millis 54.1%2,49443.3%1,9962.6%1184,608
Millville 47.4%73349.9%7722.7%421,547
Milton 60.8%9,48636.9%5,7532.3%35215,591
Monroe 66.7%4031.7%191.7%160
Monson 53.7%2,41842.9%1,9313.4%1514,500
Montague 74.4%3,26122.1%9673.6%1574,385
Monterey 79.0%46418.6%1092.4%14587
Montgomery 45.8%23649.9%2574.3%22515
Mount Washington 77.1%9117.8%215.1%6118
Nahant 58.0%1,34338.3%8873.6%842,314
Nantucket 67.0%4,07330.6%1,8632.4%1456,081
Natick 62.8%11,40633.3%6,0503.9%69918,155
Needham 65.4%11,33132.6%5,6522.0%35317,336
New Ashford 66.2%9627.6%406.2%9145
New Bedford 72.5%24,88123.9%8,2013.6%124534,327
New Braintree 52.2%28944.8%2483.1%17554
New Marlborough 71.7%60125.4%2132.9%24838
New Salem 63.9%39530.7%1905.3%33618
Newbury 53.7%2,32643.5%1,8832.8%1204,329
Newburyport 65.0%7,11832.1%3,5172.8%30910,944
Newton 74.6%33,36023.0%10,2832.4%107744,720
Norfolk 46.7%2,50850.7%2,7232.5%1365,367
North Adams 76.0%4,51920.2%1,2033.8%2265,948
North Andover 51.6%7,77746.1%6,9392.3%34615,062
North Attleborough 49.7%7,09947.0%6,7133.3%47114,283
North Brookfield 45.5%1,09151.0%1,2243.5%832,398
North Reading 47.9%4,05650.0%4,2332.0%1718,460
Northampton 82.1%13,41214.6%2,3873.3%54216,341
Northborough 55.4%4,51641.7%3,4012.8%2328,149
Northbridge 47.6%3,62549.2%3,7483.2%2427,615
Northfield 70.4%1,22826.5%4633.1%541,745
Norton 50.7%4,54246.8%4,1942.5%2278,963
Norwell 46.5%2,94751.4%3,2632.1%1346,344
Norwood 55.1%7,94441.8%6,0333.1%44014,417
Oak Bluffs 71.8%1,93126.3%7061.9%512,688
Oakham 46.0%52049.7%5624.2%481,130
Orange 56.2%1,90340.3%1,3663.5%1183,387
Orleans 57.4%2,67740.1%1,8702.5%1174,664
Otis 58.7%50437.0%3184.3%37859
Oxford 49.7%3,23747.0%3,0613.3%2136,511
Palmer 54.4%3,22941.8%2,4813.8%2265,936
Paxton 48.7%1,26346.0%1,1945.4%1392,596
Peabody 56.0%14,81840.8%10,8003.1%82326,441
Pelham 83.9%75313.9%1252.1%19897
Pembroke 48.8%4,67248.7%4,6602.5%2389,570
Pepperell 47.8%3,02949.2%3,1163.0%1916,336
Peru 65.0%30531.6%1483.4%16469
Petersham 56.6%46640.2%3313.2%26823
Phillipston 52.0%50144.3%4273.7%36964
Pittsfield 75.5%15,66521.2%4,4043.2%66820,737
Plainfield 74.4%29422.5%893.0%12395
Plainville 49.2%2,11447.4%2,0363.4%1474,297
Plymouth 52.3%15,18045.2%13,1392.5%72229,041
Plympton 45.9%78751.6%8842.5%421,713
Princeton 50.8%1,13845.0%1,0084.2%952,241
Provincetown 86.9%2,06710.8%2562.4%562,379
Quincy 57.2%22,81039.0%15,5463.8%150939,865
Randolph 71.5%10,42426.1%3,8112.4%34714,582
Raynham 47.1%3,33649.8%3,5243.1%2167,076
Reading 55.5%7,69442.1%5,8312.4%33513,860
Rehoboth 50.0%3,14746.7%2,9453.3%2086,300
Revere 58.7%9,94136.9%6,2424.4%73916,922
