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  Herter: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Dever: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Massachusetts |
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 Massachusettsportal |
The 1952 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1952. Republican Christian Herter defeated Democratic incumbent Paul A. Dever, Socialist Labor candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, Peace Progressive candidate Florence H. Luscomb, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.
The traditional formal pre-primary convention had been abolished, and Governor Dever vetoed an attempt to reinstate it; nevertheless, Republicans announced their intent to hold an unofficial grassroots convention in Worcester on June 28. [1] [2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul Dever (incumbent) | 310,505 | 99.99% | |
| Write-in | 37 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 310,542 | 100.00% | ||
| None | Blank votes | 207,074 | — | |
| Turnout | 517,616 | 100.00% | ||
The Republican primary was largely over before it began; the establishment cleared the field in favor of U.S. Representative Christian Herter.
In February, Laurence Curtis announced his candidacy, calling for a "wholesale cleanup of conditions at the State House that have destroyed the hope of a square deal for Massachusetts citizens." He had been the leading Republican vote-getter in 1950. [6]
At the same time, U.S. Representative Christian Herter, vacationing in South Carolina, let it be known that he was willing to accept a draft for Governor. [6] [7] It was apparent that Herter, who supported Dwight D. Eisenhower for President, would have the support of the liberal Republican establishment, including Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Leverett Saltonstall, Joseph W. Martin, and Sinclair Weeks. [6] He announced his own candidacy two days after Curtis. Curtis pledged to remain in the race through the convention until the primary. [1] However, he soon withdrew and endorsed Herter; Curtis was later elected to succeed Herter in Congress. Another potential candidate, Sumner Whittier, also immediately endorsed Herter and announced his campaign for Lieutenant Governor instead. Charles Gibbons initially said would enter the race against Herter but deferred until after the presidential primary, in which Herter was a candidate for delegate on the Eisenhower slate. [2] [8]
Herter spent much of the pre-convention period stumping for Eisenhower rather than his own candidacy. [9] Even in appearances in the Commonwealth, he touted the presidential race to voters. [10]
In early March, Cambridge attorney Howe Coolidge Amee entered the race, stating that he would refuse to abide by the pre-primary convention and would enter the primary directly. [4] He framed his candidacy as merely a "protest against the scandalous and unconscionable measures employed by the hierarchy of my party in undertaking to foist upon us a candidate they must know cannot possibly be elected in November." [5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christian Herter | 389,335 | 99.99% | |
| Write-in | 20 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 389,355 | 100.00% | ||
| None | Blank votes | 53,609 | — | |
| Turnout | 442,964 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christian Herter | 1,175,955 | 49.90% | ||
| Democratic | Paul A. Dever (incumbent) | 1,161,499 | 49.29% | ||
| Peace Progressive | Florence H. Luscomb | 7,502 | 0.32% | ||
| Socialist Labor | Lawrence Gilfedder | 6,159 | 0.26% | ||
| Prohibition | Guy S. Williams | 5,163 | 0.22% | ||
Christian Archibald Herter was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. He served as president of the board of trustees at the Dexter School from 1937 to 1939. His moderate tone of negotiations was confronted by the intensity of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in a series of unpleasant episodes that turned the Cold War even colder in 1960–61.
Paul Andrew Dever was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as the 58th Governor of Massachusetts and was its youngest-ever Attorney General. Among his notable accomplishments was the construction of Boston’s circumferential highway Route 128, then called "Dever’s Folley," which was later expanded to Interstate 95, one of the most used national highways.
The 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis, his party's nominee for president in 1988, opted to not seek a fourth term. Republican Bill Weld won the open seat, beating Democrat John Silber to become the first Republican Governor of Massachusetts elected since 1970. This election was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Massachusetts since 1960.
Laurence Curtis was an American attorney and Republican Party politician from Massachusetts.
The 1936 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3. Incumbent Democratic Senator Marcus A. Coolidge declined to stand for re-election. Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. won the race to succeed him over Democratic Boston mayor James Michael Curley and former Suffolk County prosecutor Thomas C. O'Brien.
Clarence Alfred Barnes was an American politician who served as attorney general of Massachusetts from 1945 to 1949.
The 1978 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978. Former Massachusetts Port Authority executive director Edward J. King was elected to a four-year term, from January 4, 1979, until January 6, 1983. King won the Democratic nomination by defeating incumbent Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis in the Democratic primary.
The 1956 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956. Democrat Foster Furcolo was elected Governor of Massachusetts to replace incumbent Christian Herter, who did not run for re-election. Furcolo defeated Republican Sumner G. Whittier, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate Mark R. Shaw.
The 1954 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954. Republican governor Christian Herter was re-elected, defeating Democrat Robert F. Murphy, Socialist Labor candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.
William Irvin Cowin was an American jurist, politician, and state cabinet secretary who served as Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs from 1971 to 1972 and Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1972 to 1974. He was a candidate for State Attorney General in 1974 and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1978.
John J. Buckley III was an American politician who served as Sheriff of Middlesex County Massachusetts from 1970 to 1980.
John W. Costello was an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1964.
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 4, 1958, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 6, 1956, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 2, 1954 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 4, 1952 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 16.
The 1950 Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 1950, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 19.
The 1946 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1946, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on June 18.
The 1944 Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 1944, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on July 11.
The 1942 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 1942, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 15.
Rep. Herter will not speak on behalf of his candidacy, but rather will aim his remarks at interesting independent voters to enroll in the Republican party for the coming presidential and state primaries.
