2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

← 2008 June 25, 2013 2014 →
 
Nominee Ed Markey Gabriel E. Gomez
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 645,429 525,307
Percentage 54.80% 44.60%

Markey:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Gomez:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

U.S. senator before election

Mo Cowan[a]
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Ed Markey
Democratic

The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.

The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the resignation of Senator John Kerry, in order to become U.S. Secretary of State.[1] On January 30, 2013, Governor Deval Patrick chose his former chief of staff, Mo Cowan, to serve as interim U.S. Senator. Cowan declined to participate in the election. A party primary election was held on April 30, to determinate the nominees of each party for the general election. The Massachusetts Democrats nominated U.S. Representative Ed Markey, while the Massachusetts Republicans nominated Gabriel E. Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL.

The race drew remarks from the media, because of its potential similarity to the 2010 special election, when Republican state senator Scott Brown upset the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.[2][3][4][5] However, Gomez trailed Markey in every opinion poll taken, and Markey defeated him by a 10.2 percentage point margin, despite low turnout.[6]

As of 2023, this is the last time a Republican Senate candidate won any county other than Plymouth, which Geoff Diehl carried with a plurality in 2018. Thus, it is also the most recent time a Republican candidate won a majority in any Massachusetts county.


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  1. ^ Zengerle, Patricia (January 29, 2013). "Senate votes to confirm Kerry as secretary of state". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Trende, Sean (May 7, 2013). "Can Gabriel Gomez Win Mass. Senate Race?". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. ^ Trumbull, Mark (May 1, 2013). "Could Gabriel Gomez pull a "Scott Brown" and win Massachusetts Senate race?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  4. ^ Silver, Nate (May 6, 2013). "Does Gomez Have a Real Chance in Massachusetts?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  5. ^ Horowitz, Jason (May 9, 2013). "Gabriel Gomez: GOP hope in Massachusetts". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Levenson, Michael; Phillips, Frank; Finucane, Martin (June 25, 2013). "Markey wins US Senate special election". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

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