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| Elections in Massachusetts |
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The United States Senate election of 1930 in Massachusetts was held on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Republican Senator Frederick H. Gillett did not run for re-election. In the open race to succeed him, Democratic Mayor of Fitchburg Marcus A. Coolidge defeated former U.S. Senator William M. Butler.
Citing old age, Senator Frederick Gillett announced his retirement in December 1929. Alvan Fuller and Calvin Coolidge were speculated as potential candidates, and Eben S. Draper Jr. announced his plans to run for the open seat. [2]
Alvan Fuller announced his intention to run on February 18, in response to a call by Joseph Simon, chairman of the Salem Republican Committee. [3] Fuller entered on the heels of his opposition to any pre-primary convention, accusing the Republican State Committee of being a "corrupt outfit" which was headed for defeat in November. He also declared his opposition to Republicans William Scott Vare and Hiram Bingham III, who had both been censured by the Senate. [4]
Former Senator William Morgan Butler was made his campaign formal on March 13, running as an unreserved "bone-dry" supporter of prohibition. [5]
In March, the divide between Butler and Draper over the prohibition of alcohol took shape. Draper announced his unequivocal opposition to prohibition, including the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, on March 26. [6] Butler soon criticized Draper for changing his position and failing to uphold the Constitution. [7] As the campaign went on, Butler de-emphasized his position on prohibition, instead focusing on his support for business in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. [1]
In the campaign's final week, Constance Williams, the daughter of the late Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, accused Butler of politically abusing her late father in his final years. After Butler publicly claimed to have been friendly with Senator Lodge and declared himself Lodge's ideal successor, Williams publicly denounced Butler's candidacy and claimed Butler held a long grudge against her father stemming from his defeat of Butler's preferred candidate, William W. Crapo, in the 1893 Senate election. [8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William M. Butler | 163,336 | 47.61% | |
| Republican | Eben S. Draper Jr. | 156,745 | 45.69% | |
| Republican | Andrew J. Gillis | 22,996 | 6.70% | |
| Total votes | 343,077 | 100.00% | ||
Despite the late attack against him and the general sentiment for prohibition repeal in the state, [1] Butler narrowly defeated Draper by just under 6,600 votes.
Draper got a much smaller than expected margin in the cities, winning Boston by only 200 votes. [1] Draper's loss was also attributed to the spoiler effect, with Newburyport mayor Andrew Gillis pulling 20,000 wet votes away. [1]
Roland D. Sawyer entered the race as a wet candidate on March 25. [6] [10] The next two candidates to formally announce, Marcus A. Coolidge and Joseph F. O'Connell, joined the campaign on May 11. Coolidge ran as a wet, while O'Connell said he would announce his platform at a later date, expressing confidence that Democrats would carry the state in November. [11]
Coolidge faced some difficulty winning over the party's Catholic base; he was a Protestant who had supported William Gibbs McAdoo over Al Smith for President in 1924, though he had actively campaigned for Smith in 1928. [11] Coolidge overcame this deficiency by tying his campaign to that of the aging Irish Catholic icon John F. Fitzgerald for Governor, but he suffered a major setback when Fitzgerald withdrew due to illness. The paper Coolidge-Fitzgerald ticket was buoyed when Boston mayor James Michael Curley declared that Fitzgerald's Protestant opponent was anti-Irish. [1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Marcus A. Coolidge | 81,451 | 40.71% | |
| Democratic | Joseph F. O'Connell | 54,829 | 27.41% | |
| Democratic | Thomas C. O'Brien | 45,272 | 22.63% | |
| Democratic | Eugene Foss | 12,824 | 6.41% | |
| Democratic | Peter J. Joyce | 5,680 | 2.84% | |
| Total votes | 200,056 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Marcus A. Coolidge | 651,939 | 54.01% |  5.40 | |
| Republican | William M. Butler | 539,226 | 44.67% |  5.59 | |
| Socialist | Sylvester J. McBride | 7,244 | 0.60% | N/A | |
| Socialist Labor | Oscar Kinsalas | 4,640 | 0.38% | N/A | |
| Communist | Max Lerner | 3,962 | 0.34% | 0.80 | |
| Total votes | 1,207,011 | 100.00% | |||
Frederick Huntington Gillett was an American politician who served as the 42nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1921-25 and as a U.S. Senator from Massachussetts from 1925-31. A Republican, Gillett first began his career in politics when he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1890-91, and would go on to serve in the House from 1893-1925. At the time of his election, he was the oldest individual elected to a first term in the senate, a record that he would hold until Peter Welch's victory in the 2022 United States Senate election in Vermont 98 years later.
The 1928 Republican National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 12 to June 15, 1928.
Marcus Allen Coolidge was a Democratic United States Senator representing Massachusetts from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1937.
The Massachusetts Republican Party (MassGOP) is the Massachusetts branch of the U.S. Republican Party.
Alvan Tufts Fuller was an American businessman, politician, art collector, and philanthropist from Massachusetts. He opened one of the first automobile dealerships in Massachusetts, which in 1920 was recognized as "the world's most successful auto dealership", and made him one of the state's wealthiest men. Politically a Progressive Republican, he was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916, and served as a United States representative from 1917 to 1921.
The 1936 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3. Incumbent Democratic Senator Marcus A. Coolidge declined to stand for re-election. Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. won the race to succeed him over Democratic Boston mayor James Michael Curley and former Suffolk County prosecutor Thomas C. O'Brien.
The 1934 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 6, 1934. Democratic incumbent David I. Walsh was re-elected to a second consecutive term in a landslide over Republican Robert M. Washburn.
The 1928 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 6, 1928, with Democratic incumbent David I. Walsh defeating his challengers.
The 1926 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on November 2, 1926.
The United States Senate election of 1948 in Massachusetts was held on November 2, 1948, with Republican incumbent Leverett Saltonstall defeating his challengers.
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.
Eben Sumner Draper was an American businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts General Court, was president of the Milford National Bank & Trust, and was the last member of his family to serve on the board of directors of the Draper Corporation. He was the son of Massachusetts Governor Eben Sumner Draper.
The 1946 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1946, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on June 18.
The 1918 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1918.
Robert Morris Washburn (1868–1946) was an American politician and writer who served in the Massachusetts General Court and wrote a newspaper column and a number of biographies on Massachusetts politicians, including Calvin Coolidge.
The 1922 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1922.
The 1924 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924.
The 1926 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926.
The 1934 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934.
The 1909 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1909. Incumbent Governor Republican Eben S. Draper was re-elected, defeating Democratic nominee James H. Vahey with 48.64% of the vote.
