Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

1970 Massachusetts general election

← 1968 November 3, 1970 1972 →

Part of the
1970 United States elections

The 1970 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 1970, throughout Massachusetts. Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 15, 1970.

At the federal level, Ted Kennedy was re-elected to the United States Senate and ten of the commonwealth's twelve incumbents were re-elected to the United States House of Representatives. One retired and one lost re-nomination. No seats switched parties.

Incumbents seeking reelection won all major state offices: Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Auditor, and Treasurer.

Governor and lieutenant governor[edit]

Republicans Francis W. Sargent and Donald R. Dwight were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Democrats Kevin White and Michael Dukakis.

Attorney general[edit]

1970 Massachusetts Attorney General election
← 1966
1974 →
 
Nominee Robert H. Quinn Donald L. Conn
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,174,512 697,010
Percentage 62.2% 36.9%

Attorney General before election

Robert H. Quinn
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Robert H. Quinn
Democratic

Attorney General Robert H. Quinn, who was appointed by the Massachusetts General Court to fill the unexpired term of Elliot Richardson, was elected to a full term. He defeated Republican Donald L. Conn.

General election[edit]

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1970[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert H. Quinn (incumbent) 1,174,512 62.22% Increase14.91
Republican Donald L. Conn 697,010 36.92% Decrease14.92
Socialist Labor Willy N. Hogseth 16,257 0.86% Increase0.86
Write-in 24 0.00% Steady
Total votes 1,887,803 0.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth[edit]

1970 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election
← 1966
1974 →
 
Nominee John Davoren Mary B. Newman
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,001,528 831,150
Percentage 53.8% 44.7%

Secretary of the Commonwealth before election

John Davoren
Democratic

Elected Secretary of the Commonwealth

John Davoren
Democratic

Secretary of the Commonwealth John Davoren, who was appointed by the Massachusetts General Court to fill the unexpired term of Kevin White, defeated Republican Mary B. Newman, Socialist Labor candidate Edgar E. Gaudet, and Prohibition candidate Murvin Becker in the general election.

General election[edit]

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1970[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John Davoren (incumbent) 1,001,528 53.84% Decrease16.19
Republican Mary B. Newman 831,150 44.68% Increase15.64
Socialist Labor Edgar E. Gaudet 17,445 0.94% Decrease0.33
Prohibition Murvin Becker 10,165 0.55% Increase0.07
Write-in 5 0.00% Steady
Total votes 1,860,293 100.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General[edit]

1970 Massachusetts Treasurer election
← 1966
1974 →
 
Nominee Robert Q. Crane Frederick Hannon
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,188,633 592,934
Percentage 65.6% 32.7%

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 Republican Frederick Hannon, Socialist Labor candidate Roy K. Nelson, and Prohibition candidate John B. Lauder in the general election.

General election[edit]

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1970[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Q. Crane (incumbent) 1,188,633 65.61% Increase3.06
Republican Frederick Hannon 592,934 32.73% Decrease3.26
Socialist Labor Roy K. Nelson 20,667 1.14% Increase0.16
Prohibition John B. Lauder 9,457 0.52% Increase0.04
Write-in 6 0.00% Steady

Auditor[edit]

1970 Massachusetts Auditor election
← 1966
1974 →
 
Nominee Thaddeus Buczko Frank P. Bucci
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,222,783 574,178
Percentage 66.9% 31.4%

Auditor before election

Thaddeus M. Buczko
Democratic

Elected Auditor

Thaddeus M. Buczko
Democratic

Incumbent Auditor Thaddeus M. Buczko defeated Republican Frank P. Bucci, Socialist Labor candidate Raymond Gray, and Prohibition candidate Roger I. Williams in the general election.

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1970[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Thaddeus M. Buczko (incumbent) 1,222,783 66.87% Increase9.79
Republican Frank P. Bucci 574,178 31.40% Decrease10.45
Socialist Labor Raymond Gray 18,184 0.99% Increase0.34
Prohibition Roger I. Williams 13,373 0.73% Increase0.31
Write-in 2 0.00% Steady

United States Senate[edit]

Democrat Ted Kennedy was re-elected to a second full term in office over Republican Josiah Spaulding.

United States House of Representatives[edit]

All of Massachusetts' twelve seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

Ten seats were won by candidates seeking re-election.

The 3rd District seat was won by Robert Drinan, who defeated incumbent Philip J. Philbin in the Democratic primary election. Philbin unsuccessfully campaigned as an independent candidate in the general election. The 9th District seat was won by Louise Day Hicks after incumbent John W. McCormack did not seek re-election.

References[edit]