In 1918 Long ran for Governor of Massachusetts. He defeated William A. Gaston and Barry in a close 3-way Democratic primary, but lost the general election to Republican Calvin Coolidge 51% to 47%. He ran again in 1919 and easily won the Democratic primary over Eugene Foss, George F. Monahan, and Frederick Simpson Deitrick with 68% of the vote. He once again lost the general election to Coolidge, this time 61% to 37%. Long's huge defeat was largely attributed to his support for the Boston Police Department officers who took part in the Boston Police Strike.
