The 1970 Connecticut gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970.
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Meskill: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Daddario: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democratic Governor John N. Dempsey decided not to run for re-election. Republican nominee Thomas Meskill defeated Democratic nominee Emilio Q. Daddario with 53.76% of the vote.
Between 1956 and 1990 in Connecticut, party conventions nominated candidates subject to a system of "challenge" primaries that allowed defeated candidates to petition for a popular vote if they received at least 20 percent of the convention vote.[1][2]
Daddario was unopposed for the nomination at the state convention.[3]
The Republican state convention was held on June 20, 1970 at Hartford.[4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Thomas Meskill | 798 | 77.55 | |
Republican | Wallace Barnes | 231 | 22.45 | |
Total votes | 1,029 | 100.00 |
The Republican primary election was held on August 12, 1970.[2][5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Thomas Meskill | 93,419 | 71.42 | |
Republican | Wallace Barnes | 37,383 | 28.58 | |
Total votes | 130,802 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Thomas Meskill | 582,160 | 53.76% | ||
Democratic | Emilio Q. Daddario | 500,561 | 46.23% | ||
Write-ins | 76 | 0.01% | |||
Majority | 81,599 | 7.54% | |||
Turnout | 1,082,797 | 100.00% | |||
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing |
In the general election, two United States Representatives will be competing to replace retiring Gov. John N. Dempsey. They are Thomas J. Meskill. who won the Republican nomination in the primary, and. Emilio Q. (Mim) Daddario, who was unopposed and unanimously endorsed at the Democratic state convention.
Mr. Meskill, a 42‐year‐old Representative received 798 of the 1,029 votes cast by the delegate's at Bushnell Memorial Auditorium. Mr. Barnes received 231 votes, more than the minimum 20 per cent required to qualify for a primary election.