Massachusetts general election, 1964

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 1964 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The election included:

• statewide elections for United States Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor;
• district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and
• ballot questions at the state and local levels.

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held on September 10, 1964.

This was the final election before the Term of office for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor was extended from two to four years.

Statewide elections

United States Senator

Democrat Ted Kennedy was re-elected over Republican Howard J. Whitmore, Jr., Socialist Labor candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and Prohibition candidate Grace F. Luder.

Governor

Republican John A. Volpe was elected over Democrat Francis X. Bellotti, Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams. Incumbent Governor Endicott Peabody lost in the Democratic primary to Bellotti, his Lieutenant Governor.

Lieutenant Governor

Republican Elliot L. Richardson was elected Lieutenant Governor over Democrat John W. Costello, Socialist Labor candidate Edgar E. Gaudet, and Prohibition candidate Prescott E. Grout.

Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General Edward Brooke defeated Democrat James W. Hennigan, Jr., Socialist Workers candidate Willy N. Hogseth, and Prohibition candidate Howard B. Rand in the general election.

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1964^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Edward Brooke	1,036,739	67.18%
	Democratic	James W. Hennigan, Jr.	746,390	32.48%
	Socialist Workers	Willy N. Hogseth	4,716	0.21%
	Prohibition	Howard B. Rand	3,030	0.13%
	Write-in		4	0.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Kevin White, defeated Republican Wallace B. Crawford, Socialist Labor candidate Fred M. Ingersoll, and Prohibition candidate Julia B. Kohler in the general election.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1964^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Kevin White	1,572,871	71.20%
	Republican	Wallace B. Crawford	621,894	28.15%
	Socialist Workers	Fred M. Ingersoll	8,369	0.38%
	Prohibition	Julia B. Kohler	6,074	0.28%
	Write-in		7	0.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General John T. Driscoll did not run for re-election as he had been appointed Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

Robert Q. Crane defeated Louise Day Hicks, John Francis Kennedy, and John J. Buckley in the Democratic primary.

Crane defeated Republican Robert Hahn, Socialist Labor candidate Arne A. Sortell, and Prohibition candidate Warren C. Carberg in the general election.

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary, 1964^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Robert Q. Crane	238,629	35.87%
	Democratic	Louise Day Hicks	163,201	24.53%
	Democratic	John Francis Kennedy	139,736	21.01%
	Democratic	John J. Buckley	123,519	18.57%
	Write-in		175	0.03%

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1964^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Robert Q. Crane	1,390,921	64.16%
	Republican	Robert Hahn	762,593	35.18%
	Socialist Workers	Arne A. Sortell	8,017	0.37%
	Prohibition	Warren C. Carberg	6,295	0.29%
	Write-in		3	0.00%

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor Thomas J. Buckley died on September 9, 1964, the night before the Democratic primary. Rocco Antonelli, Richard J. Mulhern, Peter F. Hines, James Linchan, and Raymond Rigney ran sticker campaigns, but none of them received enough votes to win the nomination.

The Democratic State Committee chose Thaddeus M. Buczko over John J. Buckley, Louise Day Hicks, and Peter F. Hines to succeed Buckley for the Democratic nomination.

In the general election, Buczko defeated Republican Elwynn Miller, Socialist Labor candidate Ethelbert L. Nevens, and Prohibition candidate John C. Hedges in the general election.

Massachusetts Auditor Democratic Primary, 1964^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Thomas J. Buckley (Deceased)	375,917	95.95%
	Other		4,355	1.11%
	Democratic	Rocco Antonelli (Write-in)	2,859	0.73%
	Democratic	Richard J. Mulhern (Write-in)	2,839	0.73%
	Democratic	Peter F. Hines (Write-in)	2,837	0.72%
	Democratic	James Linchan (Write-in)	2,545	0.65%
	Democratic	Raymond Rigney (Write-in)	436	0.11%

Massachusetts Auditor Democratic Committee Vote for Replacement Nominee^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Thaddeus M. Buczko	40	56.34%
	Democratic	John J. Buckley	23	32.39%
	Democratic	Louise Day Hicks	7	9.86%
	Democratic	Peter F. Hines	1	1.41%

Massachusetts Auditor General Election, 1964^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Thaddeus M. Buczko	1,247,674	58.38%
	Republican	Elwynn Miller	868,813	40.66%
	Prohibition	John C. Hedges	11,368	0.53%
	Socialist Workers	Ethelbert L. Nevens	9,175	0.43%
	Write-in		9	0.00%

References

1. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 444.
2. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 450.
3. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 241.
4. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 456.
5. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 247.
6. Hanron, Robert (September 19, 1964). "Democrats Pick Buczko As Nominee for Auditor". Boston Globe.
7. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1964. p. 462.