1978 Massachusetts elections

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 1978 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

1978 Massachusetts general election

November 7, 1978

Part of the
1978 United States elections

The election included:

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 14, 1978.

Governor and lieutenant governor

Democrats Edward J. King and Thomas P. O'Neill III were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican candidates Francis W. Hatch, Jr. and William I. Cowin.

Attorney general

1978 Massachusetts Attorney General election
 
Nominee Francis Bellotti Bill Weld
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,532,835 421,417
Percentage 78.4% 21.6%

Attorney General before election

Francis Bellotti
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Francis Bellotti
Democratic

Democrat Francis X. Belotti was elected Attorney General. He defeated Republican Bill Weld in the general election.

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1978 [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Francis X. Belotti (incumbent) 1,532,835 78.43% Increase28.76
Republican Bill Weld 421,417 21.56% Decrease27.15
Write-in 64 0.01% Increase 0.01
Total votes 1,954,316 100.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

1978 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election
 
Nominee Michael J. Connolly John W. Sears
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,115,409 744,488
Percentage 60.0% 40.0%

Secretary of the Commonwealth before election

Paul Guzzi
Democratic

Elected Secretary of the Commonwealth

Michael J. Connolly
Democratic

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Paul Guzzi sought election to the U.S. Senate, leaving his office vacant for the next term.

State Representative Michael J. Connolly defeated Lois Pines, Anthony J. Vigliotti, James Hennigan, David E. Crosby, William J. Galvin Jr., and John Fulham in the Democratic primary and Republican John W. Sears in the general election.

Candidates

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary, 1978 [2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael J. Connolly 192,641 25.81%
Democratic Lois Pines 185,504 24.85%
Democratic Anthony J. Vigliotti 103,895 13.91%
Democratic James Hennigan 80,402 10.77%
Democratic David E. Crosby 78,372 10.50%
Democratic William J. Galvin Jr. 67,180 9.00%
Democratic John Fulham 38,337 5.13%
Write-in 12 0.00%
Total votes 746,383 100.00%
Blank {{{candidate}}} 156,876
Turnout 903,259 100.00%

General election

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1978 [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Michael J. Connolly 1,115,409 59.96% Decrease 4.53
Republican John W. Sears 744,488 40.02% Increase 4.53
Write-in 169 0.02% Increase 0.02

Treasurer and Receiver-General

1978 Massachusetts Treasurer election
 
Nominee Robert Q. Crane Lewis Crampton
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,125,960 743,231
Percentage 60.2% 39.76%

Treasurer and Receiver-General before election

Robert Q. Crane
Democratic

Elected Treasurer and Receiver-General

Robert Q. Crane
Republican

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Robert Q. Crane defeated Lawrence DiCara, Paul Cacchiotti, Dayce Moore, Thomas Lopes, and Lawrence Blacke in the Democratic Primary and Republican Lewis Crampton in the general election.

Candidates

Results

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary, 1978 [4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert Q. Crane (incumbent) 375,688 49.04%
Democratic Lawrence DiCara 231,315 30.19%
Democratic Paul Cacchiotti 45,029 5.88%
Democratic Dayce Moore 43,466 5.67%
Democratic Thomas Lopes 39,691 5.18%
Democratic Lawrence Blacke 30,930 4.04%
Write-in 24 0.00%
Total votes 766,143 100.00%
Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1978 [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Q. Crane (incumbent) 1,125,960 60.24% Decrease39.72
Republican Lewis Crampton 743,231 39.76% N/A
Write-in 67 0.00% Decrease 0.03
Total votes 1,869,258 100.00%

Auditor

1978 Massachusetts Auditor election
 
Nominee Thaddeus Buczko Timothy O'Brien
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,189,562 643,096
Percentage 64.9% 35.1%

Auditor before election

Thaddeus M. Buczko
Democratic

Elected Auditor

Thaddeus M. Buczko
Democratic

Incumbent Auditor Thaddeus M. Buczko defeated Peter Meade in the Democratic primary and Republican Timothy F. O'Brien in the general election.

O'Brien replaced William A. Casey as the Republican nominee after Casey dropped out of the race. After conservative Edward J. King defeated Michael Dukakis for the Democratic nomination for governor, Casey chose to drop-out and support the anti-abortion King over the pro-choice Republican nominee Francis Hatch.[6]

O'Brien was selected by the State Committee over attorney Ralph Barbagallo, Jr. and William Sargent, the son of former Governor Francis W. Sargent.[6]

Candidates

Results

Massachusetts Auditor Democratic Primary, 1978 [7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Thaddeus M. Buczko (incumbent) 448,294 59.57%
Democratic Peter Meade 304,218 40.43%
Write-in 10 0.00%
Total votes 752,522 100.00%

General election

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1978 [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Thaddeus M. Buczko (incumbent) 1,189,562 64.91% Decrease35.08
Republican Timothy F. O'Brien 643,096 35.09% N/A
Write-in 48 0.00% Decrease0.01
Total votes 1,832,658 100.00%

United States Senator

Democratic Democratic Congressman Paul E. Tsongas was elected over incumbent Republican Edward Brooke.

References

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