Arizona gubernatorial election, 1954

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Arizona gubernatorial election, 1954
Flag of Arizona.svg
  1952 November 2, 1954 1956  

  Mcfarland ernest.jpg John Howard Pyle (Arizona governor).jpg
Nominee Ernest McFarland John Howard Pyle
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote128,104115,866
Percentage52.5%47.5%

Governor before election

John Howard Pyle
Republican

Elected Governor

Ernest McFarland
Democratic

The 1954 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1954. Incumbent Governor John Howard Pyle, the first Republican elected to the office in two decades, ran for reelection for a third term.

John Howard Pyle American politician

John Howard Pyle was the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, serving from 1951 to 1955. He was a Republican. A 1930 graduate of Arizona State University, he also was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

Contents

Former U.S. Senator Ernest McFarland defeated Governor John Howard Pyle by a narrow margin. McFarland had lost his bid for reelection to the United States Senate to Barry Goldwater in 1952, with McFarland subsequently deciding to run for the office of governor.

Ernest McFarland Democratic governor of and U.S. Senator from Arizona; Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court

Ernest William "Mac" McFarland was an American politician, jurist and, with Warren Atherton, one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill." He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Arizona government, two at the state level, one at the federal level. He was a Democratic Senator from Arizona from 1941 to 1953 before he was the tenth governor of Arizona from 1955 to 1959. Finally, McFarland sat as Chief Justice on the Arizona Supreme Court in 1968.

United States Senate Upper house of the United States Congress

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

Barry Goldwater Republican nominee for President, 1964; U.S. Senator from Arizona

Barry Morris Goldwater was an American politician, businessman and author who was a five-term Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in 1964. Despite his loss of the 1964 presidential election in a landslide, Goldwater is the politician most often credited with sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s.

Republican primary

Candidates

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary took place on September 7, 1954. Due to the Republican Party tidal wave led by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, incumbent U.S. Senator Ernest McFarland lost his bid for reelection to the United States Senate to Barry Goldwater. He subsequently decided to run for the office of Governor of Arizona and challenge incumbent Republican Governor John Howard Pyle, the first Republican to hold the office for more than two decades. McFarland was challenged in the primary by State Senator William F. Kimball, but McFarland easily won.

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th president of the United States

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was a five-star general in the United States Army and served as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front.

William F. "Bill" Kimball served for a time as majority leader in the Arizona State Senate and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Arizona in 1956. He was the father of Arizona politician Richard Kimball.

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ernest W. McFarland89,19074.24%
Democratic William F. Kimball30,95425.76%
Total votes120,144100.00

General election

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1954 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Ernest W. McFarland 128,104 52.51%
Republican John Howard Pyle115,86647.49%
Majority12,2385.02%
Turnout 243,970
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

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References

  1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=747737
  2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=110199