1948 Massachusetts general election

← 1946 November 2, 1948 1950 →
Part of the 1948 United States elections

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v t e

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

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

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

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

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.