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 County results Reed: 50–60% 60–70% 70-80% Coffin: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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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 incumbent Republican governor John Reed (who, as Maine Senate president, automatically took office as acting governor upon Clauson's death) defeating Democrat Frank M. Coffin, United States Representative from the second district. To date, this is the only gubernatorial special election ever held in Maine, as each succeeding governor has served their entire term.
Both Reed and Coffin were unopposed in their respective party primaries.
The election was also the first time since Maine was admitted to the Union that the state did not 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.
