1970 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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
November 3, 1970
 
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%
Municipal results
Governor before election

Francis Sargent
Republican

 Elected Governor

Francis Sargent
Republican

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

Republican primary

Candidates

Acting Governor Francis Sargent was unopposed for renomination.

Candidates
Eliminated at convention
Withdrew

Campaign

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

Candidates

Campaign

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

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%

Candidates
  • 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
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

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
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
1970 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [10]
County Sargent % Sargent # White % White # Others % Others # Total #
Barnstable70.5%30,27123.4%10,0516.1%2,63442,956
Berkshire48.8%24,96736.3%18,57314.8%7,57851,118
Bristol42.0%68,99444.5%73,02413.5%22,155164,173
Dukes59.3%1,73127.4%80013.3%3882,919
Essex51.4%128,26538.0%94,77910.7%26,634249,678
Franklin54.1%12,32834.5%7,84811.4%2,60422,780
Hampden38.9%58,65648.6%73,20012.5%18,812150,668
Hampshire44.9%18,17945.4%18,3939.7%3,93340,505
Middlesex55.2%283,31237.1%190,6177.6%39,183513,112
Nantucket59.9%85431.8%4538.3%1181,425
Norfolk60.9%142,80632.8%77,0366.3%14,840234,682
Plymouth60.1%67,29432.5%36,4247.4%8,303112,021
Suffolk50.02%113,80142.5%96,6367.5%17,094227,531
Worcester46.5%106,49544.3%101,4359.2%21,119229,049

See also

References
  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. https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/search/year_from:1972/year_to:2020/office_id:1/stage:General


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