Richmond 73.8%72022.9%2233.3%32975
Rochester 47.0%1,46749.8%1,5553.2%1013,123
Rockland 49.9%4,31846.6%4,0353.4%2988,651
Rockport 65.9%3,08831.4%1,4692.7%1284,685
Rowe 53.0%14039.4%1047.6%20264
Rowley 48.7%1,68149.0%1,6902.3%783,449
Royalston 57.4%39937.3%2595.3%37695
Russell 50.1%40945.3%3704.5%37816
Rutland 48.2%2,02749.5%2,0812.3%984,206
Salem 67.7%13,08029.0%5,6013.3%63519,316
Salisbury 53.8%2,27043.2%1,8233.1%1294,222
Sandisfield 61.2%27432.1%1446.7%30448
Sandwich 49.0%6,12647.5%5,9423.5%44012,508
Saugus 50.1%6,76946.8%6,3143.1%42113,504
Savoy 67.8%27427.5%1114.7%19404
Scituate 52.1%5,85045.6%5,1212.3%26311,234
Seekonk 54.8%4,06741.3%3,0613.9%2907,418
Sharon 65.1%6,62231.2%3,1793.7%37310,174
Sheffield 72.3%1,37823.7%4523.9%751,905
Shelburne 75.6%91620.3%2464.1%501,212
Sherborn 59.5%1,60938.0%1,0292.5%672,705
Shirley 51.2%1,60945.2%1,4213.6%1143,144
Shrewsbury 56.1%10,00040.9%7,2963.0%53317,829
Shutesbury 84.3%1,03812.5%1543.2%401,232
Somerset 61.8%6,36834.3%3,5373.9%39810,303
Somerville 80.7%26,66515.8%5,2153.6%118133,061
South Hadley 62.3%5,67135.1%3,1992.6%2409,110
Southampton 55.7%1,91141.3%1,4162.9%1013,428
Southborough 55.8%3,20141.5%2,3792.7%1525,732
Southbridge 63.4%4,46633.3%2,3463.3%2327,044
Southwick 46.3%2,26750.4%2,4673.3%1604,894
Spencer 49.4%2,79947.6%2,6973.1%1735,669
Springfield 75.8%39,51621.7%11,3312.4%127452,121
Sterling 45.8%2,15951.4%2,4232.8%1324,714
Stockbridge 79.6%99817.1%2143.3%411,253
Stoneham 54.5%6,62543.0%5,2312.5%30012,156
Stoughton 58.0%7,91538.8%5,2963.1%42513,636
Stow 57.6%2,31939.6%1,5922.8%1134,024
Sturbridge 52.6%2,73844.6%2,3222.8%1485,208
Sudbury 63.0%6,50235.0%3,6132.1%21210,327
Sunderland 76.2%1,43320.4%3833.4%641,880
Sutton 44.8%2,36251.9%2,7363.3%1765,274
Swampscott 62.3%5,10334.7%2,8443.0%2448,191
Swansea 57.1%4,88739.8%3,4083.1%2688,563
Taunton 58.3%13,24338.2%8,6773.6%81222,732
Templeton 50.9%1,90945.3%1,7013.8%1423,752
Tewksbury 48.4%7,62848.8%7,6832.8%43515,746
Tisbury 75.0%1,83022.2%5412.8%692,440
Tolland 46.4%12850.0%1383.6%10276
Topsfield 47.3%1,82447.6%1,8375.1%1983,859
Townsend 46.0%2,32650.8%2,5723.2%1625,060
Truro 73.0%1,05624.4%3532.6%371,446
Tyngsborough 48.0%2,95550.1%3,0852.0%1216,161
Tyringham 69.3%19428.2%792.5%7280
Upton 50.2%2,07746.6%1,9273.2%1314,135
Uxbridge 48.1%3,47648.8%3,5323.1%2267,234
Wakefield 54.4%7,74342.9%6,1182.7%38514,246
Wales 52.6%53743.7%4463.6%371,020
Walpole 48.3%6,60049.2%6,7122.5%34313,655
Waltham 62.6%15,27634.3%8,3833.1%74624,405
Ware 56.0%2,55240.0%1,8214.0%1824,555
Wareham 56.8%6,19940.3%4,3982.9%31710,914
Warren 50.5%1,18445.3%1,0624.1%972,343
