1924 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

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1924 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts (1908-1971).svg
←  1918 November 4, 1924 1930  →
  Frederick H. Gillett circa 1920 (cropped).jpg David I. Walsh (MA).jpg
Nominee Frederick H. Gillett David I. Walsh
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote566,188547,600
Percentage50.26%48.61%
1924 United States Senate election in Massachusetts results map by county.svg
1924 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts by Municipality.svg
Gillett:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     90–100%
Walsh:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Senator before election

David I. Walsh
Democratic

Elected Senator

Frederick H. Gillett
Republican

The United States Senate election of 1924 in Massachusetts was held on November 4, 1924. Incumbent Democratic Senator David I. Walsh, first elected in 1918, ran for a second term in office but was defeated by the Republican nominee incumbent Speaker of the U.S. House Frederick H. Gillett. Despite winning 13 out of 14 counties in the state, Gillett was only able to win a narrow margin of 1.7%, which was largely due to Walsh's strong performance in Suffolk County, home to the state capitol of Boston, likely being carried over by fellow Republican Calvin Coolidge's strong performance in the 1924 United States presidential election.

Contents

Walsh would later go on to win a special Senate election in 1926 to the Class I seat, and served until his final defeat in 1946.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Senator Walsh was unopposed for renomination.

1924 Democratic U.S. Senate primary [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic David I. Walsh (incumbent) 120,915 99.99
Write-in 80.01
Total votes120,923 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Declined

Campaign

The early campaign was dominated by President Calvin Coolidge's efforts to recruit a candidate aligned with his own re-election campaign. Louis A. Coolidge (no relation) was the first candidate to formally announce his campaign. He spent much of the early campaign criticizing the President and other national Republicans' efforts to "interfere" in the race. [3] President Coolidge's primary recruit was Governor Channing Cox, who had served as lieutenant governor when President Coolidge was Governor of Massachusetts. [3]

Governor Cox announced he was not a candidate in early May, and Speaker of the House Frederick H. Gillett immediately announced his campaign after consulting with President Coolidge's advisor Frank Stearns. [2] At the same time, U.S. Representative Frederick W. Dallinger made his informal campaign formal. [2]

One of the dividing issues in the campaign was Prohibition. Louis Coolidge announced his outright opposition to the Eighteenth Amendment. Dallinger explicitly supported Prohibition. Gillett, who had voted against the Amendment but in favor of the Volstead Act to enforce its provisions, was considered a moderate. [2]

Results

1924 Republican U.S. Senate primary [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Frederick H. Gillett 145,879 45.33%
Republican Louis A. Coolidge 93,68029.11%
Republican Frederick W. Dallinger 82,25125.56%
Write-in 160.01%
Total votes321,826 100.00

General election

Candidates

Results

1924 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Frederick H. Gillett 566,188 50.26% Increase2.svg5.20
Democratic David I. Walsh (incumbent)547,60048.61%Decrease2.svg2.05
Workers Antoinette F. Konikow 12,7161.13%N/A
Total votes1,126,504 100.00%

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References

  1. ↑ Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1924). Number of assessed polls, registered voters and persons who voted in each voting precinct in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the state, city and town elections.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Gov. Cox' Refusal Puts Mr. Gillett Into Senate Race". The Christian Science Monitor. May 9, 1924. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 Merrill, John D. (May 7, 1924). "COX STANDS FIRM, BUT BUTLER IS HOPEFUL". Boston Daily Globe. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1924). Number of assessed polls, registered voters and persons who voted in each voting precinct in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the state, city and town elections.
  5. ↑ "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1924".


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