1954 Michigan gubernatorial election

1954 Michigan gubernatorial election

←  1952 November 2, 1954 1956  →

Nominee G. Mennen Williams Donald S. Leonard Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,216,308 963,300 Percentage 55.61% 44.05%

County results Williams:      50–60%     60–70% Leonard:      50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election G. Mennen Williams Democratic Elected Governor G. Mennen Williams Democratic

The 1954 Michigan gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1954, to elect the governor of Michigan.

Primaries

The primary elections occurred on August 3, 1954. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary, 1954 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	G. Mennen Williams (incumbent)	426,660	99.99
	Democratic	Write-ins	20	0.01
Total votes			426,680	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• D. Hale Brake, Michigan state treasurer (1943–1954); state senator from Michigan's 25th Senate district (1935–1942)
• Owen J. Cleary, Michigan secretary of state (1953–1954) and former chair of the state Republican party (1949–1953)
• Eugene C. Keyes, former lieutenant governor (1943–1945 and 1947–1949)
• Donald S. Leonard, former chief of the Detroit Police Department (1952–1954), Michigan Civil Defense director (during World War II), and Michigan State Police commissioner (1947–1951). ^[2]

Results

Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary, 1954 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald S. Leonard	188,054	40.25
	Republican	D. Hale Brake	112,797	24.14
	Republican	Owen J. Cleary	95,825	20.51
	Republican	Eugene C. Keyes	70,569	15.10
	Republican	Write-ins	19	0.00
Total votes			467,264	100.00

General election

Michigan gubernatorial election, 1954 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	G. Mennen Williams (incumbent)	1,216,308	55.61
	Republican	Donald S. Leonard	963,300	44.05
	Prohibition	E. Harold Munn, Sr.	5,824	0.27
	Other	Write-ins	1,595	0.07
Total votes			2,187,027	100
	Democratic hold

References

1. Michigan (1957). Michigan manual. 1955-56 – via HathiTrust.
2. "Donald S. Leonard Papers, 1925-1966 - University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library - University of Michigan Finding Aids". findingaids.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
3. "Our Campaigns - MI Governor Race - Nov 02, 1954" . Retrieved June 26, 2016.

External links

• Republican primary results