The 1958 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 8, 1958. Incumbent DemocraticGovernorEdmund Muskie, was term limited and seeking election to the United States Senate, thus did not run. DemocratClinton Clauson, then mayor of Waterville, unexpectedly defeated Muskie's chosen Democratic candidate in the primary, and faced off against the popular previous two term Republican Governor, Horace Hildreth in the general election. Hildreth was the heavy favorite to win, however Clauson was able to narrowly defeat him, retaining the Blaine House for the Democrats.
The election was also the last time that Maine would hold its election in September. Traditionally, Maine had held its elections two months before the rest of the nation, which had help give birth to the phrase "As Maine goes, so goes the nation" and its status as a bellwether state. However, following a 1957 referendum, the state constitution was amended to hold all elections after 1958 in November and shift from two-year to four-year terms.
Edmund Sixtus Muskie was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th United States secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981, a United States senator from Maine from 1959 to 1980, the 64th governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, and a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1946 to 1951. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1968 presidential election.
Frederick George Payne was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Maine from 1953 to 1959. He previously served as the 60th Governor of Maine from 1949 to 1952.
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 1958 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which occurred in the middle of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term. Thirty-two seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, the new state of Alaska held its first Senate elections for its Class 2 and 3 seats, and two special elections were held to fill vacancies.
John Hathaway Reed was the 67th Governor of Maine, holding office during the 1960s. He was once an Aroostook County potato farmer. Reed was a Republican who took office following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson.
The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine.
Clinton Amos Clauson was a Democratic Party politician and the 66th Governor of Maine. Clauson died while in office, having served as governor for just under a year.
Robert Nance Haskell was a Maine state senator and the 65th Governor of Maine for five days in 1959.
The U.S. state of Maine, like many other states, is active in both state politics and national politics.
The 1974 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Democratic Governor Kenneth M. Curtis was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Independent candidate James B. Longley defeated Democratic Party challenger George J. Mitchell and Republican James Erwin in a tight three-way contest. Longley's victory made him the first independent (non-party-affiliated) governor in Maine's history.
The 1970 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Maine Kenneth M. Curtis chose to seek re-election. Curtis won a landslide victory in the Democratic primary. His general election opponent was Maine Attorney General James Erwin, the Republican nominee. Erwin had also easily won his respective party primary and received the Republican nomination for governor. Curtis narrowly defeated challenger in one of the tightest elections in Maine history – the final margin of victory was a mere 890 votes. Curtis received 163,138 votes (50.14%), while Erwin had 162,248 votes (49.86%).
The 1966 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Republican Governor John Reed, had been elected to finish the term of Clinton Clauson in 1960, was then re-elected in 1962 and became the state's first four-year Governor. Reed was seeking a second full four-year term, and was challenged by Democrat Kenneth M. Curtis, having defeated James Erwin for the Republican nomination. Curtis defeated Reed, beginning a twenty-year period of Republican isolation from the Blaine House.
The 1960 Maine gubernatorial special election was a special election held to officially elect a Governor of Maine following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson. It took place on November 8, 1960, with Republican Governor John Reed defeating Democrat Frank M. Coffin.
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 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. This is currently the most recent Maine gubernatorial election that the incumbent governor lost re-election.
"As Maine goes, so goes the nation" was once a maxim in United States politics. The phrase described Maine's reputation as a bellwether state for presidential elections. Maine's September election of a governor predicted the party outcome of the November presidential election in 23 out of the 29 presidential election years from 1820 to 1932: namely 1820–1844, 1852, 1860–1880, 1888, 1896–1908 and 1920–1932; more importantly, as Maine was a generally Republican-leaning state, the margin of the September elections compared to expectations could predict national November results more than the identity of the winning party in Maine. A contest still won by the Republicans but with a narrower margin than usual would still predict good Democratic results nationally.
The 1948 United States Senate election in Maine was held on September 13, 1948. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Wallace White did not seek a fourth term in office.
The 1968 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election which was held throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1958 United States Senate election in Maine was held on September 8, 1958 to elect a United States senator. Incumbent Republican Senator Frederick G. Payne lost re-election to a second term.
Elmer Hector Violette was an American jurist and Democratic Party politician from Maine. He was a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1981 to 1986 as well as a member of the Maine Superior Court, Maine Senate, and Maine House of Representatives.
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