1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

Summary

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]

1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1966 November 3, 1970 1974 →
 
Nominee Francis Sargent Kevin White
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Donald R. Dwight Michael Dukakis
Popular vote 1,058,623 799,269
Percentage 56.67% 42.79%

Sargent:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
White:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Francis Sargent
Republican

Elected Governor

Francis Sargent
Republican

This was the first Massachusetts election in which the governor and lieutenant governor were elected as a ticket rather than separately.

Republican primary edit

Governor edit

Candidates edit

Acting Governor Francis Sargent was unopposed for renomination.

Lieutenant governor edit

Candidates edit

Eliminated at convention edit
Withdrew edit

Campaign edit

With Sargent's support, Dwight won the endorsement of the state party at the Republican convention.[3] State Rep. 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.[4]

Democratic primary edit

Governor edit

Candidates edit

Campaign edit

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.[5]

Results edit

Despite losing at the convention, White went on to win the Democratic primary, defeating Donahue by 12,940 votes.[6]

 
Primary results by municipality
1970 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary [7]
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 24 0.00%
Total votes 674,577 100.00%

Lieutenant governor edit

Candidates edit

  • Rocco Antonelli, Somerville Treasurer
  • John J. Craven, Jr., member of Boston School Committee
  • Kathleen Ryan Dacey, member of Boston School Committee
  • Michael Dukakis, State Representative from Brookline
  • James McCormack, attorney

Results edit

 
1970 Massachusetts Democratic Lieutenant gubernatorial primary [8]
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 12 0.00%

General election edit

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]

Results edit

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

Results by county edit

1970 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [10]
County Sargent % Sargent # White % White # Others % Others # Total #
Barnstable 70.5% 30,271 23.4% 10,051 6.1% 2,634 42,956
Berkshire 48.8% 24,967 36.3% 18,573 14.8% 7,578 51,118
Bristol 42.0% 68,994 44.5% 73,024 13.5% 22,155 164,173
Dukes 59.3% 1,731 27.4% 800 13.3% 388 2,919
Essex 51.4% 128,265 38.0% 94,779 10.7% 26,634 249,678
Franklin 54.1% 12,328 34.5% 7,848 11.4% 2,604 22,780
Hampden 38.9% 58,656 48.6% 73,200 12.5% 18,812 150,668
Hampshire 44.9% 18,179 45.4% 18,393 9.7% 3,933 40,505
Middlesex 55.2% 283,312 37.1% 190,617 7.6% 39,183 513,112
Nantucket 59.9% 854 31.8% 453 8.3% 118 1,425
Norfolk 60.9% 142,806 32.8% 77,036 6.3% 14,840 234,682
Plymouth 60.1% 67,294 32.5% 36,424 7.4% 8,303 112,021
Suffolk 50.02% 113,801 42.5% 96,636 7.5% 17,094 227,531
Worcester 46.5% 106,495 44.3% 101,435 9.2% 21,119 229,049

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1970".
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor Race - Nov 05, 1974".
  3. ^ Nyhan, David (June 28, 1970). "Dwight Defeats Quinlan on 1st Ballot". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ "Moderate Named As Kennedy Foe". Associated Press. June 28, 1970. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  5. ^ Jeff Bradley (June 15, 1970). "Donahue Given Endorsement By De mocrats in Bay State". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1970".
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1970".
  8. ^ Election Statistics.
  9. ^ Election Statistics.
  10. ^ "PD43+ » Search Elections".