1978Final results
1978 election for Massachusetts Senate District D21
Massachusetts State Senate · Massachusetts
Robert C. Buell (R) won with 56.7% of the vote, defeating Robert J. Cain (D) by 13.5 points.
Robert C. BuellRepublican · winner
56.7%30,720
Robert J. CainDemocrat
43.3%23,429
54,163 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET