Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1970

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1970

November 3, 1970

Nominee Francis W. Sargent Kevin H. White Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,058,623 799,269 Percentage 56.67% 42.79%

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Francis W. Sargent, blue indicates towns carried by Kevin H. White.

Governor before election Francis W. Sargent Republican Elected Governor Francis W. Sargent Republican

The 1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. Acting Governor Francis W. Sargent was elected to a four-year term.^[1] He defeated incumbent Boston Mayor Kevin H. White in the general election.^[2]

Conventions and primaries

The Democratic Primary was a four way contest between Kevin White, Senate President Maurice A. Donahue, former Presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell, and former Lieutenant Governor Francis X. Bellotti. Donahue won the vote of the state convention held on June 15 at the Curry Hicks Cage. Donahue received 697 votes, White received 589, and the remaining 78 went to Bellotti.^[3] Despite losing at the convention, White went on to win the Democratic Primary; defeating Donahue by 12,940 votes.^[4]

1970 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary [5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kevin H. White	231,605	34.33%
	Democratic	Maurice A. Donahue	218,665	32.42%
	Democratic	Francis X. Bellotti	164,313	24.36%
	Democratic	Kenneth O'Donnell	59,970	8.89%
	Write-in	All others	24	0.00%

State Representative Michael Dukakis defeated Somerville treasurer Rocco Antonelli, Boston School Committeeman and former Governor's Councillor John J. Craven, Jr., former Boston School Committeewoman Kathleen Ryan Dacey, and attorney James McCormack to become the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

1970 Massachusetts Democratic Lieutenant gubernatorial primary [6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	283,849	46.03%
	Democratic	James McCormack	150,901	24.47%
	Democratic	Rocco Antonelli	79,348	12.87%
	Democratic	Kathleen Ryan Dacey	54,205	8.79%
	Democratic	John J. Craven, Jr.	48,300	7.83%
	Write-in	All others	12	0.00%

Commissioner of Finance and Administration Donald R. Dwight defeated State Senator John M. Quinlan and Springfield Mayor Frank H. Freedman at the Republican convention to win his party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor.^[7] State Representative Martin A. Linsky was Sargent's original choice for the nomination, however two weeks before the convention, Linsky dropped out of the race after it was revealed that police officers had once stopped his car and informed him that the woman was traveling with was a prostitute. After Linsky dropped out, Sargent endorsed Dwight.^[8]

General election

Sargent defeated White by 259,354 votes. He won 11 of the Massachusetts' 14 counties and beat White in his home city of Boston 54%-45%.^[9]

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Francis W. Sargent (Donald R. Dwight)	1,058,623	56.67%
	Democratic	Kevin H. White (Michael Dukakis)	799,269	42.79%
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen (Francis A. Votano)	6,747	0.36%
	Prohibition	John C. Hedges (Albert E. Bates)	3,189	0.17%
	Write-in	All others	78	0.00%

References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=174328
2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=51798
3. Jeff Bradley (June 15, 1970). "Donahue Given Endorsement By De mocrats in Bay State". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
4. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557900
5. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557900
6. Election Statistics.
7. Nyhan, David (June 28, 1970). "Dwight Defeats Quinlan on 1st Ballot". The Boston Globe.
8. "Moderate Named As Kennedy Foe". Associated Press. June 28, 1970. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
9. Election Statistics.