2024 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary

2024 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary

←  2020 March 5, 2024 2028 →
←  ME MN  →
116 delegates (92 pledged and 24 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention
Candidate Joe Biden No preference Home state Delaware – Delegate count 91 1 Popular vote 533,096 60,236 Percentage 80.5% 9.1%
County results Municipality results Biden   60 – 70%   70 – 80%   80 – 90%   90 – 100% Tie   40 – 50%

The 2024 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary took place on March 5, 2024, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 116 delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be allocated to presidential candidates. ^[1] The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states and territories.

Biden won the primary in a landslide. However, No preference received 1 delegate as the result of a protest vote against ongoing American involvement in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict. ^[2]

Candidates

Incumbent President Joe Biden announced on April 25, 2023, his bid for a second term. He faced primary challenges from author, progressive activist, and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and U.S. Representative from MN 3, Dean Phillips. ^[3]

Ballot access controversy

There are three ways for a presidential candidate to get on the primary ballot in Massachusetts: a candidate can be placed on the ballot by the state party, they can gather 2,500 signatures to achieve ballot access, or the Secretary of the Commonwealth can place candidates who have been "generally advocated or recognized in the national news media." ^[4] The Massachusetts Democratic Party voted to submit only Biden's name to the state ballot, which was highly criticized by the Williamson campaign, which did not attempt to file any signatures. ^[5] Ultimately, both Phillips and Williamson were placed on the ballot by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin. ^[6]

Endorsements

Main article: Endorsements in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Joe Biden

U.S. Senators

• Ed Markey, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (2013–present), U.S. Representative for MA-07 (1976–2013) ^[7]
• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (2013–present), candidate for president in 2020 ^[8]

U.S. Representatives

• Seth Moulton, U.S. Representative from MA-06 (2015–present), candidate for president in 2020 ^[9]

Statewide officials

• Maura Healey, 73rd Governor of Massachusetts (2023–present), 44th Massachusetts Attorney General (2015–2023) ^[10]

Local officials

• Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (2021–present)^{[ citation needed ]}

Newspapers

• The Boston Globe ^[11]

No preference

State representatives

• Erika Uyterhoeven, State Representative from SD-27th Middlesex ^[12]

Local officials

• Willie Burnley Jr., Somerville City Councilor at-large (2022–present) ^[13]

Organizations

• National organization and Cape Cod and River Valley chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America ^{[14] [15] [16]}
• IfNotNow Boston ^{[17] [18]}
• Jewish Voice for Peace Action ^{[19] [20] [21]}
• Massachusetts Peace Action ^[19]

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Joe Biden	Pete Buttigieg	Hillary Clinton	Kamala Harris	Maura Healey	Gavin Newsom	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	Bernie Sanders	Elizabeth Warren	Other	Undecided
YouGov [22]	Mar 28 – April 5, 2023	397 (RV)	–	28%	15%	–	6%	–	4%	–	21%	12%	4% [b]	10%
Emerson College [23]	Sep 7–8, 2022	339 (LV)	–	54%	–	–	–	6%	–	–	–	–	11%	28%
YouGov [24]	Aug 26–29, 2022	500 (LV)	± 5.1%	22%	17%	5%	9%	–	4%	6%	12%	15%	11% [c]	–
YouGov [25]	Jun 15–21, 2022	588 (LV)	± 3.5%	26%	13%	7%	9%	–	–	6%	14%	14%	10% [d]	–

Results

Massachusetts Democratic primary, March 5, 2024 ^[26]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Actual delegate count
			Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Joe Biden (incumbent)	533,096	80.5%	91		91
No Preference	60,236	9.1%	1		1
Dean Phillips	29,728	4.5%
Marianne Williamson	20,402	3.1%
Other candidates	10,135	1.5%
Cenk Uygur (write-in)	82	<0.1%
Blank ballots	8,930	1.3%
Total:	662,609	100%	92		92

Results by county

County [27]	Joe Biden	No preference	Dean Phillips	Marianne Williamson	Other candidates	Cenk Uygur	Blanks	Total
	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#
Barnstable	27,391	1,586	1,023	641	335	0	281	31,257
Berkshire	12,231	983	425	476	184	3	148	14,450
Bristol	32,486	3,661	2,197	1,742	796	5	911	41,798
Dukes	2,407	198	92	73	31	0	28	2,829
Essex	58,857	5,527	3,375	2,212	1,139	3	990	72,103
Franklin	7,882	1,164	274	379	148	1	100	9,948
Hampden	25,183	2,620	1,351	1,450	654	38	410	31,706
Hampshire	17,172	2,502	587	657	341	2	240	21,501
Middlesex	147,722	18,555	7,992	4,956	2,508	9	2,261	184,003
Nantucket	870	63	22	19	18	0	2	994
Norfolk	62,481	6,512	3,561	2,084	1,275	7	889	76,809
Plymouth	39,381	3,136	2,360	1,458	624	2	655	47,616
Suffolk	46,125	8,289	2,733	1,824	1,142	0	1,063	61,176
Worcester	52,908	5,440	3,736	2,431	940	12	952	66,419
Total	533,096	60,236	29,728	20,402	10,135	82	8,930	662,609

