1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
November 3, 1986
Turnout57.41% Decrease 25.1 [1]
 
Nominee Michael Dukakis George Kariotis
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Evelyn Murphy Nicholas Nikitas
Popular vote 1,157,786 525,364
Percentage 68.79% 31.21%
County results
Dukakis:      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Michael Dukakis
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Michael Dukakis
Democratic

The 1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. Michael Dukakis was elected Governor of Massachusetts for a third term. He defeated Republican George Kariotis by a 69–31% margin. This would be the last time a Democrat was elected governor until 2006.

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Michael Dukakis was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1982, did not run for reelection as he had been elected to the United States Senate in 1984.

Results

Massachusetts Democratic Lt. gubernatorial primary, 1986
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Evelyn Murphy 374,714 60.10%
Democratic Gerard D'Amico 248,671 39.89%

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

  • George Kariotis, businessman and former Secretary of Economic Affairs
Withdrew
Eliminated at convention
Declined

Campaign

On March 13, Greg Hyatt became the first Republican to enter the gubernatorial race. A self-described "populist conservative", Hyatt supported limiting state taxes, bringing back the death penalty, and competency testing and merit pay for teachers. He opposed the state law that made wearing a seat belt mandatory, the use of roadblocks to crack down on drunken driving, and the use of public funds for abortions.[5]

Shortly before the Republican convention, Boston attorney and former Metropolitan District Commissioner Guy Carbone entered the race.

The convention nomination was won by Royall H. Switzler, a state representative who had been drafted by anti-Hyatt Republicans after former Congressman Paul W. Cronin decided not to enter the race. To receive the endorsement of the party, a candidate must receive the support of 50% of the delegates. Only candidates receiving 15% of the vote or more on any ballot would be eligible for a primary. After a strong showing on the first ballot, some of Hyatt's major supporters, including Ray Shamie and Papa Gino's founder Michael Valerio, announced that they would not oppose Switzler's endorsement.[3] On the second ballot, Switzler won the nomination with 975 votes. Since Carbone did not exceed 15% of the vote on either ballot, he was eliminated.

State Republican Convention results, 1986
Candidate First ballot Pct. Second ballot Pct.
Royall Switzler 775 40.28% 975 51.02%
Greg Hyatt 891 46.31% 876 45.84%
Guy Carbone 258 13.41% 60 3.14%

Despite losing the nomination, Hyatt chose to stay in the race and run against Switzler in the Republican primary.[6] However, Switzler dropped out of the race in June after inaccuracies about his military record were revealed. He had falsely claimed to be a member of the United States Army Special Forces and stated that he had fought in Vietnam when he had only visited Vietnam on leave from noncombat duty in Korea.[7]

Hyatt then dropped out of the race on July 14 amid accusations of forging names on his nomination papers, having ties to organized crime, and erratic personal behavior which included working nude in his office.[8][9]

Businessman and former Secretary of Economic Affairs George Kariotis entered the race after both candidates dropped out. Because the filing deadline for the election was on March 1, Hyatt and Switzler remained on the ballot while Kariotis was forced to run a write in campaign. Hyatt won the election, but he and Switzler, who finished second, declined the nomination and Kariotis was declared the nominee.

Results

Republican primary results by municipality

Due to the fact that both listed candidates had dropped out of the race, the Republican primary saw extremely low turnout.

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary, 1986
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Greg Hyatt (withdrew) 31,021 48.19%
Republican Royall Switzler (withdrew) 20,802 32.32%
Republican George Kariotis (write-in) 11,787 18.31%
Total votes 63,610 100.00%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

  • Nicholas M. Nikitas, hotel operator, real estate developer, and Republican Party activist[10]

General election

Results

Dukakis won a convincing victory over Kariotis. He increased his margins across the state, winning all 14 counties with a majority, even as total vote numbers were down sharply from the previous election.[11]

Soon after being sworn in for his third term as governor, Dukakis began to run for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988.

1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Michael Dukakis (incumbent) 1,157,786 68.79% Increase5.67
Republican George Kariotis 525,364 31.21% Decrease7.01
Total votes 1,683,150 100.00%
Independent Blank votes 93,138 —
Turnout 1,776,288 100.00%

Results by county

1986 United States presidential election in Massachusetts (by county) [11]
County Dukakis - D % Dukakis - D # Kariotis - R % Kariotis - R # Others % Others # Total #
Barnstable59.7%41,64435.3%24,6414.9%3,44969,734
Berkshire76.5%33,75320.2%8,9103.2%1,43244,095
Bristol72.4%97,81323.1%31,1884.6%6,181135,182
Dukes76.4%3,64220.9%9942.7%1294,765
Essex63.2%130,97531.1%64,4375.7%11,761207,173
Franklin72.4%15,74524.2%5,2593.4%73821,742
Hampden69.4%81,46726.3%30,8814.3%5,099117,447
Hampshire70.0%28,50024.7%10,0385.3%2,16940,707
Middlesex64.3%291,61829.9%135,6995.7%25,922453,239
Nantucket73.2%1,56723.7%5073.1%672,141
Norfolk61.9%128,74132.7%67,9235.5%11,340208,004
Plymouth58.6%71,10036.5%44,2915.0%6,021121,412
Suffolk69.0%108,99523.6%37,2237.4%11,677157,895
Worcester63.1%122,21632.7%63,3734.2%8,141193,730

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1986".
  2. ↑ Bruce Mohl (April 5, 1986). "Guy Carbone Announces GOP Run for Governor". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Andrew J. Dabilis (April 13, 1986). "Switzler Drive Put Together in 4 1/2 Hours". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Former Governor King decides not to challenge Dukakis again next fall". Providence Journal. Associated Press. January 24, 1986. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ Bruce Mohl (March 14, 1986). "GOP'S Hyatt Announces Candidacy for Governor". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ Bruce Mohl (April 14, 1986). "GOP'S Gears Set in Motion; Switzler Plots Strategy, Signals Hyatt Should Quit". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ Bruce Mohl (June 5, 1986). "ACCUSATIONS, TURMOIL SWIRL OVER SWITZLER". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ Bruce Mohl (October 18, 1986). "ADS DEPICT TAX CAP AS A HYATT PROPOSAL". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Hey, gang! It's all over!". Nashua Telegraph. July 17, 1986. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Sign's '?' on Governor Answered, Massachusetts G.O.P. Seeks End to Slide". New York Times. February 16, 1986. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  11. 1 2 https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/search/year_from:1972/year_to:2020/office_id:1/stage:General
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