Warwick 72.4%32824.3%1103.3%15453
Washington 73.5%25823.4%823.1%11351
Watertown 71.1%11,52026.2%4,2492.7%43116,200
Wayland 67.2%5,48830.3%2,4762.5%2048,168
Webster 51.6%3,46144.4%2,9754.0%2696,705
Wellesley 63.7%9,27033.6%4,8852.8%40514,560
Wellfleet 70.0%1,55027.0%5973.0%662,213
Wendell 83.5%47412.1%694.4%25568
Wenham 50.4%1,18247.2%1,1082.3%552,345
West Boylston 50.3%2,01947.1%1,8912.6%1044,014
West Bridgewater 42.6%1,70154.2%2,1633.2%1283,992
West Brookfield 49.7%1,01046.0%9364.3%872,033
West Newbury 54.4%1,50843.4%1,2022.2%622,772
West Springfield 54.9%6,75141.7%5,1283.3%41012,289
West Stockbridge 79.7%72016.8%1523.4%31903
West Tisbury 81.7%1,53116.0%2992.3%441,874
Westborough 58.6%5,30838.6%3,4962.9%2599,063
Westfield 52.6%9,30443.9%7,7623.5%62217,688
Westford 54.0%6,79543.7%5,5012.3%28612,582
Westhampton 61.1%68137.2%4141.7%191,114
Westminster 49.8%2,14446.3%1,9923.9%1664,302
Weston 60.0%3,90237.6%2,4462.4%1556,503
Westport 61.3%5,31935.6%3,0873.0%2648,670
Westwood 52.0%4,56445.4%3,9852.6%2268,775
Weymouth 52.7%14,72744.2%12,3583.0%84527,930
Whately 66.4%66029.2%2904.4%44994
Whitman 48.3%3,50448.7%3,5313.0%2147,249
Wilbraham 49.3%4,23047.3%4,0623.4%2928,584
Williamsburg 77.0%1,30919.5%3313.5%601,700
Williamstown 79.1%2,95718.9%7072.0%743,738
Wilmington 48.3%5,81249.2%5,9232.5%30712,042
Winchendon 53.1%2,29443.2%1,8663.8%1634,323
Winchester 59.0%7,38138.7%4,8462.2%28112,508
Windsor 71.5%39825.5%1423.1%17557
Winthrop 57.7%5,28439.2%3,5843.1%2849,152
Woburn 53.2%10,23744.0%8,4662.7%52619,229
Worcester 66.9%41,35229.9%18,4743.2%198261,808
Worthington 67.3%51029.3%2223.4%26758
Wrentham 47.2%2,91149.8%3,0733.0%1876,171
Yarmouth 53.4%7,54743.8%6,1872.9%40514,139

Electors

Technically the voters of Massachusetts cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Massachusetts is allocated 12 electors because it has 10 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 12 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 12 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. [29] An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 15, 2008, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.

The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 12 were pledged to Obama and Biden: [30]

  1. Brenda Brathwaite
  2. Mary Ann Dube
  3. Patricia Marcus
  4. Faye Morrison
  5. Carol Pacheco
  6. Corinne Wingard
  7. John Brissette
  8. Raymond Jordan
  9. Joe Kaplan
  10. Melvin Poindexter
  11. Samuel Poulten
  12. Jason Whittet

See also

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