1954 Maine gubernatorial election

1954 Maine gubernatorial election

←  1952 September 13, 1954 1956  →

Nominee Edmund Muskie Burton M. Cross Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 135,673 113,298 Percentage 54.49% 45.51%

County results Muskie:      50–60%     60–70% Cross:      50-60%     60-70%

Governor before election Burton M. Cross Republican Elected Governor Edmund Muskie Democratic

The 1954 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 13, 1954. Incumbent Republican Governor Burton M. Cross was seeking a second term which would have made him the fifth consecutive Governor (all Republicans) to be elected twice. Democratic state representative Edmund Muskie, widely viewed as the underdog due to Maine's solidly Republican history, was able to pull an upset victory and become the first Democrat to be elected to the Blaine House since Louis J. Brann in 1934, and only the fourth Democrat in the 20th century.

Results

1954 Gubernatorial Election, Maine ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edmund Muskie	135,673	54.49%	−
	Republican	Burton M. Cross (Incumbent)	113,298	45.51%	−
Majority			22,375	8.99%

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Aroostook (largest city: Presque Isle)
• Kennebec (largest city: Augusta)
• Oxford (largest town: Rumford)
• Penobscot (largest city: Bangor)
• Piscataquis (largest municipality: Dover-Foxcroft)
• Sagadahoc (largest town: Bath)
• Somerset (largest town: Skowhegan)
• Washington (largest city: Calais)
• Waldo (largest city: Belfast)
• York (largest town: Biddeford)

Notes

1. Guide to US Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II . CQ Press. 2005. pp.  1497–1499. ISBN   978-1-56802-981-8 . Retrieved May 12, 2009.