1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

←  1966 November 3, 1970 1974  →

Nominee Francis Sargent Kevin White Party Republican Democratic Running mate Donald R. Dwight Michael Dukakis Popular vote 1,058,623 799,269 Percentage 56.67% 42.79%

County results Municipality results Sargent:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% White:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election Francis Sargent (acting) Republican Elected Governor Francis Sargent Republican

The 1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. Acting Governor Francis W. Sargent was elected to a four-year term. ^[1] He defeated incumbent Boston Mayor Kevin H. White in the general election. ^[2]

This was the first Massachusetts election in which the governor and lieutenant governor were elected as a ticket rather than separately.

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

• Francis Sargent, acting Governor

Acting Governor Francis Sargent was unopposed for renomination.

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

• Donald R. Dwight, Commissioner of Finance and Administration

Eliminated at convention

• Frank Harlan Freedman, Mayor of Springfield
• John M. Quinlan, State Senator from Dover

Withdrew

• Martin A. Linsky, State Representative from Brookline

Campaign

With Sargent's support, Dwight won the endorsement of the state party at the Republican convention. ^[3] State Rep. Martin A. Linsky was Sargent's original choice for the nomination, however two weeks before the convention, Linsky dropped out of the race after it was revealed that police officers had once stopped his car and informed him that the woman was traveling with was a prostitute. After Linsky dropped out, Sargent endorsed Dwight. ^[4]

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

• Francis X. Bellotti, former Lieutenant Governor and nominee for Governor in 1964
• Maurice A. Donahue, President of the Massachusetts Senate
• Kenneth O'Donnell, former aide to President John F. Kennedy
• Kevin White, mayor of Boston

Campaign

Donahue won the vote of the state convention held on June 15 at the Curry Hicks Cage. Donahue received 697 votes, White received 589, and the remaining 78 went to Bellotti. ^[5]

Results

Despite losing at the convention, White went on to win the Democratic primary, defeating Donahue by 12,940 votes. ^[6]

Primary results by municipality

1970 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin H. White	231,605	34.33%
	Democratic	Maurice A. Donahue	218,665	32.42%
	Democratic	Francis X. Bellotti	164,313	24.36%
	Democratic	Kenneth O'Donnell	59,970	8.89%
	Write-in		24	0.00%
Total votes			674,577	100.00%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

• Rocco Antonelli, Somerville Treasurer
• John J. Craven Jr., member of Boston School Committee
• Kathleen Ryan Dacey, member of Boston School Committee
• Michael Dukakis, State Representative from Brookline
• James McCormack, attorney

Results

1970 Massachusetts Democratic Lieutenant gubernatorial primary ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	283,849	46.03%
	Democratic	James McCormack	150,901	24.47%
	Democratic	Rocco Antonelli	79,348	12.87%
	Democratic	Kathleen Ryan Dacey	54,205	8.79%
	Democratic	John J. Craven Jr.	48,300	7.83%
	Write-in		12	0.00%

General election

Sargent defeated White by 259,354 votes. He won 11 of the Massachusetts' 14 counties and beat White in his home city of Boston 54–45%. ^[9]

Results

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Francis W. Sargent (incumbent)	1,058,623	56.67%
	Democratic	Kevin H. White	799,269	42.79%
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	6,747	0.36%
	Prohibition	John C. Hedges	3,189	0.17%
	Write-in		78	0.00%

Results by county

1970 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [10]
County	Sargent %	Sargent #	White %	White #	Others %	Others #	Total #
Barnstable	70.5%	30,271	23.4%	10,051	6.1%	2,634	42,956
Berkshire	48.8%	24,967	36.3%	18,573	14.8%	7,578	51,118
Bristol	42.0%	68,994	44.5%	73,024	13.5%	22,155	164,173
Dukes	59.3%	1,731	27.4%	800	13.3%	388	2,919
Essex	51.4%	128,265	38.0%	94,779	10.7%	26,634	249,678
Franklin	54.1%	12,328	34.5%	7,848	11.4%	2,604	22,780
Hampden	38.9%	58,656	48.6%	73,200	12.5%	18,812	150,668
Hampshire	44.9%	18,179	45.4%	18,393	9.7%	3,933	40,505
Middlesex	55.2%	283,312	37.1%	190,617	7.6%	39,183	513,112
Nantucket	59.9%	854	31.8%	453	8.3%	118	1,425
Norfolk	60.9%	142,806	32.8%	77,036	6.3%	14,840	234,682
Plymouth	60.1%	67,294	32.5%	36,424	7.4%	8,303	112,021
Suffolk	50.02%	113,801	42.5%	96,636	7.5%	17,094	227,531
Worcester	46.5%	106,495	44.3%	101,435	9.2%	21,119	229,049

See also

• 1969–1970 Massachusetts legislature

References

1. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1970".
2. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 05, 1974".
3. Nyhan, David (June 28, 1970). "Dwight Defeats Quinlan on 1st Ballot". The Boston Globe.
4. "Moderate Named As Kennedy Foe". Associated Press. June 28, 1970. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
5. Jeff Bradley (June 15, 1970). "Donahue Given Endorsement By De mocrats in Bay State". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
6. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1970".
7. "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1970".
8. Election Statistics.
9. Election Statistics.
10. "PD43+ » Search Elections".