A Massachusetts general election was held on November 4, 1958, in the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The election included: * statewide elections for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Governor 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 ...

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 ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Secretary of the Commonwealth,

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

, and

Auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

; * district elections for

U.S. Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and * ballot questions at the state and local levels. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held on September 9, 1958.

Governor

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 re-elected over Republican

Charles Gibbons Charles Gibbons (born July 21, 1901 – February 2, 1968) was a U.S. politician who served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1953 to 1955 as a Republican. , he was the last Republican to serve as Speaker of the Ma ...

, Socialist Labor candidate

Henning A. Blomen Henning A. Blomen (September 28, 1910 – July 14, 1993) was an American politician who was candidate for President of the United States, United States President of the Socialist Labor Party of America in 1968 United States presidential election ...

, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.

George Fingold George Fingold (October 18, 1908 – August 31, 1958) was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1958. Fingold's political career began at the age of 21 when he was elected to the ...

was the only candidate in the Republican primary, however he died nine days before the primary. Gibbons won the nomination as a write-in candidate.

Lieutenant governor

Democrat Robert F. Murphy was re-elected Lieutenant Governor over Republican Elmer C. Nelson, Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano, and Prohibition candidate Harold E. Bassett.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Robert F. Murphy, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Results

Lt. Governor Murphy was unopposed for renomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Elmer C. Nelson, former Chair of the

Massachusetts Republican Party The Massachusetts Republican Party (MassGOP) is the Massachusetts branch of the U.S. Republican Party. In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 52, the party is governed by a state committee which consists of one man and one woma ...

Results

Nelson was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Results

Attorney general

Incumbent

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

George Fingold ran for Governor instead of seeking reelection. He died on August 31, 1958, and

Edward J. McCormack Jr. Edward Joseph McCormack Jr. (August 29, 1923 – February 27, 1997), was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts. He was most notable for serving as Massachusetts Attorney General from 1959 through 1963. Personal life and educat ...

, who won the Democratic primary over

Endicott Peabody Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably b ...

, was chosen by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

to finish his term. McCormack defeated Republican Christian A. Herter Jr., Socialist Workers candidate Charles A. Couper, and Prohibition candidate Gustaf B. Nissan in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, former

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

member and nominee for Attorney General in 1956 *

, former Governor Council member from Lawrence

Results

General election

Results

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Edward J. Cronin defeated Republican Marion Curran Boch, Socialist Labor candidate Fred M. Ingersoll, and Prohibition candidate Julia Kohler in the general election.

General election

Results

Aftermath

Cronin died 20 days after the election.

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General John Francis Kennedy defeated Woburn Mayor William G. Shaughnessy in the Democratic primary and Republican State Senator John Yerxa, Socialist Labor candidate John Erlandsson, and Prohibition candidate Warren Carberg in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* John Francis Kennedy, incumbent Treasurer * William G. Shaughnessy, mayor of Woburn

Results

General election

Results

Auditor

Incumbent

Thomas J. Buckley defeated Republican Thomas H. Adams, Socialist Labor candidate Arne Sortell, and Prohibition candidate John B. Lauder in the general election.

United States Senator

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

was re-elected over

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Vincent J. Celeste,

Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

candidate Mark R. Shaw.

References

{{Massachusetts Elections

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...