1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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

1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1970 November 5, 1974 1978 →
Turnout74.64% Decrease 0.53
 
Nominee Michael Dukakis Francis Sargent
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Thomas O'Neill III Donald Dwight
Popular vote 992,284 784,353
Percentage 53.50% 42.29%

Dukakis:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Sargent:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election

Francis Sargent
Republican

Elected Governor

Michael Dukakis
Democratic

As of 2024, this is the most recent year in which the incumbent governor of Massachusetts lost the general election. (Two governors, Dukakis and Edward J. King, lost the Democratic nomination to each other in 1978 and 1982, respectively. In 2002, acting Governor Jane Swift ran for election but withdrew after polls showed her trailing Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.)

Republican primary

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Governor

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Candidates

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Results

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1974 Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Francis W. Sargent (incumbent) 124,250 63.32%
Republican Carroll Sheehan 71,936 36.66%
Write-in All others 46 0.02%

Lieutenant governor

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Incumbent lieutenant governor Donald R. Dwight was unopposed in the Republican Primary.

Democratic primary

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Governor

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Candidates

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Results

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Primary results by municipality
1974 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary[2]
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

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Candidates

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Results

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1974 Massachusetts Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary[3]
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

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

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Michael Dukakis
(Thomas P. O'Neill III)
992,284 53.50%
Republican Francis W. Sargent
(Donald R. Dwight) (incumbent)
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%

Results by county

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1974 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [5]
County Dukakis % Dukakis # Sargent % Sargent # Others % Others # Total #
Barnstable 39.9% 19,362 54.7% 26,539 5.4% 2,641 48,542
Berkshire 54.2% 26,947 40.4% 20,105 5.4% 2,682 49,734
Bristol 62.6% 91,839 32.1% 47,055 5.4% 7,876 146,770
Dukes 36.4% 1,346 59.1% 2,189 4.5% 167 3,702
Essex 52.1% 117,815 42.6% 96,475 5.3% 12,056 226,346
Franklin 53.2% 11,666 41.5% 9,087 5.3% 1,168 21,921
Hampden 63.6% 84,222 30.9% 40,978 5.5% 7,257 132,457
Hampshire 59.2% 24,051 33.7% 13,691 7.1% 2,889 40,631
Middlesex 51.0% 243,914 44.2% 211,511 4.8% 22,938 478,363
Nantucket 36.2% 537 58.4% 865 5.4% 80 1,482
Norfolk 48.1% 110,701 45.4% 104,375 6.5% 14,859 229,935
Plymouth 46.7% 54,781 44.9% 52,738 8.4% 9,811 117,330
Suffolk 45.6% 85,343 39.3% 73,491 15.1% 28,208 187,042
Worcester 56.5% 119,820 40.2% 85,254 3.4% 7,152 212,226

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  2. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  3. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974.
  4. ^ "1970 Governor General Election". PD43+. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "PD43+ » Search Elections".