1974 Massachusetts general election

The 1974 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 1974, throughout Massachusetts. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 10, 1974.

Elections in Massachusetts

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
Further information: 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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.

Secretary of the Commonwealth

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[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul Guzzi 398,684 56.81%
Democratic John Davoren 303,097 43.19%
Write-in All others 13 0.00%

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[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Paul Guzzi 1,155,636 64.49% 10.65
Republican John M. Quinlan 636,203 35.51% 9.17
Write-in All others 48 0.00%

Attorney General

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
  • Francis X. Bellotti, former Lt. Governor and nominee for Governor in 1964
  • Barry T. Hannon, Norfolk County Register of Deeds
  • Edward Francis Harrington, attorney and former prosecutor of Raymond L.S. Patriarca
  • Edward M. O'Brien
  • S. Lester Ralph
  • George Sacco, State Representative

Results
Massachusetts Attorney General Democratic Primary, 1974[4]
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 Hannon 33,240 4.39%
Write-in 21 0.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results
1974 Massachusetts Attorney General Republican Primary[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Josiah Spaulding 76,356 41.32%
Republican Charles Codman Cabot, Jr. 63,127 34.16%
Republican William I. Cowin 45,244 24.49%
Write-in All others 54 0.03%

General election
Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1974[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Francis X. Belotti 912,244 49.67%
Republican Josiah Spaulding 894,754 48.71%
Socialist Workers Jeanne Lafferty 29,749 1.62%
Write-in All others 20 0.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

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 355,216 51.03%
Democratic Charles Mark Furcolo 340,882 48.97%
Write-in 27 0.00%

General election
Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1974[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Robert Q. Crane 1,387,119 99.97%
Write-in All others 382 0.03%

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 1,369,431 99.99%
Write-in All others 196 0.01%

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