1982 Maine gubernatorial election

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1982 Maine gubernatorial election
Flag of Maine.svg
  1978 November 2, 1982 1986  
  Joseph Brennan desk portrait (cropped).jpg Defense.gov News Photo 970912-A-3569D-001.jpg
Nominee Joseph Brennan Charles Cragin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote281,066172,949
Percentage61.9%38.1%

1982 Maine Gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Brennan:      50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election

Joseph Brennan
Democratic

Elected Governor

Joseph Brennan
Democratic

The 1982 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic Governor Joseph Brennan defeated Republican challenger Charles R. Cragin. Brennan defeated Cragin, winning his re-election by the highest percent margin in more than thirty years.

Contents

Brennan would be challenged in the Democratic primary by Lewiston state representative Georgette Berube, but would easily dispatch her. Cragin narrowly defeated Falmouth state representative Sherry Huber and Waterville state senator Richard Pierce in the GOP primary. Berube and Huber would be the first women to ever run for Governor of Maine.

The 281,066 votes received by Brennan represented the single highest vote total for governor in Maine history, until the election of Governor Janet Mills in 2018. Brennan's coattails allowed Democrats to win the first trifecta in the state since 1913. This was the first time a gubernatorial candidate won a majority of the vote since 1970, this would not occur again until 1998. This was the only Maine gubernatorial election between 1974 and 2022 that no third-party candidate received more than 5% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 56,990 76.80
Democratic Georgette Berube17,21923.20
Total votes74,209 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Charles Cragin 32,235 38.02
Republican Sherry Huber27,73932.71
Republican Richard Pierce24,82029.27
Total votes84,794 100.00

General election results

1982 Maine gubernatorial election results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Joseph Brennan (Incumbent) 281,066 61.91%
Republican Charles Cragin 172,94938.09%
Majority108,11723.81%
Democratic hold Swing

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Maine Primary Election Results - June 8, 1982" (PDF). Maine.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2024.
  2. Guide to US Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II. CQ Press. 2005. pp.  1497–1499. ISBN   978-1-56802-981-8 . Retrieved May 6, 2009.


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