1938 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Turnout 41.55% (total pop.)
Nominee
Leverett Saltonstall
James Michael Curley
Party
Republican
Democratic
Popular vote
941,465
793,884
Percentage
53.32%
46.08%
County resultsSaltonstall : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%Curley : 50–60%
Governor before election
Charles F. Hurley
Democratic
Elected Governor
Leverett Saltonstall
Republican
The 1938 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938.
Former Governor James Michael Curley defeated incumbent Governor Charles F. Hurley in the Democratic primary, but Curley was defeated by former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Leverett Saltonstall in the general election.
Saltonstall's victory returned control of Beacon Hill to the Republicans after an unprecedented eight years of Democratic Governors.
Democratic primary [ ]
Governor [ ]
Candidates [ ]
James Michael Curley , former Governor, Mayor of Boston, and U.S. Representative
Charles F. Hurley , incumbent Governor
Francis E. Kelly , incumbent Lieutenant Governor
Richard M. Russell , former United States Representative
Results [ ]
Lt. Governor [ ]
Candidates [ ]
James Henry Brennan, former State Senator and Member of the Executive Council[2]
Edward T. Collins, Member of the Executive Council
Alexander F. Sullivan, former State Representative
Joseph C. White , State Senator
William P. Yoerg , Mayor of Holyoke
Results [ ]
Republican primary [ ]
Governor [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Frederick Butler, chairman of the Essex County Board of Commissioners and former State Senator[4]
William McMasters , publicity agent for Charles Ponzi and candidate for Governor in 1936
Leverett Saltonstall , former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and nominee for Lt. Governor in 1936
Richard Whitcomb, Director of the Boston Survey Commission[5]
Results [ ]
Following his loss in the Republican primary, McMasters declared his campaign as an independent on the Townsend Recovery Act line.
Lt. Governor [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Dewey G. Archambault, Mayor of Lowell
Horace T. Cahill , Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
J. Watson Flett, Chairman of the Belmont Board of Selectmen[7]
Charles P. Howard, Massachusetts State Commissioner of Administration and Finance
Kenneth D. Johnson, Judge for the Quincy District Court
Robert Gardiner Wilson Jr., Member of the Boston City Council
Results [ ]
General election [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Henning A. Blomen , perennial candidate (Socialist Labor)
Roland S. Bruneau of Cambridge (Independent)
Jeffrey Campbell, black Universalist Unitarian minister (Socialist)
James Michael Curley , former Governor, Mayor of Boston, and U.S. Representative (Democratic)
William A. Davenport, former State Representative (Independent Tax Reform)
Otis Archer Hood, candidate for Governor in 1936 (Communist)
Charles L. Manser of Boston (Sound, Sensible Government)
William McMasters , publicity agent and whistleblower in the Charles Ponzi case (Townsend Recovery Act)
Leverett Saltonstall , former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and nominee for Lt. Governor in 1936 (Republican)
George L. Thompson, former Chairman of the New Hampshire Prohibition Party (Prohibition)
Results [ ]
See also [ ]
References [ ]
Bibliography [ ]
Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of the Commonwealth (1939). Election Statistics, 1937–39 . Boston, MA.
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