Jimmy Carter swept to an overwhelming if unsurprising victory over President Ford in Massachusetts last night, winning by substantial margins in all parts of the state.

"It was like stealing candy from a baby, especially in Cambridge," David Holway, a member of the Democratic National Committee, said last night at a crowded Carter reception at the Parker House Hotel in Boston.

Carter scored heavily in such diverse places as the North End, South Boston, and Roxbury. Two Roxbury precincts reported no votes for Ford.

Concerned Electorate

"Who said there's apathy in this state?" Al Cardarelli, Carter's Massachusetts election day coordinator, said as the predominantly college-age crowd heartily cheered the heavily Democratic returns.

But applause for Massachusetts totals paled by comparison to the crowd's reaction to close Carter victories in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and New York.

The supporters restrained their enthusiasm, however, pending later returns from Ohio and Illinois.

"I haven't been this nervous since I took the bar exam," Mary Margaret Oliver, assistant professor of Law at Boston College, exclaimed last night as the tight race wore on.

Others at the hotel also remained tense throughout the evening but socializing and cash-bar drinking among the young crowd continued unabated into the early morning hours.

Dozens of college radio and newspaper reporters scurried about, soliciting predictable comments from local campaign workers and exchanging speculation on the outcome in close states.

The Duke

Governor Michael S. Dukakis made an appearance, telling the crowd that the "vibrations across the country sound very, very good. After 22 months wrestling with Republicans in Washington, D.C., the thought of having Tip O'Neill as Speaker of the House and Jimmy Carter and Fritz Mondale in the White House is just too much to believe."

Cambridge returns predictably showed a large margin for the former Georgia governor. "Let's face it, Cambridge is probably the most enlightened electorate in the most enlightened state of the Union," one Carter staffer said.

After exciting the crowd by ripping apart a 1972 Nixon bumper sticker, Patty Knox, Carter's Massachusetts campaign manager, told onlookers that the election results prove Massachusetts Democrats can turn out the vote even when former president John F. Kennedy '40's old nemesis is not heading the Republican ticket.

With 45 per cent of the vote counted at 1 a.m., Associated Press figures showed Carter with 58 per cent, Ford with 40 per cent, and McCarthy with 3 per cent.