1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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 was the last time a Democrat was elected governor of Massachusetts until 2006.

1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1982 November 3, 1986 1990 →
Turnout	57.41% 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 Municipality results Dukakis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kariotis:      50–60%      70–80%
Governor before election Michael Dukakis Democratic Elected Governor Michael Dukakis Democratic

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

• Michael Dukakis, incumbent governor

Michael Dukakis was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

• Gerard D'Amico, state senator from Worcester
• Evelyn Murphy, former Secretary of Environmental Affairs and candidate for lt. governor in 1982

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

• Greg Hyatt, lawyer and candidate for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district in 1984
• Royall H. Switzler, State Representative from Wellesley

Eliminated at convention

• Guy Carbone, former Metropolitan District Commissioner^[2]

Declined

• Paul W. Cronin, former U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district^[3]
• Edward J. King, former Democratic governor^[4]

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

Because 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%	5.67
	Republican	George Kariotis	525,364	31.21%	7.01
Total votes			1,683,150	100.00%
	None	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 #
Barnstable	59.7%	41,644	35.3%	24,641	4.9%	3,449	69,734
Berkshire	76.5%	33,753	20.2%	8,910	3.2%	1,432	44,095
Bristol	72.4%	97,813	23.1%	31,188	4.6%	6,181	135,182
Dukes	76.4%	3,642	20.9%	994	2.7%	129	4,765
Essex	63.2%	130,975	31.1%	64,437	5.7%	11,761	207,173
Franklin	72.4%	15,745	24.2%	5,259	3.4%	738	21,742
Hampden	69.4%	81,467	26.3%	30,881	4.3%	5,099	117,447
Hampshire	70.0%	28,500	24.7%	10,038	5.3%	2,169	40,707
Middlesex	64.3%	291,618	29.9%	135,699	5.7%	25,922	453,239
Nantucket	73.2%	1,567	23.7%	507	3.1%	67	2,141
Norfolk	61.9%	128,741	32.7%	67,923	5.5%	11,340	208,004
Plymouth	58.6%	71,100	36.5%	44,291	5.0%	6,021	121,412
Suffolk	69.0%	108,995	23.6%	37,223	7.4%	11,677	157,895
Worcester	63.1%	122,216	32.7%	63,373	4.2%	8,141	193,730

See also

• 1985–1986 Massachusetts legislature