1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  
Turnout70.05% Decrease2.svg 5.8 [1]
  William F. Weld (MA) (cropped).jpg 1987 Mark Roosevelt Massachusetts House of Representatives (cropped).png
Nominee Bill Weld Mark Roosevelt
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Paul Cellucci Bob Massie
Popular vote1,533,390611,650
Percentage70.9%28.3%

1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1994 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election by Municipality.svg
Weld:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Roosevelt:     50–60%

Governor before election

Bill Weld
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Weld
Republican

The 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Weld won reelection as Governor of Massachusetts by the largest margin in state history, winning every single county and all but 6 of the state's 351 municipalities. As of 2024, this is the most recent election in which Boston, Somerville, Lawrence, Chelsea, Brookline, Northampton, Provincetown, Monterey, Great Barrington, Ashfield, Williamstown, Williamsburg, Shelburne, Sunderland, and Pelham voted for the Republican candidate for governor.

Contents

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Incumbent governor Bill Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci were unopposed for renomination.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

In 1987, Barrett succeeded Bachrach as the senator from the Middlesex and Suffolk District. The district was composed of Cambridge, Belmont, Watertown, and the Allston-Brighton neighborhood of Boston.

Declined

In 1993 a Boston Globe poll showed Kennedy within one percentage point of popular incumbent William Weld in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up, prompting prominent state Democrats to try and recruit him for the race. [2] Though no other Democrat was polling near Weld, Kennedy decided to forgo the race and remain in Congress.

Results

Primary results by municipality Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary results by municipality, 1994.svg
Primary results by municipality
Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 1994
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mark Roosevelt 215,061 47.91%
Democratic George Bachrach 120,56726.86%
Democratic Michael J. Barrett 111,19924.77%
Total votes446,827 100.00%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Results

Massachusetts Democratic Lt. Gubernatorial Primary, 1994
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bob Massie 193,508 52.66%
Democratic Marc Draisen 173,89647.34%
Total votes367,404 100.00%

General election

The Democratic ticket of Roosevelt (right) and Massie (left) campaign in Danvers Mark Roosevelt and Bob Massie in Danvers Square (53316658055).jpg
The Democratic ticket of Roosevelt (right) and Massie (left) campaign in Danvers

Debates

1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election debates
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Democratic
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Bill Weld Mark Roosevelt
1Oct. 18. 1994 Boston Herald
WCVB-TV
Natalie Jacobson C-SPAN PP
2Oct. 26. 1994 The Boston Globe
WBZ-TV
Liz Walker
Jack Williams
C-SPAN PP

Polling

SourceDateWeld (R)Roosevelt (D)
Boston Herald Oct. 2, 199460%29%

Results

Governor Weld defeated Democrat Mark Roosevelt by a 71%–28% margin, the largest gubernatorial margin of victory in modern Massachusetts history. Roosevelt won only six municipalities statewide (Amherst, Cambridge, Leverett, Otis, Shutesbury and Wendell). All six municipalities voted for Weld in 1990, meaning that he won every municipality in the state in a gubernatorial election.

1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Bill Weld (incumbent) 1,533,390 70.87% +20.66
Democratic Mark Roosevelt 611,65028.27%−18.68
Libertarian Dean Cook14,6980.68%N/A
LaRouche Was RightJeffrey W. Rebello3,9070.18%N/A
Total votes2,163,645 100.00%

Results by county

1994 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [3]
CountyWeld - R %Weld - R #Roosevelt - D %Roosevelt - D #Others %Others #Total #
Barnstable 73.2%68,71924.0%22,5762.8%2,60493,899
Berkshire 60.9%30,43035.3%17,6183.8%1,91949,967
Bristol 63.8%105,75131.2%51,7025.1%8,413165,866
Dukes 62.4%3,74833.4%2,0074.2%2556,010
Essex 72.4%189,61824.1%63,0193.5%9,237261,874
Franklin 66.6%18,22630.0%8,2173.4%92727,370
Hampden 72.4%109,63123.0%34,8604.5%6,840151,331
Hampshire 62.1%33,96533.8%18,4494.1%2,23954,653
Middlesex 67.8%376,50328.7%159,1903.6%19,875555,568
Nantucket 71.2%2,13126.5%7942.3%702,995
Norfolk 69.4%187,15526.9%72,4793.8%10,201269,835
Plymouth 73.5%123,32023.1%38,7473.4%5,744167,811
Suffolk 57.0%99,61536.5%63,7166.5%11,352174,683
Worcester 73.7%184,57823.3%58,3063.0%7,490250,374

See also

References

  1. "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1994".
  2. Seltzer, Wendy M. (February 22, 1993). "Kennedy Won't Run". The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  3. "PD43+ » Search Elections".