1974 Massachusetts elections

1974 Massachusetts general election

← 1972 November 5, 1974 1976 →
Part of the 1974 United States elections

Elections in Massachusetts
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The 1974 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1974, throughout Massachusetts. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 10, 1974.

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[]

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[]

• John Davoren, incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth
• Paul Guzzi, State Representative

Results[]

1974 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Guzzi	398,684	56.81%
	Democratic	John Davoren (incumbent)	303,097	43.19%
	Write-in	All others	13	0.00%

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

• John M. Quinlan, State Senator

Withdrew at convention[]

• Ron Burton, former Boston Patriots running back^[2]

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, lawyer, Episcopal minister, and Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts
• 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		56,796	7.50%
	Democratic	Barry T. Hannon	33,240	4.39%
	Write-in		21	0.00%

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

• Charles Cabot, chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Board
• William I. Cowin, Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance
• Josiah Spaulding, former Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1970

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		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[]

• Robert Q. Crane, incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General
• Charles Mark Furcolo, Boston attorney and son of Foster Furcolo

Results[]

1974 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Q. Crane (incumbent)	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 (incumbent)	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 (incumbent)	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[]