Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974

November 5, 1974

Nominee Michael Dukakis Francis W. Sargent Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 992,284 784,353 Percentage 53.50% 42.29%

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Francis W. Sargent, blue indicates towns carried by Michael Dukakis.

Governor before election Francis W. Sargent Republican Elected Governor Michael Dukakis Democratic

The 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Michael Dukakis was elected to a four-year term, from January 4, 1975 until January 4, 1979.^[1] He defeated incumbent Governor of Massachusetts Francis W. Sargent in the general election.^[2]

Primaries

Governor

Governor Sargent defeated former State Commerce Commissioner Carroll Sheehan in the Republican primary.

1974 Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Francis W. Sargent	124,250	63.32%
	Republican	Carroll Sheehan	71,936	36.66%
	Write-in	All others	46	0.02%

In the Democratic Primary, Michael Dukakis, a former State Representative and the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor in 1970, defeated Attorney General Robert H. Quinn.^[4]

1974 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	444,590	57.67%
	Democratic	Robert H. Quinn	326,385	42.33%
	Write-in	All others	46	0.01%

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Donald R. Dwight was unopposed in the Republican Primary. Thomas P. O'Neill III, son of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O'Neill, defeated Christopher A. Iannella, Eva Hester, John P. Lynch, and Thomas Martin Sullivan for the Democratic nomination.^[6]

1974 Massachusetts Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas P. O'Neill III	250,259	35.69%
	Democratic	Christopher A. Iannella	190,587	27.18%
	Democratic	Eva Hester	97,665	13.93%
	Democratic	John P. Lynch	81,874	11.68%
	Democratic	Thomas Martin Sullivan	80,745	11.52%
	Write-in	All others	15	0.00%

General election

Dukakis defeated Sargent by 207,931 votes.^[8] It was the first gubernatorial victory for the Massachusetts Democratic Party since 1962.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis (Thomas P. O'Neill III)	992,284	53.50%
	Republican	Francis W. Sargent (Donald R. Dwight)	784,353	42.29%
	American	Leo F. Kahian (Nicholas J. Greco)	63,083	3.40%
	Socialist Workers	Donald Gurewitz (Ollie Bivins)	15,011	0.81%

References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=51797
2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=51798
3. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
4. "New York Solon Wins Governor Nomination". The Victoria Advocate. September 10, 1974. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
5. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
6. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557227
7. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
8. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=51798