1960 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

1960 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

←  1958 November 8, 1960 1962  →

Nominee John A. Volpe Joseph D. Ward Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,269,295 1,130,810 Percentage 52.51% 46.79%

County results Municipality results Volpe:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Ward:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election Foster Furcolo Democratic Elected Governor John A. Volpe Republican

The 1960 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1960. John A. Volpe was elected Governor of Massachusetts to replace Foster Furcolo. Volpe defeated Democrat Joseph D. Ward in the race. Also running were Henning A. Blomen of the Socialist Labor Party of America and Guy S. Williams of the Prohibition Party.

In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr., defeated Republican Augustus Gardner Means, Prohibition candidate Thomas Maratea, and Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Francis E. Kelly, Attorney General
• John Francis Kennedy, Treasurer and Receiver-General
• Endicott Peabody, former member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council
• Gabriel Piemonte, former Boston City Councilor
• Alfred Magaletta, realtor
• Joseph D. Ward, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Declined

• Foster Furcolo, incumbent Governor (to run for US Senate)

Results

Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1960 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph D. Ward	180,848	30.23%
	Democratic	Endicott Peabody	152,762	26.53%
	Democratic	Francis E. Kelly	98,107	16.40%
	Democratic	Robert F. Murphy	76,577	12.80%
	Democratic	John Francis Kennedy	52,972	8.85%
	Democratic	Gabriel Piemonte	28,199	4.71%
	Democratic	Alfred Magaletta	8,826	1.48%
	Write-in	All others	3	0.00%
Total votes			598,294	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• John Volpe, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works and administrator of the Federal Highway Administration

Withdrew following convention

• Frank S. Giles, Minority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Philip A. Graham, State Senator from Hamilton
• Howard J. Whitmore, Jr., former Mayor of Newton

Results

Following his endorsement at the state convention, Volpe was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Results

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1960

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John A. Volpe	1,269,295	52.51%
	Democratic	Joseph D. Ward	1,130,810	46.79%
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	9,474	0.39%
	Prohibition	Guy S. Williams	7,396	0.31%
Total votes			2,416,975	100.00%

Results by county

County	John Volpe Republican		Joseph Ward Democratic		All Others		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Barnstable	23,006	70.0%	9,702	29.5%	147	0.5%	13,304	40.5%	32,855
Berkshire	36,038	53.9%	30,512	45.6%	338	0.5%	5,526	8.3%	66,888
Bristol	77,902	40.8%	111,851	58.6%	1,103	0.6%	-33,949	-17.8%	190,856
Dukes	2,223	69.5%	951	29.7%	23	0.7%	20,219	39.8%	3,197
Essex	153,786	53.1%	133,567	46.1%	2,299	0.8%	20,219	7.0%	289,652
Franklin	16,933	61.1%	10,673	38.5%	108	0.4%	6,260	22.6%	27,714
Hampden	108,696	57.5%	79,146	41.9%	1,210	0.6%	29,550	15.6%	189,052
Hampshire	25,136	56.5%	19,091	42.9%	264	0.5%	6,045	13.6%	44,491
Middlesex	334,956	56.5%	253,854	42.8%	4,528	0.8%	81,102	13.7%	593,338
Nantucket	1,334	72.6%	497	27.0%	7	0.4%	837	45.6%	1,838
Norfolk	153,267	60.6%	97,889	38.7%	1,783	0.7%	55,378	21.9%	252,939
Plymouth	70,412	60.4%	45,380	39.0%	696	0.6%	25,032	21.4%	116,488
Suffolk	133,480	41.1%	189,367	58.3%	2,121	0.6%	-55,887	17.2%	324,968
Worcester	132,126	46.7%	148,330	52.5%	2,243	0.8%	-16,204	-5.8%	282,699
Totals	1,269,295	52.5%	1,130,810	46.8%	17,028	0.7%	138,485	5.7%	2,417,133

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Berkshire
• Essex
• Hampden
• Hampshire
• Middlesex

See also

• 1959–1960 Massachusetts legislature

References

1. Election Statistics.

Hayden, Irving N.; Grove, Lawrence R. (1961). A Manual for the Use of the General Court for 1961–1962. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Company. pp. 286–99. Retrieved September 23, 2010.