2016 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary

Last updated November 17, 2024

The 2016 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Massachusetts as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Opinion polling

Poll source	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	Other
Primary results^[3]	March 1, 2016	Hillary Clinton 49.7%	Bernie Sanders 48.3%		Others / Uncommitted 2.0%
SurveyMonkey^[4] Margin of error: ± ? Sample size: 1,224	February 22–29, 2016	Hillary Clinton 48%	Bernie Sanders 46%		Others / Undecided 6%
Emerson College^[5] Margin of error: ± 3.7% Sample size: 670	February 26–28, 2016	Hillary Clinton 54%	Bernie Sanders 43%		Others / Undecided 3%
Suffolk University^[6] Margin of error: ± 4.4% Sample size: 500	February 25–27, 2016	Hillary Clinton 50%	Bernie Sanders 42%		Others / Undecided 8%
WBZ-UMass Amherst^[7] Margin of error: ± 6.5% Sample size: 400	February 19–25, 2016	Hillary Clinton 47%	Bernie Sanders 44%		Others / Undecided 9%
WBUR^[8] Margin of error: ± 4.9% Sample size: 418	February 21–23, 2016	Hillary Clinton 49%	Bernie Sanders 44%		Others / Undecided 7%
Emerson College^[9] Margin of error: ± 4.75% Sample size: 417	February 19–21, 2016	Hillary Clinton 46%	Bernie Sanders 46%		Undecided 5%
Public Policy Polling^[10] Margin of error: ± 4.2 Sample Size: 538	February 14–16, 2016	Bernie Sanders 49%	Hillary Clinton 42%		Undecided 9%
Emerson College ^[11] Margin of error: ± 6.0% Sample size: 265	October 16–18, 2015	Hillary Clinton 59%	Bernie Sanders 25%	Jim Webb 5%	Martin O'Malley 3%, Lincoln Chafee 3%, Other 2%, Undecided 3%
Emerson College^[12] Margin of error: ± ? Sample size: 430	March 14–19, 2015	Hillary Clinton 43%	Elizabeth Warren 16%	Joe Biden 10%	Bernie Sanders 6%, Martin O'Malley 2%, Other/Undecided 24%
Gravis Marketing ^[13] Margin of error: ± 4% Sample size: 358	January 19–21, 2015	Hillary Clinton 46%	Elizabeth Warren 22%		Undecided 32%
Suffolk University ^[14] Margin of error: ± 4.9% Sample size: 400	August 21–24, 2014	Hillary Clinton 55%	Elizabeth Warren 17.25%	Joe Biden 7.75%	Andrew Cuomo 4.75%, Martin O'Malley 1.5%, Undecided 12.25%, Refused 1.25%, Other 0.25%
Public Policy Polling ^[15] Margin of error: ± 3.8% Sample size: 666	May 1–2, 2013	Hillary Clinton 55%	Joe Biden 17%	Andrew Cuomo 4%	Deval Patrick 4%, Elizabeth Warren 4%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Kirsten Gillibrand 0%, Brian Schweitzer 0%, Mark Warner 0%, Someone else/Not sure 14%

Results

Primary date: March 1, 2016
National delegates: 91

Results of the Massachusetts Democratic primary on March 1, 2016
Candidate	Popular vote^[16]		Estimated delegates^[17]
Candidate	Count	Percentage	Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Hillary Clinton	606,822	49.73%	46	21	67
Bernie Sanders	589,803	48.33%	45	1	46
Martin O'Malley (withdrawn)	4,783	0.39%	0	0	0
Rocky De La Fuente	1,545	0.13%	0	0	0
No preference	8,090	0.66%	–	2	2
All others	4,927	0.40%	0	0	0
Blank votes	4,326	0.35%	–	–	–
Total	1,220,296	100%	91	24	115

Results by county

County^[18]	Clinton	%	Sanders	%
Barnstable	21,889	48.7%	22,456	50.0%
Berkshire	12,916	47.6%	13,851	51.0%
Bristol	37,187	48.7%	36,797	48.2%
Dukes	2,312	44.8%	3,804	54.4%
Essex	65,679	48.7%	66,797	49.3%
Franklin	5,485	29.0%	13,286	70.2%
Hampden	31,766	50.3%	29,699	47.0%
Hampshire	14,309	40.4%	24,638	57.6%
Middlesex	170,096	51.5%	154,785	46.9%
Nantucket	979	47.5%	1,060	51.5%
Norfolk	72,105	52.7%	61,835	45.2%
Plymouth	39,165	48.3%	40,219	49.6%
Suffolk	79,314	56.6%	58,134	41.5%
Worcester	53,610	44.8%	63,745	53.2%
Total	606,822	49.7%	589,803	48.3%

