1954 Massachusetts elections

1954 Massachusetts general election

November 2, 1954
Part of the 1954 United States elections

Elections in Massachusetts
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Massachusetts portal

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.

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

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.

• 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)

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.

• 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)

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.

• 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)

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.

• 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

• 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)

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.

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

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