The 1974 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1974, throughout

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. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 10, 1974. The Democratic primary in this election was notably competitive, with formidable challenges to two incumbent Democrats (Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren, who lost, and Treasurer Robert Q. Crane, who narrowly won) and two open primaries (for Governor and Attorney General). In the general election, Democrats swept the statewide offices quite easily. Republican support may have been held down by the weight of the ongoing

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

and the resignation of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Governor and lieutenant governor

Democrats

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

and

Thomas P. O'Neill III Thomas Phillip O'Neill III (born September 20, 1944) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 65th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Early life and education Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is the son of Mildred Ann ...

were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican incumbents

Francis W. Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...

and Donald R. Dwight.

Attorney general

Attorney General Robert H. Quinn declined to run for re-election and instead ran for Governor. In the open primary to fill his seat, former Lt. Governor Francis X. Bellotti won the Democratic nomination. Bellotti defeated Republican nominee Josiah Spaulding in a close race.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Francis X. Bellotti, former Lt. Governor and nominee for Governor in 1964 * Barry T. Hannon, Norfolk County Register of Deeds * Edward Francis Harrington, attorney and former prosecutor of Raymond L.S. Patriarca *Edward M. O'Brien * S. Lester Ralph, mayor of Somerville and Episcopal minister * George Sacco, State Representative from Medford

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

*Charles Codman Cabot Jr., chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Board * William I. Cowin, Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance *

Josiah Spaulding Josiah Augustus "Si" Spaulding (December 21, 1922 – March 27, 1983) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician. Education and military service Spaulding graduated from the Hotchkiss School and Yale University in 1947, where he was ...

, 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 ...

and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1970

Results

General election

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren was defeated in the Democratic primary by

Paul Guzzi Paul Henry Guzzi (born June 17, 1942) is an American businessman and former Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. He was president and chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce for 19 years. Biography Paul Guzz ...

. Guzzi went on to defeat Republican State Senator John M. Quinlan in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* John Davoren, incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth *

, State Representative from Newton

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Declared

= * John M. Quinlan, State Senator

=Withdrew at convention

= *

Ron Burton Ronald E. Burton (July 25, 1936 – September 13, 2003) was an American football player in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots. He was a consensus All-American running back at Northwestern University, and is a member of ...

, former Boston Patriots running back

Results

Following Burton's withdrawal, Quinlan was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Robert Q. Crane defeated Charles Mark Furcolo in the Democratic Primary. Erna Ballantine ran an unsuccessful sticker campaign for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Robert Q. Crane, incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General *Charles Mark Furcolo, Boston attorney and son of

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 o ...

Results

General election

Auditor

Incumbent

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 a ...

Thaddeus M. Buczko was unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election.

General election

United States House of Representatives

All of Massachusetts' twelve seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Ten seats were won by candidates seeking re-election. The 3rd District seat was won by

Joseph D. Early Joseph Daniel Early (January 31, 1933 – November 9, 2012) was an American politician. He represented the third district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993. Early was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on Ja ...

, who succeeded retiring Democrat Harold Donohue. The 5th District seat was won by Democrat Paul Tsongas, who defeated incumbent Republican Paul W. Cronin.

References

{{Massachusetts Elections