Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990

←  1986 November 5, 1990 1994  →
Turnout	75.85% 18.44 [1]
Nominee Bill Weld John Silber Party Republican Democratic Running mate Paul Cellucci Marjorie Clapprood Popular vote 1,175,817 1,099,878 Percentage 50.19% 46.94%
Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Bill Weld, blue indicates towns carried by John Silber.
Governor before election Michael Dukakis Democratic Elected Governor Bill Weld Republican

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v t e

The 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Republican Bill Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts for the first time. He beat Democrat John Silber to become the first Republican Governor of Massachusetts since 1975.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Declared

• Francis Bellotti, former Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General of Massachusetts
• John Silber, president of Boston University

Eliminated at convention

• John H. Flood, State Representative

Withdrew

• Evelyn Murphy, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Declined

• Raymond Flynn, Mayor of Boston ^[2]
• Michael Dukakis, incumbent Governor

Campaign

After Flynn's decision not to run, Murphy was the early frontrunner due to her strong name recognition and a solid base of liberal support. In July 1989, she led Bellotti 42% to 18% in a Boston Globe poll. That November, Bellotti had come within 2% of Murphy in another Boston Globe poll. ^[3]

In January, Silber entered the race and Bellotti ran his first wave of television ads. By this point, Bellotti had taken the lead in the race, polling 38% to Murphy's 20% and Silber's 16%. ^[3]

The Democratic Convention was held on June 2, 1990 at the Springfield Civic Center. On the first ballot, Bellotti received 42.9% of the vote, Murphy received 37%, Silber received 15.5%, and Flood received 4.5%. Silber's 15.5% gave him enough votes to remain on the ballot. On the second ballot, Bellotti won the convention with 51%, Murphy received 40%, and Flood received 8.5%. Flood was not able to stay on the ballot as he did not receive the necessary 15%. ^[4]

Murphy's campaign appeared to be badly hurt by the public perception that she was close to the unpopular Dukakis and therefore tried to make a break with the Dukakis Administration. ^{[3] [5]} Dukakis twice postponed a trade mission to Europe because Murphy hinted at a news conference that she would execute her own economic plan while serving as acting governor. ^[5] After the incident, Murphy's unfavorable rating rose to 49% in a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll, compared to 38% a month earlier. ^[3]

A week before the primary, Evelyn Murphy dropped out of the race and threw her support to Bellotti. ^[6]

Results

Despite having Murphy's support and as high as a 15-point lead in the polls at one point during the campaign, Bellotti was upset by Silber, a political outsider who had run a provocative campaign filled with controversial statements known as "Silber Shockers". ^[7]

Primary results by municipality

Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Silber	562,222	53.47%
	Democratic	Francis X. Bellotti	459,128	43.67%
	Democratic	Evelyn Murphy	30,054	2.86%

Lieutenant Governor

Candidates

Declared

• Marjorie Clapprood, State Representative
• William B. Golden, State Senator
• Nicholas Paleologos, State Representative

Declined

• Evelyn Murphy, incumbent Lieutenant Governor (to run for Governor)

Results

Clapprood easily won the nomination, defeating her nearest opponent by over 22%.

Massachusetts Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Marjorie Clapprood	498,241	52.02%
	Democratic	William B. Golden	283,719	29.62%
	Democratic	Nicholas Paleologos	175,558	18.33%

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Declared

• Steven Pierce, State Representative
• William Weld, former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts

Eliminated at convention

• Paul W. Cronin, former U.S Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district

Withdrew

• Guy Carbone, former commissioner of the Metropolitan District Commission (to run for Attorney General)
• Len Umina, resident of Marlborough (to run as an independent)

Declined

• Paul Cellucci, State Senator (to run for Lieutenant Governor) ^[8]
• Edward J. King, former Governor ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Campaign

At the Republican Convention, Pierce received 2,672 votes (52.6%), Weld received 1,845 (36.3%), and Cronin received 563 (11.1%). ^[12] Cronin was not able to run in the primary because he did not receive the 15% necessary to make the ballot. ^[13] Pierce received enough votes to have a "supermajority", which made Pierce the officially endorsed candidate of the Republican Party. ^[12]

During the campaign, Weld attacked Pierce's anti-abortion stance while Pierce claimed that Weld had changed his position on abortion. ^[14] Pierce also touted his ability to win a House seat in a Democratic district, while Weld had lost to the Democratic front-runner for governor Francis Bellotti in the 1978 Attorney General's race. ^{[14] [15]}

Results

Despite losing the convention and trailing Pierce in the polls, Weld was able to come-from-behind and defeated Pierce in the Republican primary.

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Weld	270,319	60.56%
	Republican	Steven Pierce	176,070	39.44%

Lieutenant Governor

Candidates

Declared

• Paul Cellucci, State Senator (running with Weld)
• Peter G. Torkildsen, State Representative (running with Pierce)

Results

State Senator Paul Cellucci, Weld's running mate, defeated State Representative Peter G. Torkildsen, Pierce's running mate, for the Republican nomination.

Massachusetts Republican Lt. gubernatorial election, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Cellucci	241,354	59.41%
	Republican	Peter G. Torkildsen	164,732	40.55%

General election

Campaign

Silber's lead in the polls vanished after his outburst in an interview with WCVB-TV's Natalie Jacobson. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} His blunt personality and controversial comments led many Democrats to vote for Weld. ^[20]

Results

Bill Weld defeated John Silber to become the state's first Republican Governor since Francis W. Sargent.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Bill Weld (Paul Cellucci)	1,175,817	50.19%	20.63%
	Democratic	John Silber (Marjorie Clapprood)	1,099,878	46.94%	18.21%
	Independent High Tech	Leonard Umina (Lawrence DeBerry)	63,703	2.68%	–

Other races

• Republican Paul Cellucci was elected Lieutenant Governor for the first time. Democratic incumbent Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy did not run.
• Proposition 3, a legislative referendum that would have cut taxes, was defeated.

References

1. "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990".
2. Howe, Peter J. (January 7, 1989). "Flynn's Move to Skip Governor's Race Creates a Political Logjam in Boston". Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
3. Wilkie, Curtis (September 11, 1990). "Murphy Quits Race, Backs Bellotti". The Boston Globe.
4. "Massachusetts Dems pick Bellotti for governor at picketed session". Associated Press. June 3, 1990. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
5. Butterfield, Fox (September 7, 1990). "Dukakis Accuses No. 2 of Plotting a Coup". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
6. Fox Butterfield (September 11, 1990). "Dukakis Antagonist Abandons Primary Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
7. Fox Butterfield (September 19, 1990). "Silber Wins Democratic Contest in Massachusetts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
8. Phillips, Frank (September 30, 1989). "Cellucci, Weld Join Forces". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
9. Lehigh, Scot (October 13, 1989). "War Chest is Started and 'King '90' Buttons Ordered". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
10. Lehigh, Scot (September 30, 1989). "Some Say Sununu's Push for a King Candidacy Could Backfire". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
11. Lehigh, Scot (October 17, 1989). "King Announces He Will Not Run for Governor". Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
12. Weitzman, Erik M. (March 13, 1990). "GOP Takes Center Ring at Convention Circus". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
13. Wilson, David B. (March 25, 1990). "Something is Awry in 15-Percent Rule". Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
14. Lehigh, Scot (December 16, 1989). "Weld, Pierce Trade Barbs Over Abortion Positions". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
15. Turner, Robert L. (March 8, 1990). "An L-Word That Worries Some Republicans". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
16. Lehr, Dick (2001-01-28). "Split screen". Boston Globe.
17. Kimmel, Daniel M (June 28, 1996). "Natalie Jacobson wears many hats". Telegram & Gazette.
18. Diaz, Johnny (2007-07-11). "After 35 years, Jacobson set to retire". Boston Globe.
19. Diaz, Johnny (November 11, 2008). "Refocused: A year after leaving Channel 5, Natalie Jacobson talks candidly about her life - and about the state of television news". The Boston Globe.
20. "THE 1990 ELECTIONS: STATE BY STATE; Northeast". The New York Times. November 8, 1990. Retrieved 2010-06-18.