A Massachusetts general election was held on November 8, 1960 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The election included:

• statewide elections for United States Senator
  United States Senate
  The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
  
  , Governor
  Governor of Massachusetts
  The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
  
  , Lieutenant Governor
  Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
  The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...
  
  , Attorney General
  Massachusetts Attorney General
  The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The office of Attorney-General was abolished in 1843 and re-established in 1849. The current Attorney General is Martha Coakley....
  
  , Secretary of the Commonwealth
  Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
  The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S...
  
  , Treasurer, and Auditor
  Massachusetts Auditor
  The Massachusetts State Auditor is a statewide elected office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The current auditor is Suzanne Bump.-List of state auditors of Massachusetts:-External links:*...
  
  ;
• district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives
  Massachusetts House of Representatives
  The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
  
  , State Senators, and Governor's Councillors
  Massachusetts Governor's Council
  The Massachusetts Governor's Council is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matters such as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutations to the Governor of Massachusetts...
  
  ; and
• ballot questions at the state and local levels.

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held on September 13, 1960.

United States Senator

Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Leverett Saltonstall

Leverett Saltonstall

Leverett A. Saltonstall was an American Republican politician who served as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts and as a United States Senator .-Biography:...

 was re-elected over Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Thomas J. O'Connor, Socialist Labor

Socialist Labor Party of America

The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...

 candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and Prohibition

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

 candidate Mark R. Shaw

Mark R. Shaw

Mark R. Shaw was a Prohibition Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts in 1946, 1952, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1966 and 1970. He was also the party's candidate for governor of that state in 1948 and in 1956...

.

Governor

Republican John A. Volpe

John A. Volpe

John Anthony Volpe was the 61st and 63rd Governor of Massachusetts and a U.S. Secretary of Transportation.-Early life and education:Volpe was born in 1908 in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He was the son of Italian immigrants Vito and Filomena , who had come from Abruzzo to Boston's North End in 1905;...

 was elected over Democrat Joseph D. Ward

Joseph D. Ward

Joseph D. Ward was an American politician who served as Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth from January 1959 to January 1961....

, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen

Henning A. Blomen

Henning A. Blomen was a candidate for United States President of the Socialist Labor Party of America in 1968 and for Vice President of the United States in 1964. Blomen was also an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts 14 times...

, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.

Lieutenant Governor

Democrat Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr.

Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr.

Edward Francis McLaughlin, Jr. was an American attorney and politician who served as a Boston city councilor, president of the Boston City Council, and Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1961 to 1963.-Bibliography:*Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1961-1962 Public officers...

 was elected Lieutenant Governor over Republican Augustus G. Means, Socialist Labor candidate Francis A. Votano, and Prohibition candidate Thomas Maratea. This is the last time that a Lieutenant Governor would not be from the same party as the Governor.

Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General

Massachusetts Attorney General

The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The office of Attorney-General was abolished in 1843 and re-established in 1849. The current Attorney General is Martha Coakley....

 Edward J. McCormack, Jr.

Edward J. McCormack, Jr.

Edward "Eddy" Joseph McCormack, Jr. was a former Attorney General of Massachusetts.-Personal life and education:...

 defeated Republican George Michaels, Socialist Workers candidate August Johnson, and Prohibition candidate William D. Ross.

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S...

 Joseph D. Ward

Joseph D. Ward

Joseph D. Ward was an American politician who served as Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth from January 1959 to January 1961....

 did not run for re-election as he instead ran for Governor.

Kevin White defeated Francis Ahearn and Margaret McGovern in the Democratic primary.

The Republicans nomianted Edward Brooke

Edward Brooke

Edward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...

, who became the first African-American to be nomianted for Massachusetts statewide office by a major party.

White defeated Brooke, Socialist Labor candidate Fred M. Ingersoll, and Prohibition candidate Julia Kohler in the general election.

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts

The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts is an executive officer, elected state-wide every four years....

 John Francis Kennedy

John Francis Kennedy

John Francis Kennedy was the Treasurer of Massachusetts from 1955 to 1961.Kennedy worked as a supervisor in the miscellaneous small parts stockroom for Gillette in Canton, Massachusetts, before seeking public office. Kennedy first sought the office of Treasurer in 1952, losing the Democratic...

 did not run for re-election as he instead ran for Governor.

In the Democratic primary, John T. Driscoll

John T. Driscoll

John Thomas Driscoll is a former American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1955–1960, Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts from 1961–1964, chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority from 1964–1987, and Vice President for...

 defeated Patrick F. McDonough

Patrick F. McDonough

Patrick F. McDonough was an American police officer, attorney, and politician who served as a member of the Boston City Council from 1956 to 1964, 1966 to 1970, and 1972 to 1982. He was the Council President in 1958, 1961, 1973, and 1981...

, John B. Kennedy

John B. Kennedy (politician)

John Boyle Kennedy was an American City manager and politician who City Manager of Medford, Massachusetts and Town Manager of Norwood, Massachusetts and Saugus, Massachusetts...

, George F. Hurley, John M. Kennedy, and Robert J. Sullivan.

Walter Trybulski defeated Francis Andrew Walsh for the Republican nomination.

Driscoll defeated Trybulski, Socialist Labor candidate Domenico DiGirolamo, and Prohibition candidate Warren Carberg in the general election.

Auditor

Incumbent Auditor Thomas J. Buckley

Thomas J. Buckley

Thomas J. Buckley was an American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor.Buckley died of a heart attack on the day before the 1964 primary election.-Bibliography:...

 defeated John Hynes

John Hynes

John B. Hynes , a Massachusetts politician, was mayor of Boston 1950-1960.Family backgroundHynes was the son of Bernard Hynes, Abbey Street, Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, who emigrated to Boston about 1890...

 in the Democratic primary and Republican Gardner Wardwell, Socialist Labor candidate Arne Sortell, and Prohibition candidate John B. Lauder in the general election.