1974 Massachusetts elections

The 1974 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1974, throughout Massachusetts. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 10, 1974.

1974 Massachusetts general election

← 1972 November 5, 1974 1976 →
Part of the 1974 United States elections

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 and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Governor and lieutenant governor

Further information: 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

Democrats Michael Dukakis and Thomas P. O'Neill III were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican incumbents Francis W. Sargent and Donald R. Dwight.

Attorney general

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General election

← 1970 1978 →

Nominee Francis Bellotti Josiah Spaulding Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 912,244 894,754 Percentage 49.7% 48.7%

County results Bellotti:      50–60%      60–70% Spaulding:      50–60%      60–70%

Attorney General before election Robert H. Quinn Democratic Elected Attorney General Francis Bellotti Democratic

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

1974 Democratic Attorney General primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Francis X. Bellotti	274,439	36.21%
	Democratic	George Sacco	176,075	23.23%
	Democratic	Edward Francis Harrington	126,771	16.71%
	Democratic	S. Lester Ralph	90,489	11.94%
	Democratic	Edward M. O'Brien	56,796	7.50%
	Democratic	Barry T. Hannon	33,240	4.39%
	Write-in		21	0.00%
Total votes			757,831	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Charles Codman Cabot Jr., chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Board
• William I. Cowin, Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance
• Josiah Spaulding, former chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1970

Results

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General Republican Primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Josiah Spaulding	76,356	41.32%
	Republican	Charles Cabot	63,127	34.16%
	Republican	William I. Cowin	45,244	24.49%
	Write-in		54	0.03%
Total votes			184,781	100.00%

General election

1974 Massachusetts Attorney General election^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Francis X. Belotti	912,244	49.67%	12.55
	Republican	Josiah Spaulding	894,754	48.71%	11.79
	Socialist Workers	Jeanne Lafferty	29,749	1.62%	0.76
	Write-in		20	0.00%
Total votes			1,836,767	100.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

1974 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election

← 1970 1978 →

Nominee Paul Guzzi John M. Quinlan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,155,636 636,203 Percentage 64.5% 35.5%

Secretary of the Commonwealth before election John Davoren Democratic Elected Secretary of the Commonwealth Paul Guzzi Democratic

Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren was defeated in the Democratic primary by Paul Guzzi. 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
• Paul Guzzi, State Representative from Newton

Results

1974 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Guzzi	398,684	56.81%
	Democratic	John Davoren (incumbent)	303,097	43.19%
	Write-in		13	0.00%
Total votes			701,794	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• John M. Quinlan, State Senator

Withdrew at convention

• Ron Burton, former Boston Patriots running back^[5]

Results

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

General election

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1974^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul Guzzi	1,155,636	64.49%	10.65
	Republican	John M. Quinlan	636,203	35.51%	9.17
	Write-in	All others	48	0.00%
Total votes			1,791,887	100.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

1974 Massachusetts Treasurer Democratic primary

← 1970 1978 →

Nominee Robert Q. Crane Charles Mark Furcolo Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 355,216 340,882 Percentage 51.0% 49.0%

County results Municipal Results Crane:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Furcolo:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

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 Charles Mark Furcolo in the Democratic Primary.

Erna Ballantine ran an unsuccessful sticker campaign for the Republican nomination.^[7]

Democratic primary

Candidates

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

Results

1974 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Q. Crane (incumbent)	355,216	51.03%
	Democratic	Charles Mark Furcolo	340,882	48.97%
	Write-in		27	0.00%
Total votes			696,125	100.00%

General election

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1974^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Robert Q. Crane (incumbent)	1,387,119	99.97%	34.36
	Write-in		382	0.03%	0.03
Total votes			1,387,501	100.00%

Auditor

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

General election

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1974 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thaddeus M. Buczko (incumbent)	1,369,431	99.99%	33.12
	Write-in		196	0.01%	0.01
Total votes			1,369,627	100.00%

United States House of Representatives

Further information: 1974 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

All of Massachusetts' twelve seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1974.

Ten seats were won by candidates seeking re-election.

The 3rd District seat was won by Joseph D. Early, who succeeded retiring Democrat Harold Donohue. The 5th District seat was won by Democrat Paul Tsongas, who defeated incumbent Republican Paul W. Cronin.