On January 31, 1974, The Boston Globe reported that Wahlrab was expected to resign and a "unity" candidate would replace him in order to unite both sides of the party.
[10][11] Barnstead withdrew his support for Sargent after the governor issued an ad aimed at anti-Sargent and conservative Republicans that attacked the "partisan wing" of the party.
Sargent requested that Barnstead call a special meeting of the Republican State Committee so he and Sheehan could debate before them and have one of them receive the party's endorsement.
After the election, 21 members of the Republican state committee signed a petition requesting a special meeting to vote on the removal of Barnstead and his fellow officers.
Senator Edward Brooke, the only remaining Republican officeholder on a statewide level, began working on an effort to revitalize and restructure the party, which included having a paid, full-time chairman.
[20] He ran a fourth time in 1982, but lost in the Republican primary to Frank L. McNamara, Jr.[21] Barnstead was the Massachusetts chairman of Pat Buchanan's 1992 Presidential campaign.