1948 Massachusetts elections

The 1948 Massachusetts general election was held on November 2, 1948, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 14.

Despite some Republican success at the federal level, the 1948 election was an historic victory for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. In the race for Governor, Republican incumbent Robert F. Bradford lost re-election to former attorney general Paul Dever. Democrats swept the six statewide offices, defeating incumbents in five races, and took control of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the first time since the American Civil War.

At the federal level, Harry Truman carried the state over Thomas Dewey in the presidential election, but Republican Leverett Saltonstall was re-elected to the United States Senate, and Republicans won eight of fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives.

Governor

Republican governor Robert F. Bradford was defeated by Democratic former attorney general Paul Dever in a landslide.

Lieutenant governor

In the race for lieutenant governor, Democratic mayor of Worcester defeated incumbent Republican Arthur W. Coolidge.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Charles F. "Jeff" Sullivan, Mayor of Worcester^[1]
Benedict FitzGerald, attorney^[1]
Edward P. Barry^[1]

Results

1948 Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles F. Sullivan	127,948	48.05%
	Democratic	Benedict FitzGerald	99,712	37.44%
	Democratic	Edward P. Barry	38,637	14.51%
Total votes			266,297	100.00%

General election

Massachusetts Lt. gubernatorial election, 1948 ^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Charles F. Sullivan	1,163,041	56.69%	7.38
	Republican	Arthur W. Coolidge (incumbent)	870,864	42.45%	6.86
	Socialist Labor	Lawrence Gilfedder	12,127	0.59%	0.05
	Prohibition	Guy S. Williams	5,457	0.27%	0.07
Total votes			2,051,489	100.00%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Republican Secretary of the Commonwealth Frederic W. Cook ran for re-election to a record fifteenth two-year term in office, but was narrowly defeated by Democrat Edward J. Cronin.

The Socialist Labor Party nominated Gote E. Palmquist.

Democratic primary

1948 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward J. Cronin	148,545	61.82%
	Democratic	Jerome P. Troy	93,362	35.94%
	Write-in	All others	2	0.00%
Total votes			241,909	100.00%

General election

1948 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edward J. Cronin	1,011,397	49.98%	9.62
	Republican	Frederic W. Cook (incumbent)	997,764	49.30%	10.01
	Socialist Labor	Gote E. Palmquist	14,416	0.71%	0.23
	Write-in	All others	1	0.00%
Total votes			2,023,578	100.00%

Attorney general

Incumbent Republican attorney general Clarence A. Barnes ran for re-election to a third consecutive term. He was defeated Democratic former lieutenant governor Francis E. Kelly in the general election. This was a re-match of the 1946 election.

Democratic primary

1948 Massachusetts Attorney General Democratic Primary^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Francis E. Kelly	98,370	35.94%
	Democratic	Patrick Gilbert Sullivan	66,395	24.26%
	Democratic	John F. Kelley	63,678	23.27%
	Democratic	Enrico Cappucci	45,227	16.53%
	Write-in	All others	5	0.00%
Total votes			273,675	100.00%

General election

1948 Massachusetts Attorney General Election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Francis E. Kelly	1,077,504	53.26%	8.50
	Republican	Clarence A. Barnes (incumbent)	927,779	45.86%	8.23
	Socialist Labor	Anthony Martin	17,649	0.87%	0.08
	Write-in	All others	10	0.00%
Total votes			2,022,942	100.00%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Republican Treasurer and Receiver-General Laurence Curtis ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Democratic former Treasurer Francis E. Kelly. This was a re-match of the 1946 election.

The Prohibition Party nominated Harold J. Ireland, and the Socialist Labor party nominated Malcolm T. Rowe.

1948 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John E. Hurley	1,120,989	55.21%	9.32
	Republican	Laurence Curtis (incumbent)	888,767	43.78%	9.16
	Socialist Labor	Malcolm T. Rowe	13,087	0.64%	0.14
	Prohibition	Harold J. Ireland	7,279	0.36%	0.06
	Write-in	All others	4	0.00%
Total votes			2,030,126	100.00%

Auditor

Incumbent Democratic Auditor Thomas J. Buckley ran for re-election to a fifth term in office. He was re-elected in a landslide over Republican Russell A. Wood, who he had defeated in 1940, 1942, and 1946.

The Prohibition Party nominated Robert A. Simmons, and the Socialist Labor Party nominated Francis A. Votano.

Republican primary

1948 Massachusetts State Auditor Republican Primary^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Russell A. Wood	91,768	40.18%
	Republican	Edwin L. Olander	81,109	35.51%
	Republican	Douglas Lawson	41,497	18.17%
	Republican	Wallace E. Stearns	14,025	6.14%
	Write-in	All others	0	0.00%
Total votes			228,399	100.00%

General election

1948 Massachusetts Auditor General Election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas J. Buckley (incumbent)	1,241,653	61.58%	11.82
	Republican	Russell A. Wood	752,430	37.32%	11.72
	Socialist Labor	Francis A. Votano	12,510	0.62%	0.27
	Prohibition	Robert A. Simmons	6,916	0.34%	0.03
	Write-in	All others	5	0.00%
Total votes			2,016,214	100.00%

United States Senate

Incumbent Republican Senator Leverett Saltonstall ran for re-election to a full term in office. Saltonstall won the seat in the 1944 special election created by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr's resignation.

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leverett Saltonstall (incumbent)	1,088,475	52.95%	11.34
	Democratic	John I. Fitzgerald	954,398	46.43%	11.53
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	9,266	0.44%	0.20
	Prohibition	E. Tallmadge Root	3,652	0.18%	0.01
Total votes			2,055,791	100.00%

United States House of Representatives

All of Massachusetts' fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1946.

Eight seats were won by Republican Party incumbents, and six were won by Democratic candidates.

Thirteen seats were won by candidates seeking re-election. The 2nd District seat (based in Springfield) was won by Democrat Foster Furcolo over incumbent Republican Charles R. Clason.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1948.
^ Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1948.
^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 228.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 3.
^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 239.
^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 153.

External links

[DemocraticLtGovernor-1] Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1948.

[2] Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1948.

[3] Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 228.

[General-4] Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 3.

[5] Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 239.

[6] Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948. p. 153.

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v t e State elections in Massachusetts
General	1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 (April) 1831 (November) 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1868 1869 1870 1871 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Mass. Senate	1787 1788 ... 1824 ... 1908 ... 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Mass. House	2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Gov.'s Council	2002 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For federal elections, see Template:Federal elections in Massachusetts footer.