Analysis

Clinton ran a close race against Bernie Sanders, much closer than her 15-point-win in the state eight years earlier against Barack Obama, but ultimately she came out victorious in Massachusetts. She lost the white vote (85% of the electorate in Massachusetts) narrowly, 50-49, to Bernie Sanders, according to exit polls. She also lost the male vote 58-41. However, she won the non-white vote 59-41, and the votes of women 57-42 (including both married women 59-40, and unmarried women 53-46), which likely put her over the top statewide.

Sanders won among voters who had only a high school diploma or less, while Clinton won more highly educated voters, including postgraduates, who made up a larger proportion of the Massachusetts electorate. And while Sanders won 54-46 among voters under the age of 45, Clinton won 54-45 with those over 45 years of age, including a resounding 59-39 victory among senior citizens. And while Sanders won 55-45 among voters who make less than $100k per year, Clinton won with more affluent voters.

In terms of political party affiliation, Clinton won Democrats (65% of the electorate) 60-40, but lost Independents to Sanders 66-33.^[19]

While Sanders carried a majority of counties statewide, Clinton swept most of the major urban areas and cities, as well as the affluent suburbs. She won Boston by a large margin and also emerged victorious in other urban and more conservative towns such as Springfield and Worcester.^[20]

The Clinton win in Massachusetts came as a major blow to the Sanders campaign on Super Tuesday, as he had wanted to win a blue, largely white and liberal state like Massachusetts resoundingly in order to stay competitive after disappointing losses across the Southeast.

Following the primary, Elizabeth Warren, the state's senior US senator, was widely criticized by Sanders supporters online for her refusal to endorse him prior to the primary. Supporters of Bernie Sanders have argued that an endorsement from Warren, whose political positions were similar to that of Sanders's, and who was a frequent critic of Hillary Clinton in the past, could have handed Massachusetts to him.^[21] Warren though, had made it clear prior to the primary that she would not endorse either candidate until the end of the primary season, in which she eventually endorsed Clinton.

Related Research Articles

The 2008 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary was held 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. Twenty-six other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well. Hillary Clinton won despite Obama receiving endorsements from both senators, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, and the Governor Deval Patrick.

This article contains opinion polling by U.S. state for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. For currency and accuracy, please note the specific dates for each polling as listed below. For the significance of the earliest state votes, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, see United States presidential primary – Iowa and New Hampshire. To know when any given state votes, see the timeline of primaries and caucuses.

The 2016 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary was held on Tuesday February 9. As per tradition, it was the first primary and second nominating contest overall to take place in the cycle. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in the primary by a margin of more than 22% in the popular vote. Sanders claimed 15 delegates to Clinton's 9.

The 2016 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on February 27 in the U.S. state of South Carolina, marking the Democratic Party's fourth nominating contest in their series of presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Georgia Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Georgia as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The primary was an open one.

The 2016 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Tennessee as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Texas Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Texas as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Virginia as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Michigan Democratic presidential primary was held on March 8 in the U.S. state of Michigan as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Illinois Democratic presidential primary took place on March 15 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on March 15 in the U.S. state of North Carolina as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Ohio Democratic presidential primary took place on March 15 in the U.S. state of Ohio as one of the Democratic Party's primaries prior to the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary was held on April 5 in the U.S. state of Wisconsin as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders won the contest with 56.5%, distancing nationwide frontrunner Hillary Clinton by 13 percentage points.

The 2016 Connecticut Democratic presidential primary were held on April 26 in the U.S. state of Connecticut as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 California Democratic presidential primary was held on June 7 in the U.S. state of California as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The 2020 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary took place on February 11, 2020, as the second nominating contest in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the Iowa caucuses the week before. The New Hampshire primary was a semi-closed primary, meaning that only Democrats and independents were allowed to vote in this primary. New Hampshire sent 33 delegates to the national convention, of which 24 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary, and the other 9 were unpledged delegates preselected independently of the primary results.

