The Duke Is Defeated

"There is more than apathy out there--there is real anger," said Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis on the eve of last week's Democratic primary. Next day his assessment was confirmed: he lost his bid for renomination.

Dukakis, 44, had performed well during his first term, mastering the state's severe fiscal crisis with a series of tightfisted measures. But in the process, he alienated important blocs of voters. He broke a 1974 campaign pledge by increasing sales and income taxes after discovering a $450 million budget deficit. He angered organized labor by refusing to give pay raises to many state employees. He upset liberals by trimming social services.

Still, because of the usual liberalism of Massachusetts Democrats and the conservatism of Dukakis' opponent, Edward J. King, 53, a former center with the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Colts, most politicians figured that the Duke would win.

But Dukakis and his aides had overlooked the strong desire of many Massachusetts liberals to keep Republican Edward W. Brooke in the U.S. Senate. He had run into deep trouble with the conservatives who control his own party because he supported the Panama Canal treaties and federally financed abortions for poor women. Brooke's messy court fight with ex-Wife Remigia also damaged hun politically and buoyed the chances of his opponent, Conservative Avi Nelson, a radio talk show host.

Fearing that Brooke's chances for a third term were slipping away, thousands of Democratic blacks and white liberals took the unusual step of changing their party registration to vote in the Republican primary. So too did large numbers of blue-collar workers, who were attracted by Nelson's antibusing, antitax positions. In the end, as many as 30,000 non-Republicans voted hi the G.O.P. primary.

As a result, there was an unexpectedly high turnout of 270,000 voters. When the ballots were counted, Brooke had defeated Nelson comfortably, 53% to 47%. In November, Brooke faces a tough battle against the Democratic nominee, Congressman Paul Tsongas, 37, who nosed out four opponents.

Brooke's win had devastating consequences for Dukakis. With many of his supporters off voting in the G.O.P. race, he had to share the remaining liberals with former Cambridge Mayor Barbara Ackermann. The final tally: Ackermann, 7%; Dukakis, 42%; King, 51%.

Overall disenchantment with Dukakis' record, not any particular issue, gave the victory to King, a former director of the Massachusetts Port Authority who had never before sought elective office. He ran a strident campaign in which he stressed that he stood for everything Dukakis opposed, including the death penalty, mandatory jail sentences for drug pushers and a big cut in state taxes. Boasted King Campaign Aide Angelo Berlandi: "We put all the hate groups in one pot and let it boil."

King's opponent in the election is Francis W. Hatch, 53, a middle-of-the-road Republican whose nomination spared Bay State voters one unusual difficulty. He defeated Edward F. King, founder of an organization that wants to put a cap on state spending. If Hatch had lost, the November ballot would have featured Edward King vs. Edward King.

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