1954 Massachusetts elections

1954 Massachusetts general election

November 2, 1954
Part of the 1954 United States elections

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 2, 1954 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 14, 1954.

Governor

Further information: 1954 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

Republican incumbent Christian Herter was re-elected over Robert F. Murphy.

Lieutenant governor

1956 Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor election

Nominee Sumner G. Whittier James A. Burke Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 972,745 883,440 Percentage 52.0% 47.2%

Lieutenant Governor before election Sumner Whittier Republican Elected Lieutenant Governor Sumner Whittier Republican

Republican Sumner Whittier was re-elected lieutenant governor over Democrat James A. Burke, Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano, and Prohibition candidate Donald E. Babcock.

General election

Candidates

• Donald E. Babcock (Prohibition)
• James A. Burke, state representative from Hyde Park (Democratic)
• Sumner G. Whittier, incumbent lieutenant governor since 1953 (Republican)
• Francis A. Votano (Socialist Labor)

Results

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sumner G. Whittier	972,745	52.01%
	Democratic	James A. Burke	883,440	47.23%
	Socialist Labor	Francis A. Votano	9,215	0.49%
	Prohibition	Donald E. Babcock	5,067	0.27%
Total votes			1,870,467	100.00%

Attorney general

1954 Massachusetts Attorney General election

Nominee George Fingold John F. Collins Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 972,745 893,825 Percentage 51.2% 48.2%

Attorney General before election George Fingold Republican Elected Attorney General George Fingold Republican

Republican attorney general George Fingold was re-elected over Democratic State Senator John F. Collins, Socialist Workers candidate Malcolm T. Rowe, and Prohibition candidate Howard B. Rand in the general election.

General election

Candidates

• John F. Collins, state senator from Jamaica Plain (Democratic)
• George Fingold, incumbent attorney general since 1953 (Republican)
• Howard B. Rand (Prohibition)
• Malcolm T. Rowe (Socialist Workers)

Results

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George Fingold (incumbent)	950,865	51.22%
	Democratic	John F. Collins	893,825	48.16%
	Socialist Workers	Malcolm T. Rowe	6,004	0.32%
	Prohibition	Howard B. Rand	5,425	0.29%
	Write-in		1	0.00%
Total votes			1,856,120	100.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

1954 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election

Nominee Edward J. Cronin Michael J. McCarthy Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,018,428 793,121 Percentage 55.6% 43.3%

Secretary of the Commonwealth before election Edward J. Cronin Democratic Elected Secretary of the Commonwealth Edward J. Cronin Democratic

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Edward J. Cronin defeated Republican state representative Michael J. McCarthy, Socialist Labor candidate Fred M. Ingersoll, and Prohibition candidate William D. Ross in the general election.

General election

Candidates

• Edward J. Cronin, incumbent secretary since 1949 (Democratic)
• Fred M. Ingersoll (Socialist Workers)
• Michael J. McCarthy, state representative from East Bridgewater (Republican)
• William D. Ross (Prohibition)

Results

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edward J. Cronin (incumbent)	1,018,428	55.62%
	Republican	Michael J. McCarthy	793,121	43.32%
	Socialist Workers	Fred M. Ingersoll	10,613	0.58%
	Prohibition	William D. Ross	8,833	0.48%
	Write-in		1	0.00%
Total votes			1,830,996	100.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

1954 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General election

Nominee John Francis Kennedy Augustus Gardner Means Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,004,145 830,263 Percentage 54.4% 45.0%

Treasurer before election Foster Furcolo Democratic Elected Treasurer John Francis Kennedy Democratic

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Foster Furcolo ran for a U.S. Senate seat instead of seeking re-election. John Francis Kennedy defeated Norwood Selectman Clement A. Riley and State Representative and Boston School Committee Chair William F. Carr in the Democratic primary and Republican Augustus Gardner Means, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate Isaac Goddard in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• William F. Carr, Boston School Committee chair and former State Representative from South Boston
• John Francis Kennedy, Gillette stockroom supervisor
• Clement A. Riley, Norwood selectman

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Francis Kennedy	124,884	36.84%
	Democratic	Clement A. Riley	110,221	32.53%
	Democratic	William F. Carr	103,857	30.63%
	Write-in		3	0.00%

General election

Candidates

• Henning A. Blomen, perennial candidate (Socialist Workers)
• Issac Goddard (Prohibition)
• John Francis Kennedy, Gillette stockroom supervisor (Democratic)
• Augustus Gardner Means, state representative from Beverly (Republican)

Results

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Francis Kennedy	1,004,145	54.37%
	Republican	Augustus Gardner Means	830,263	44.96%
	Socialist Workers	Henning A. Blomen	7,325	0.40%
	Prohibition	Issac Goddard	5,069	0.27%
	Write-in		1	0.00%
Total votes			1,846,803	100.00%

Auditor

1954 Massachusetts Auditor election

Nominee Thomas J. Buckley William P. Constantino Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,075,162 741,082 Percentage 58.7% 40.5%

Auditor before election Thomas J. Buckley Democratic Elected Auditor Thomas J. Buckley Democratic

Incumbent Auditor Thomas J. Buckley defeated Republican state representative William P. Constantino, Socialist Labor candidate Anthony Martin, and Prohibition candidate John B. Lauder in the general election.

General election

Candidates

• Thomas J. Buckley, incumbent auditor since 1941 (Democratic)
• William P. Constantino, state representative from Clinton (Republican)
• John B. Lauder (Prohibition)
• Anthony Martin (Socialist Workers)

Results

Massachusetts Auditor Election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas J. Buckley (incumbent)	1,075,162	58.69%
	Republican	William P. Constantino	741,082	40.45%
	Socialist Workers	Anthony Martin	9,483	0.52%
	Prohibition	John B. Lauder	6,198	0.34%
	Write-in		2	0.00%
Total votes			1,831,925	100.00%

U.S. Senator

Further information: 1954 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

Republican Leverett Saltonstall was re-elected over Democrat Foster Furcolo, Socialist Labor candidate Thelma Ingersoll, and Prohibition candidate Harold J. Ireland.