The 2020 United States presidential election in Iowa was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Iowa has six electoral votes in the Electoral College.

The 2020 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Massachusetts primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 114 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 91 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2016 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary was held on Tuesday March 1, as one of the Republican Party's 2016 presidential primaries. Massachusetts was one of eleven states that held both their Democratic and Republican presidential primaries on that day, dubbed "Super Tuesday". 42 delegates were allocated proportionally to all candidates who received at least 5 percent of the vote in the primary.

The 2024 United States presidential election in Massachusetts was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections. Massachusetts voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Massachusetts has 11 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

References

↑ "Urban vote in Springfield, Boston propelled Clinton in Mass". masslive. March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
↑ "Analysis: Mayor Walsh Delivered Boston For Clinton". www.wbur.org. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
↑ Primary results
↑ "Trump's Lead Looks Steady in Run-Up to Super Tuesday" . Retrieved March 1, 2016.
↑ "EMERSON POLL: CRUZ CLINGS TO NARROW LEAD IN TEXAS; TRUMP ROMPS IN BAY STATE, CLINTON PULLS AWAY FROM SANDERS" (PDF).
↑ "FINAL FEBRUARY MASS. DEM LIKELY VOTERS GeoCode" (PDF).
↑ "UMass Amherst/WBZ Poll of MA Likely Primary Voters" (PDF).
↑ "WBUR Poll: In Mass., Clinton Edges Sanders, While Trump Leads Big".
↑ "EMERSON POLL: IN MASSACHUSETTS CLINTON, SANDERS IN A DEAD HEAT; TRUMP TROUNCES ALL GOP RIVALS" (PDF).
↑ "March 2016 Democratic Primary Polls" (PDF).
↑ Emerson College
↑ "Wix PDF" (PDF). media.wix.com. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
↑ Gravis Marketing
↑ Suffolk University
↑ Public Policy Polling
↑ "2016 President Democratic Primary" . Retrieved March 15, 2016.
↑ The Green Papers
↑ "PD43+ » 2016 President Democratic Primary".
↑ "2016 Election Center". CNN. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
↑ "How did Hillary Clinton win Massachusetts Super Tuesday primary? Urban vote in Springfield, Boston made the difference". March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
↑ "Elizabeth Warren Faces Online Attacks Over Bernie's MA Loss". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Urban vote in Springfield, Boston propelled Clinton in Mass". masslive. March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2021.

[2] "Analysis: Mayor Walsh Delivered Boston For Clinton". www.wbur.org. Retrieved August 24, 2021.

[3] Primary results

[https-4] "Trump's Lead Looks Steady in Run-Up to Super Tuesday" . Retrieved March 1, 2016.

[5] "EMERSON POLL: CRUZ CLINGS TO NARROW LEAD IN TEXAS; TRUMP ROMPS IN BAY STATE, CLINTON PULLS AWAY FROM SANDERS" (PDF).

[6] "FINAL FEBRUARY MASS. DEM LIKELY VOTERS GeoCode" (PDF).

[7] "UMass Amherst/WBZ Poll of MA Likely Primary Voters" (PDF).

[8] "WBUR Poll: In Mass., Clinton Edges Sanders, While Trump Leads Big".

[9] "EMERSON POLL: IN MASSACHUSETTS CLINTON, SANDERS IN A DEAD HEAT; TRUMP TROUNCES ALL GOP RIVALS" (PDF).

[10] "March 2016 Democratic Primary Polls" (PDF).

[11] Emerson College

[12] "Wix PDF" (PDF). media.wix.com. Retrieved July 9, 2015.

[13] Gravis Marketing

[14] Suffolk University

[15] Public Policy Polling

[16] "2016 President Democratic Primary" . Retrieved March 15, 2016.

[17] The Green Papers

[18] "PD43+ » 2016 President Democratic Primary".

[19] "2016 Election Center". CNN. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

[20] "How did Hillary Clinton win Massachusetts Super Tuesday primary? Urban vote in Springfield, Boston made the difference". March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

[21] "Elizabeth Warren Faces Online Attacks Over Bernie's MA Loss". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

v t e (← 2012) 2016 Democratic presidential primaries (2020 →)
Candidates Endorsements Debates and forums Polling Results Convention superdelegates
States	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Others	American Samoa Democrats Abroad District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands