1974 Massachusetts general election
November 5, 1974
Part of the
1974 United States elections

The 1974 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1974, throughout Massachusetts. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 10, 1974.

The Democratic primary in this election was notably competitive, with formidable challenges to two incumbent Democrats (Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren, who lost, and Treasurer Robert Q. Crane, who narrowly won) and two open primaries (for Governor and Attorney General).

In the general election, Democrats swept the statewide offices quite easily. Republican support may have been held down by the weight of the ongoing Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Governor and lieutenant governor

Democrats Michael Dukakis and Thomas P. O'Neill III were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican incumbents Francis W. Sargent and Donald R. Dwight.

Attorney general

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General election
 
Nominee Francis Bellotti Josiah Spaulding
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 912,244 894,754
Percentage 49.7% 48.7%
Attorney General before election

Robert H. Quinn
Democratic

 Elected Attorney General

Francis Bellotti
Democratic

Attorney General Robert H. Quinn declined to run for re-election and instead ran for Governor. In the open primary to fill his seat, former Lt. Governor Francis X. Bellotti won the Democratic nomination.

Bellotti defeated Republican nominee Josiah Spaulding in a close race.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1974 Democratic Attorney General primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Francis X. Bellotti 274,439 36.21%
Democratic George Sacco 176,075 23.23%
Democratic Edward Francis Harrington 126,771 16.71%
Democratic S. Lester Ralph 90,489 11.94%
Democratic Edward M. O'Brien 56,796 7.50%
Democratic Barry T. Hannon 33,240 4.39%
Write-in 21 0.00%
Total votes 757,831 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General Republican Primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Josiah Spaulding 76,356 41.32%
Republican Charles Cabot 63,127 34.16%
Republican William I. Cowin 45,244 24.49%
Write-in 54 0.03%
Total votes 184,781 100.00%

General election

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Francis X. Belotti 912,244 49.67% Decrease12.55
Republican Josiah Spaulding 894,754 48.71% Increase11.79
Socialist Workers Jeanne Lafferty 29,749 1.62% Increase 0.76
Write-in 20 0.00% Steady
Total votes 1,836,767 100.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

1974 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election
 
Nominee Paul Guzzi John M. Quinlan
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,155,636 636,203
Percentage 64.5% 35.5%
Secretary of the Commonwealth before election

John Davoren
Democratic

 Elected Secretary of the Commonwealth

Paul Guzzi
Democratic

Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren was defeated in the Democratic primary by Paul Guzzi. Guzzi went on to defeat Republican State Senator John M. Quinlan in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1974 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul Guzzi 398,684 56.81%
Democratic John Davoren (incumbent) 303,097 43.19%
Write-in 13 0.00%
Total votes 701,794 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared
Withdrew at convention

Results

Following Burton's withdrawal, Quinlan was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1974[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Paul Guzzi 1,155,636 64.49% Increase10.65
Republican John M. Quinlan 636,203 35.51% Decrease9.17
Write-in All others 48 0.00% Steady
Total votes 1,791,887 100.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

1974 Massachusetts Treasurer Democratic primary
 
Nominee Robert Q. Crane Charles Mark Furcolo
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 355,216 340,882
Percentage 51.0% 49.0%
Treasurer and Receiver-General before election

Robert Q. Crane
Democratic

 Elected Treasurer and Receiver-General

Robert Q. Crane
Republican

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Robert Q. Crane defeated Charles Mark Furcolo in the Democratic Primary.

Erna Ballantine ran an unsuccessful sticker campaign for the Republican nomination.[7]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1974 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert Q. Crane (incumbent) 355,216 51.03%
Democratic Charles Mark Furcolo 340,882 48.97%
Write-in 27 0.00%
Total votes 696,125 100.00%

General election

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1974[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Q. Crane (incumbent) 1,387,119 99.97% Increase34.36
Write-in 382 0.03% Increase 0.03
Total votes 1,387,501 100.00%

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor Thaddeus M. Buczko was unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election.

General election

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1974 [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Thaddeus M. Buczko (incumbent) 1,369,431 99.99% Increase33.12
Write-in 196 0.01% Increase 0.01
Total votes 1,369,627 100.00%

United States House of Representatives

All of Massachusetts' twelve seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

Ten seats were won by candidates seeking re-election.

The 3rd District seat was won by Joseph D. Early, who succeeded retiring Democrat Harold Donohue. The 5th District seat was won by Democrat Paul Tsongas, who defeated incumbent Republican Paul W. Cronin.

References

  1. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 218.
  2. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 66.
  3. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 381.
  4. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 225.
  5. ↑ Peter Lucas; Rachelle Patterson (June 2, 1974). "Sargent defeats Sheehan, 2-1; both declare GOP convention result a victory". The Boston Globe.
  6. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 389.
  7. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 80.
  8. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 232.
  9. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 397.
  10. ↑ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 405.
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