Massachusetts general election, 1962

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 6, 1962 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The election included:

• statewide elections for United States Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor;
• district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and
• ballot questions at the state and local levels.

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held on September 18, 1962.

Statewide elections

United States Senator

Democrat Ted Kennedy was elected over Republican George C. Lodge, Independent H. Stuart Hughes, Socialist Labor candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and Prohibition candidate Mark R. Shaw in a special election to fill the unexpired term of John F. Kennedy, who was elected President of the United States.

Governor

Democrat Endicott Peabody was elected over Republican incumbent John A. Volpe, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.

Lieutenant Governor

Democrat Francis X. Belotti was elected Lieutenant Governor over Republican Francis W. Perry, Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano, and Prohibition candidate Gaetano T. Maratea.

Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General Edward J. McCormack, Jr. did not run for re-election as he was a candidate for the United States Senate instead.

Edward Brooke defeated Elliot Richardson in the Republican Primary.

In the Democratic Primary, Former Lt. Governor Francis E. Kelly defeated James R. Lawton, Margaret McGovern, Thomas L. McCormack, and Matthew G. McGrath, Jr.

In the general election, Brooke defeated Kelly, Socialist Workers candidate Edgar E. Gaudet, and Prohibition candidate Howard B. Rand. In so doing, Brooke became the first elected African-American Attorney General of any state in American history.^[1]

Massachusetts Attorney General Republican primary, 1962[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward Brooke	238,147	54.88%
	Republican	Elliot Richardson	195,791	45.12%
	Write-in		14	0.00%

Massachusetts Attorney General Democratic primary, 1962[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Francis E. Kelly	254,557	34.44%
	Democratic	James R. Lawton	221,973	30.04%
	Democratic	Margaret McGovern	146,067	19.77%
	Democratic	Thomas L. McCormack	68,373	9.25%
	Democratic	Matthew G. McGrath, Jr.	47,952	6.49%
	Write-in		12	0.00%

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1962[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward Brooke	1,143,065	55.98%
	Democratic	Francis E. Kelly	883,710	43.28%
	Socialist Workers	Edgar E. Gaudet	9,591	0.47%
	Prohibition	Howard B. Rand	5,610	0.28%
	Write-in		14	0.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Kevin White, defeated Republican Harris Reynolds, Socialist Labor candidate John Erlandson, and Prohibition candidate Julia Kohler in the general election.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1962[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kevin White	1,250,467	64.10%
	Republican	Harris Reynolds	713,708	36.58%
	Socialist Workers	John Erlandson	9,433	0.48%
	Prohibition	Julia Kohler	7,201	0.40%
	Write-in		2	0.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General John T. Driscoll defeated John Francis Kennedy and John M. Kennedy for the Democratic nomination.

Joseph B. Grossman defeated Francis Andrew Walsh in the Republican primary.

Driscoll defeated Grossman, Socialist Labor candidate Arne A. Sortell, and Prohibition candidate Isaac Goddard in the general election.

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary, 1962[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John T. Driscoll	464,731	65.98%
	Democratic	John Francis Kennedy	190,522	27.05%
	Democratic	John M. Kennedy	49,113	6.97%
	Write-in		1	0.00%

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Republican Primary, 1962[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joseph B. Grossman	282,765	70.59%
	Republican	Francis Andrew Walsh	117,793	29.14%
	Write-in		3	0.00%

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1962[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John T. Driscoll	1,225,754	61.72%
	Republican	Joseph B. Grossman	744,115	37.42%
	Socialist Workers	Arne A. Sortell	9,039	0.46%
	Prohibition	Isaac Goddard	7,074	0.36%
	Write-in		6	0.00%

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor Thomas J. Buckley defeated Republican Phillip M. Walsh, Socialist Labor candidate Ethelbert Nevens, and Prohibition candidate Louise Metays in the general election.

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1962[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas J. Buckley	1,343,625	67.65%
	Republican	Phillip M. Walsh	627,701	31.60%
	Socialist Workers	Ethelbert Nevens	8,874	0.45%
	Prohibition	Louise Metays	5,973	0.30%
	Write-in		9	0.00%

References

1. "Former senator awarded Congressional Gold Medal". CNN. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2009-10-28. WebCitation archive.
2. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 65.
3. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 173.
4. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 288.
5. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 294.
6. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 182.
7. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 182.
8. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 299.
9. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1962. p. 305.