1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
  1970 November 5, 1974 1978  
Turnout74.64% Decrease2.svg 0.53
  Governor Dukakis speaks at the 1976 Democratic National Convention (cropped).jpg Governor Francis Sargent (cropped).jpg
Nominee Michael Dukakis Francis Sargent
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Thomas O'Neill III Donald Dwight
Popular vote992,284784,353
Percentage53.50%42.29%

1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1974 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election by Municipality.svg
Dukakis:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Sargent:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Governor before election

Francis Sargent
Republican

Elected Governor

Michael Dukakis
Democratic

The 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Michael Dukakis was elected to a four-year term, from January 2, 1975 until January 4, 1979. He defeated incumbent Governor of Massachusetts Francis W. Sargent in the general election.

Contents

Primary elections were held on September 10. In the Republican primary, Sargent defeated a challenge from former Commerce Commissioner Carroll Sheehan. In the Democratic primary, former State Representative Michael Dukakis defeated Attorney General Robert H. Quinn.

The election was dominated by the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard Nixon on August 8 and the Boston desegregation busing crisis, including Sargent's May 10 decision to block repeal of the 1965 Racial Imbalance Act and the June 21 court ruling in Morgan v. Hennigan , in which federal judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. found mandated desegregation busing in Boston schools.

As of 2025, this is the most recent year in which the incumbent governor of Massachusetts lost the general election [a] and the earliest gubernatorial election in Massachusetts to feature a gubernatorial candidate (Michael Dukakis) who is still alive today.

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Campaign

In February 1974, Sheehan announced that he would challenge Sargent for the Republican nomination for governor. Sheehan blamed Sargent for high taxes and dirty and dangerous streets. He referred to the Sargent administration as "administrative experimenters and social tinkerers", singling out Secretary of Human Services Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. and former Corrections Commissioner John Boone. Although there was a large anti-Sargent sentiment, Sheehan was unable to translate it into support for his candidacy. After he publicly claimed Governor's Councilor Raymond Fontana would run on his ticket, Fontana declined to join the race.

At the Republican Convention on June 1, Sheehan had a surprisingly strong showing, gaining 32.5% of the convention votes.

Although Sargent held a large lead in the polls in late August, the Governor believed that there was a chance that he could lose the Republican primary and he requested that state party chairman William Barnstead call a special meeting of the Republican State Committee so he and Sheehan could debate before them and have one of them receive the party's endorsement. Barnstead declined to call the special meeting "for the convenience of the Governor" and said that any debate between Sargent and Sheehan should be held publicly. The Republican State Committee hosted a public debate on September 5 without any endorsement. The debate was televised by WCVB-TV.

Results

1974 Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Francis W. Sargent (incumbent) 124,250 63.32%
Republican Carroll Sheehan 71,93636.66%
Write-inAll others460.02%

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Donald R. Dwight was unopposed in the Republican Primary.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Results

Primary results by municipality Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary results by municipality, 1974.svg
Primary results by municipality
1974 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Michael Dukakis 444,590 57.67%
Democratic Robert H. Quinn 326,38542.33%
Write-inAll others460.01%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Results

1974 Massachusetts Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results by municipality.svg
1974 Massachusetts Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Thomas P. O'Neill III 250,259 35.69%
Democratic Christopher A. Iannella 190,58727.18%
Democratic Eva Hester97,66513.93%
Democratic John P. Lynch81,87411.68%
Democratic Thomas Martin Sullivan80,74511.52%
Write-inAll others150.00%

General election

Dukakis defeated Sargent by 207,931 votes. It was the first gubernatorial victory for the Massachusetts Democratic Party since 1962.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Michael Dukakis
(Thomas P. O'Neill III)
992,284 53.50%
Republican Francis W. Sargent
(Donald R. Dwight) (incumbent)
784,35342.29%
American Leo F. Kahian
(Nicholas J. Greco)
63,0833.40%
Socialist Workers Donald Gurewitz
(Ollie Bivins)
15,0110.81%

Results by county

1974 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [5]
CountyDukakis %Dukakis #Sargent %Sargent #Others %Others #Total #
Barnstable 39.9%19,36254.7%26,5395.4%2,64148,542
Berkshire 54.2%26,94740.4%20,1055.4%2,68249,734
Bristol 62.6%91,83932.1%47,0555.4%7,876146,770
Dukes 36.4%1,34659.1%2,1894.5%1673,702
Essex 52.1%117,81542.6%96,4755.3%12,056226,346
Franklin 53.2%11,66641.5%9,0875.3%1,16821,921
Hampden 63.6%84,22230.9%40,9785.5%7,257132,457
Hampshire 59.2%24,05133.7%13,6917.1%2,88940,631
Middlesex 51.0%243,91444.2%211,5114.8%22,938478,363
Nantucket 36.2%53758.4%8655.4%801,482
Norfolk 48.1%110,70145.4%104,3756.5%14,859229,935
Plymouth 46.7%54,78144.9%52,7388.4%9,811117,330
Suffolk 45.6%85,34339.3%73,49115.1%28,208187,042
Worcester 56.5%119,82040.2%85,2543.4%7,152212,226

See also

Notes

  1. Two governors, Dukakis and Edward J. King, lost the Democratic nomination to each other in 1978 and 1982, respectively. In 2002, acting Governor Jane Swift ran for election but withdrew after polls showed her trailing Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.

References

  1. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  2. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  3. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  4. "1970 Governor General Election". PD43+. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  5. "PD43+ » Search Elections".