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1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →
Turnout70.05% Decrease 5.8 [1]
 
Nominee Bill Weld Mark Roosevelt
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Paul Cellucci Bob Massie
Popular vote 1,533,390 611,650
Percentage 70.9% 28.3%

Weld:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Roosevelt:      50–60%

Governor before election

Bill Weld
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Weld
Republican

The 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Weld won reelection as Governor of Massachusetts by the largest margin in state history, winning every single county and all but 6 of the state's 351 municipalities. As of 2024, this is the most recent election in which Boston, Somerville, Lawrence, Chelsea, Brookline, Northampton, Provincetown, Monterey, Great Barrington, Ashfield, Williamstown, Williamsburg, Shelburne, Sunderland, and Pelham voted for the Republican candidate for governor.

Republican primary

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Governor

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Candidates

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Lieutenant governor

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Candidates

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Incumbent governor Bill Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci were unopposed for renomination.

Democratic primary

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Governor

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Candidates

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In 1987, Barrett succeeded Bachrach as the senator from the Middlesex and Suffolk District. The district was composed of Cambridge, Belmont, Watertown, and the Allston-Brighton neighborhood of Boston.

Declined
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In 1993 a Boston Globe poll showed Kennedy within one percentage point of popular incumbent William Weld in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up, prompting prominent state Democrats to try and recruit him for the race.[2] Though no other Democrat was polling near Weld, Kennedy decided to forgo the race and remain in Congress.

Results

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Primary results by municipality
Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 1994
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Roosevelt 215,061 47.91%
Democratic George Bachrach 120,567 26.86%
Democratic Michael J. Barrett 111,199 24.77%
Total votes 446,827 100.00%

Lieutenant governor

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Candidates

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Results

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Massachusetts Democratic Lt. Gubernatorial Primary, 1994
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Massie 193,508 52.66%
Democratic Marc Draisen 173,896 47.34%
Total votes 367,404 100.00%

General election

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The Democratic ticket of Roosevelt (right) and Massie (left) campaign in Danvers

Debates

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1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Bill Weld Mark Roosevelt
1 Oct. 18. 1994 Boston Herald
WCVB-TV
Natalie Jacobson C-SPAN P P
2 Oct. 26. 1994 The Boston Globe
WBZ-TV
Liz Walker
Jack Williams
C-SPAN P P

Polling

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Source Date Weld (R) Roosevelt (D)
Boston Herald Oct. 2, 1994 60% 29%

Results

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Governor Weld defeated Democrat Mark Roosevelt by a 71%–28% margin, the largest gubernatorial margin of victory in Massachusetts history. Roosevelt won only six municipalities statewide (Amherst, Cambridge, Leverett, Otis, Shutesbury and Wendell). All six municipalities voted for Weld in 1990, meaning that he won every municipality in the state in a gubernatorial election.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Weld (incumbent) 1,533,390 70.85% +20.66
Democratic Mark Roosevelt 611,650 28.26% −18.68
Libertarian Dean Cook 14,698 0.68% New
LaRouche Was Right Jeffrey W. Rebello 3,907 0.18% New

Results by county

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1994 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [3]
County Weld - R % Weld - R # Roosevelt - D % Roosevelt - D # Others % Others # Total #
Barnstable 73.2% 68,719 24.0% 22,576 2.8% 2,604 93,899
Berkshire 60.9% 30,430 35.3% 17,618 3.8% 1,919 49,967
Bristol 63.8% 105,751 31.2% 51,702 5.1% 8,413 165,866
Dukes 62.4% 3,748 33.4% 2,007 4.2% 255 6,010
Essex 72.4% 189,618 24.1% 63,019 3.5% 9,237 261,874
Franklin 66.6% 18,226 30.0% 8,217 3.4% 927 27,370
Hampden 72.4% 109,631 23.0% 34,860 4.5% 6,840 151,331
Hampshire 62.1% 33,965 33.8% 18,449 4.1% 2,239 54,653
Middlesex 67.8% 376,503 28.7% 159,190 3.6% 19,875 555,568
Nantucket 71.2% 2,131 26.5% 794 2.3% 70 2,995
Norfolk 69.4% 187,155 26.9% 72,479 3.8% 10,201 269,835
Plymouth 73.5% 123,320 23.1% 38,747 3.4% 5,744 167,811
Suffolk 57.0% 99,615 36.5% 63,716 6.5% 11,352 174,683
Worcester 73.7% 184,578 23.3% 58,306 3.0% 7,490 250,374

Other races

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1994".
  2. ^ Seltzer, Wendy M. (February 22, 1993). "Kennedy Won't Run". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "PD43+ » Search Elections".