See also

• 2024 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary
• 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2024 United States presidential election
• 2024 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
• 2024 United States elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Gretchen Whitmer with 4%
3. "Someone else" with 11%
4. "Someone else" with 10%

References

1. "Massachusetts Democratic Delegation 2024". The Green Papers . Retrieved April 30, 2023.
2. Mancini, Ryan. "Mass. coalition urges Dem. voters to choose 'no preference' in primary". Mass Live. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
3. Alter, Charlotte (December 4, 2023). "Dean Phillips Is the Other Guy Running for President. Does He Have a Chance?". Time. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
4. "How to Run for President". Massachusetts Secretary of State. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
5. Garrity, Kelly and Kashinsky, Lisa. "Williamson cries foul over ballot access in Massachusetts". Politico on MSN.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
6. Fortier, Marc (January 2, 2024). "Here's who will appear first on Massachusetts' presidential primary ballots". nbcboston.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
7. Harding, Ed (November 27, 2022). "OTR: Sen. Markey explains why he's backing Biden in 2024". WCVB. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
8. Morris, Kyle (January 22, 2023). "10 Democrats who have vowed support for Biden in 2024 as voters await his official re-election decision". Fox News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
9. McCammond, Alexi; Treene, Alayna; Solender, Andrew (August 5, 2022). "Dems dodge on Biden '24". Axios. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023.
10. Stockburger, George (May 10, 2023). "Josh Shapiro, Malcolm Kenyatta named to Biden-Harris Campaign National Advisory Board". ABC27/WHTM. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
11. "The reasons to look beyond Joe Biden's age". The Boston Globe . April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
12. Mancini, Ryan (March 4, 2024). "Mass. coalition urges Dem. voters to choose 'no preference' in primary". MassLive. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
13. Alston, Paris (March 4, 2024). "A Mass. group wants Democrats to vote 'No Preference' to support a ceasefire in Gaza". WGBH. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
14. Falconer, Rebeca (March 3, 2024). "Democratic Socialists of America endorses "uncommitted" Biden protest". Axios. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
15. Cape Cod DSA [@CapeCodDSA] (February 29, 2024). "🗳️ Attention Massachusetts Voters - Primary Day is March 5th! No Peace? No Preference" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2024– via Twitter.
16. River Valley DSA🌹 [@RiverValleyDSA] (March 2, 2024). "‼️Tuesday March 5‼️ Tell the Democratic Party our votes belong to Gaza by voting No Preference on your ballot. 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2024– via Twitter.
17. Marans, Daniel (March 4, 2024). "The Gaza Cease-Fire Movement Faces A Big Test In Michigan". HuffPost. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
18. IfNotNow Boston 🔥 [@IfNotNowBoston] (March 4, 2024). "Remember, vote "NO PREFERENCE" tomorrow! #ceasefirenow #mapoli" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2024– via Twitter.
19. Pursley, Basil (March 2, 2024). "Activists encourage voters to choose 'no preference' in Tuesday's election, in support of Gaza". New England Public Media. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
20. Jewish Voice for Peace Action [@JvpAction] (March 4, 2024). "JVP Action endorses "uncommitted" in the remaining Democratic presidential primaries This is a warning to Biden. We reject his support for Israel's assault on Gaza. By choosing to be complicit in genocide, he is also ignoring his voters and terrifyingly paving a path for Trump🧵" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2024– via Twitter.
21. Jewish Voice for Peace Action [@JvpAction] (March 4, 2024). "Massachusetts! Learn how to #VoteNoPreferenceMA here: http://votenopreferencema.org" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2024– via Twitter.
22. "Political Science : Department of Political Science : UMass Amherst". www.umass.edu. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
23. Mumford, Camille (September 8, 2022). "Massachusetts 2022: Healey Leads Diehl By 18 Points; Majority of Massachusetts Voters Approve of Biden". Emerson Polling.
24. YouGov
25. YouGov
26. "2024 President Democratic Primary". State of Massachusetts. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
27. "2024 President Democratic Primary". Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Elections Division - Election Results Archive. Retrieved August 12, 2024.