1978 Massachusetts general election
A Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 1978 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts .
The election included:
Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 14, 1978.
Governor and lieutenant governor [ edit ]
Democrats Edward J. King and Thomas P. O'Neill III were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Republican candidates Francis W. Hatch, Jr. and William I. Cowin .
1978 Massachusetts Attorney General election
Democrat Francis X. Belotti was elected Attorney General . He defeated Republican Bill Weld in the general election.
Secretary of the Commonwealth [ edit ]
1978 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election
Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Paul Guzzi sought election to the U.S. Senate, leaving his office vacant for the next term.
State Representative Michael J. Connolly defeated Lois Pines , Anthony J. Vigliotti, James Hennigan , David E. Crosby, William J. Galvin Jr. , and John Fulham in the Democratic primary and Republican John W. Sears in the general election.
Treasurer and Receiver-General [ edit ]
1978 Massachusetts Treasurer election
Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Robert Q. Crane defeated Lawrence DiCara , Paul Cacchiotti, Dayce Moore, Thomas Lopes, and Lawrence Blacke in the Democratic Primary and Republican Lewis Crampton in the general election.
1978 Massachusetts Auditor election
Incumbent Auditor Thaddeus M. Buczko defeated Peter Meade in the Democratic primary and Republican Timothy F. O'Brien in the general election.
O'Brien replaced William A. Casey as the Republican nominee after Casey dropped out of the race. After conservative Edward J. King defeated Michael Dukakis for the Democratic nomination for governor, Casey chose to drop-out and support the anti-abortion King over the pro-choice Republican nominee Francis Hatch.[ 6]
O'Brien was selected by the State Committee over attorney Ralph Barbagallo, Jr. and William Sargent, the son of former Governor Francis W. Sargent .[ 6]
United States Senator [ edit ]
Democratic Democratic Congressman Paul E. Tsongas was elected over incumbent Republican Edward Brooke .