1958 United States Senate election in Maine

1958 United States Senate election in Maine

←  1952 September 8, 1958 1964  →

Nominee Edmund Muskie Frederick G. Payne Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 172,704 111,522 Percentage 60.76% 39.24%

County results Muskie:     50–60%     60–70% Payne:     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Frederick G. Payne Republican Elected U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie Democratic

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.

Senator Frederick Payne was defeated in his bid for a second term by a wide margin. This was one of a record 15 seats Democrats gained from the Republican Party. This was the first time Democrats won a Senate race in Maine since the 1910 election for this seat, thus this was the first time a Democrat was popularly elected to the Senate from Maine.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Frederick G. Payne, incumbent Senator
• Herman D. Sahagian, former member of the Maine Republican Committee ^[1]

Results

1958 Republican U.S. Senate primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frederick G. Payne (incumbent)	82,448	83.64%
	Republican	Herman D. Sahagian	16,133	16.37%
Total votes			98,581	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Edmund Muskie, Governor of Maine

Results

Governor Muskie was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

1958 Democratic U.S. Senate primary ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edmund Muskie	39,202	100.00%
Total votes			39,202	100.00%

General election

Results

General election results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edmund Muskie	172,704	60.76%	25.90
	Republican	Frederick G. Payne (incumbent)	111,522	39.24%	19.46
Total votes			284,226	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• 1958 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Sahagian Takes Out Primary Papers". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 4, 1957. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
2. "ME US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
3. "ME US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
4. "ME US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.