The 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974.

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 ...

was elected to a four-year term, from January 2, 1975 until January 4, 1979. He defeated incumbent

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. Massachuset ...

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 ...

in the general election. As of , this is the most recent year in which the incumbent Governor of Massachusetts lost the general election. (Two Governors, Dukakis and Edward J. King, lost the Democratic nomination to each other in 1978 and 1982, respectively. In 2002, acting Governor Jane Swift ran for election but withdrew after polls showed her trailing Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.)

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Francis 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 ...

, incumbent Governor * Carroll Sheehan, former State Commerce Commissioner

Results

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Donald R. Dwight was unopposed in the Republican Primary.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

, former State Representative from Brookline and nominee for Lt. Governor in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

* Robert H. Quinn, Attorney General

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

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 ...

, State Representative and son of U.S. Representative

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...

* Christopher A. Iannella, Boston City Councillor * Eva Hester, Democratic National Committeewoman * John P. Lynch, Hampden County Register of Deeds and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1972 * Thomas Martin Sullivan, resident of Randolph

Results

General election

Dukakis defeated Sargent by 207,931 votes. It was the first gubernatorial victory for the Massachusetts Democratic Party since 1962.

Results by county

References

{{Massachusetts Elections 1974

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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 ...

Michael Dukakis

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Results

Lieutenant governor

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Results

General election

Results by county

See also

References