Mass. Gov races in 1978 and 1990

[muon2]

I lived in MA from 1979 to 1987 and the political changes of that decade were quite interesting. As the 80's began politics typically pit white ethnic blue-collar Dems against patrician Rockefeller Pubs. There was a strong libertarian and anti tax streak as well that produced successful referendums to limit property taxes in 1980 and overturn the mandatory use of seat belts in 1986. The difference between MA and NH was the Dem stronghold of Boston.

When Reagan was elected he made a direct appeal to the white ethnic Reagan Dems and carried them along with the state in 1984. But the Dems who controlled the statehouse in 1981 were working to gerrymander the Pubs out of their seats (eg Margaret Heckler). The high-tech Route 128 corridor was coming into its own, but many of the tech workers were moving to the low tax haven of NH. That hurt the Pub base for state house and congressional elections.

The last piece was the flip of small town libertarian Pubs to Dem as happened throughout New England at the time. That really didn't take hold until the 1990's, and I didn't witness it firsthand. From my frequent visits back there since 1987, it seems that the social justice issues of the Rockefeller Pubs were more important than the low tax platform. When the GOP went fully for social conservatism, small town New England found a more comfortable home with the Dems. However, the suburbs didn't trust the Boston stranglehold of the legislature and supported Pub governors as a check against their power.