The 1964 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Governor Endicott Peabody ran for re-election, but was defeated by then-Lieutenant Governor Francis X. Bellotti in the Democratic Party primary. Bellotti went on to lose the general election to former Governor John Volpe. The race between Volpe and Bellotti was the first time in Massachusetts history that the two major parties backed sons of Italian immigrants for governor. This was the final election held before the governor's term of office was extended from two to four years. Democratic primary Candidates Francis Bellotti, Lieutenant Governor Pasquale Caggiano, perennial candidate John Droney, Middlesex County District Attorney Endicott Peabody, incumbent Governor Declined Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General (brother of President John F. Kennedy) Results Republican primary Candidates John Volpe, former Governor Results Volpe ran unopposed in the Republican primary. General election Results Volpe defeated Bellotti by less than 25,000 votes. Volpe's victory came in a year in which Democrats gained seats in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and Lyndon Johnson won the Presidential election in a landslide. See also 1963–1964 Massachusetts legislature References 1964 Massachusetts Gubernatorial November 1964 events in the United States