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.
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Turnout | 70.05% 5.8 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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Weld: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Roosevelt: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Governor Bill Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci were unopposed for renomination.
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.
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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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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% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bob Massie | 193,508 | 52.66% | |
Democratic | Marc Draisen | 173,896 | 47.34% | |
Total votes | 367,404 | 100.00% |
No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
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Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
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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 |
Source | Date | Weld (R) | Roosevelt (D) |
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Boston Herald | Oct. 2, 1994 | 60% | 29% |
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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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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 |
1994 United States gubernatorial election in Massachusetts (by county) [3] | |||||||
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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 |