The 1956 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956. Democrat

Foster Furcolo John Foster Furcolo (July 29, 1911 – July 5, 1995) was an American lawyer, writer, and Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts. He was the state's 60th governor, and also represented the state as a member of the United States House of ...

was elected

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuse ...

to replace incumbent

Christian Herter Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. His moderate ...

, who did not run for re-election. Furcolo defeated Republican

Sumner G. Whittier Sumner Gage Whittier (July 4, 1911 – January 8, 2010) was an American politician who served two two-year terms as the 58th Lieutenant Governor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957. Career Whittier was an Alderman in the ...

, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate

Mark R. Shaw The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement ...

. In the race for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Democrat Robert F. Murphy defeated Republican Charles Gibbons, Prohibition candidate Harold E. Bassett, and Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Sumner Whittier,

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

Results

Lt. Governor Whittier was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Thomas H. Buckley Thomas Henry Buckley (September 5, 1897 – December 1, 1960) was an American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor from 1935 to 1939. Buckley's son, John R. Buckley, served as Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachuset ...

, former Massachusetts Auditor *

, former

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts (commonly called the " treasurer") is an executive officer, elected statewide every four years. The Treasurer oversees the Office of Abandoned Property, escheated accounts, the State Retirement ...

Results

General election

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election, 1956

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

1956 United States gubernatorial elections November 1956 events in the United States

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Results

See also

References