1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
The 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Michael Dukakis was elected to a four-year term, from January 2, 1975 until January 4, 1979. He defeated incumbent Governor of Massachusetts Francis W. Sargent in the general election.
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| Turnout | 74.64%  0.53 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Massachusetts |
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As of 2023, 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
Candidates
- Francis Sargent, incumbent Governor
- Carroll Sheehan, former State Commerce Commissioner
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Francis W. Sargent | 124,250 | 63.32% | ||
| Republican | Carroll Sheehan | 71,936 | 36.66% | ||
| Write-in | All others | 46 | 0.02% | ||
Lieutenant governor
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Donald R. Dwight was unopposed in the Republican Primary.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Michael Dukakis, former State Representative from Brookline and nominee for Lt. Governor in 1970
- Robert H. Quinn, Attorney General
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 444,590 | 57.67% | ||
| Democratic | Robert H. Quinn | 326,385 | 42.33% | ||
| Write-in | All others | 46 | 0.01% | ||
Candidates
- Thomas P. O'Neill III, State Representative and son of U.S. Representative Tip O'Neill
- 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Thomas P. O'Neill III | 250,259 | 35.69% | ||
| Democratic | Christopher A. Iannella | 190,587 | 27.18% | ||
| Democratic | Eva Hester | 97,665 | 13.93% | ||
| Democratic | John P. Lynch | 81,874 | 11.68% | ||
| Democratic | Thomas Martin Sullivan | 80,745 | 11.52% | ||
| Write-in | All others | 15 | 0.00% | ||
General election
Dukakis defeated Sargent by 207,931 votes. It was the first gubernatorial victory for the Massachusetts Democratic Party since 1962.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis (Thomas P. O'Neill III) |
992,284 | 53.50% | ||
| Republican | Francis W. Sargent (Donald R. Dwight) (incumbent) |
784,353 | 42.29% | ||
| American | Leo F. Kahian (Nicholas J. Greco) |
63,083 | 3.40% | ||
| Socialist Workers | Donald Gurewitz (Ollie Bivins) |
15,011 | 0.81% | ||
Results by county
| 1974 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [5] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Dukakis % | Dukakis # | Sargent % | Sargent # | Others % | Others # | Total # |
| Barnstable | 39.9% | 19,362 | 54.7% | 26,539 | 5.4% | 2,641 | 48,542 |
| Berkshire | 54.2% | 26,947 | 40.4% | 20,105 | 5.4% | 2,682 | 49,734 |
| Bristol | 62.6% | 91,839 | 32.1% | 47,055 | 5.4% | 7,876 | 146,770 |
| Dukes | 36.4% | 1,346 | 59.1% | 2,189 | 4.5% | 167 | 3,702 |
| Essex | 52.1% | 117,815 | 42.6% | 96,475 | 5.3% | 12,056 | 226,346 |
| Franklin | 53.2% | 11,666 | 41.5% | 9,087 | 5.3% | 1,168 | 21,921 |
| Hampden | 63.6% | 84,222 | 30.9% | 40,978 | 5.5% | 7,257 | 132,457 |
| Hampshire | 59.2% | 24,051 | 33.7% | 13,691 | 7.1% | 2,889 | 40,631 |
| Middlesex | 51.0% | 243,914 | 44.2% | 211,511 | 4.8% | 22,938 | 478,363 |
| Nantucket | 36.2% | 537 | 58.4% | 865 | 5.4% | 80 | 1,482 |
| Norfolk | 48.1% | 110,701 | 45.4% | 104,375 | 6.5% | 14,859 | 229,935 |
| Plymouth | 46.7% | 54,781 | 44.9% | 52,738 | 8.4% | 9,811 | 117,330 |
| Suffolk | 45.6% | 85,343 | 39.3% | 73,491 | 15.1% | 28,208 | 187,042 |
| Worcester | 56.5% | 119,820 | 40.2% | 85,254 | 3.4% | 7,152 | 212,226 |