A Massachusetts general election was held on November 2, 1982 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The election included: * statewide elections for United States Senator, Governor,

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, and Auditor; * district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and *

ballot questions A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

at the state and local levels. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 14, 1982.

Governor & Lieutenant Governor

Democrats Michael Dukakis and John Kerry were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican candidates

John W. Sears John Winthrop Sears (December 18, 1930 – November 4, 2014) was an American lawyer, historian and politician. His great-great-grandfather was David Sears II. He was the grandson of seven time National tennis champion Richard Dudley Sears and ...

and

Leon Lombardi Leon J. Lombardi (born April 16, 1949 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1977–1983 and as the Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Pa ...

Attorney General

Democrat

Francis X. Belotti Francis Xavier Bellotti (born May 3, 1923) is an American lawyer and politician. In his first campaign he was the Democratic nominee for District Attorney of Norfolk County in 1958, but was defeated in the general election. In 1962 Bellotti was ...

was elected

. He defeated Republican Richard L. Wainwright and Libertarian Michael Reilly in the general election.

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth

Michael J. Connolly Michael Joseph Connolly (born April 20, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts) is a former politician who served as Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1979 to 1994. An attorney by profession, Connolly was first elected to public offic ...

defeated Republican Jody DeRoma Dow and Libertarian Robin D. Zazula in the general election.

Candidates

, incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth (Democratic) *Jody Deroma Dow (Republican) *Robin Zazula (Libertarian)

Results

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General

Robert Q. Crane Robert Quentin Crane (March 21, 1926 – January 5, 2018) was an American politician who served as Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts from 1964 to 1991. He was credited with starting the Massachusetts Lottery. Early life Crane was ...

defeated Barnstable County Treasurer Mary J. LeClair and Libertarian Freda L. Nason in the general election.

Candidates

, incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General (Democratic) *Mary J. LeClair, Barnstable County Treasurer (Republican) *Freda L. Nason (Libertarian)

Results

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor John J. Finnegan defeated Republican Michael S. Robertson and Libertarian Donald E. Washburn in the general election.

Candidates

* John J. Finnegan, interim Auditor since 1981 (Democratic) *Michael S. Robertson, nominee for U.S. Senate in 1976 (Republican) *Donald E. Washburn (Libertarian)

Results

United States Senator

Democratic 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 ...

incumbent Ted Kennedy was re-elected over Republican Ray Shamie and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Howard S. Katz.

Ballot questions

Question 1

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution - The proposed constitutional amendment would remove the constitutional prohibition against the use of public funds to aid or maintain private primary or secondary schools.

Question 2

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution - The proposed constitutional amendment would allow the legislature to enact laws authorizing the state courts to impose the death penalty on the conviction of crimes to be specified by the law.

Question 3

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition - would require that before the construction or operation of any nuclear power plant or low-level radioactive waste storage or disposal facility in the Commonwealth, the legislature must make certain findings and a majority of voters must approve the facility at a statewide election.

Question 4

Referendum on an Existing Law - The law requires that a refundable deposit be paid for certain beverage containers sold in Massachusetts.

References

External links

* {{Massachusetts Elections Massachusetts