Maine gubernatorial election, 1954

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Maine gubernatorial election, 1954
Flag of Maine.svg
  1952 September 13, 1954 1956  

  Edmund Muskie.jpg
Nominee Edmund Muskie Burton M. Cross
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote135,673113,298
Percentage54.49%45.51%

1954MaineGubernatorial.png
County results
  Counties won by Muskie
  Counties won by Cross

Governor before election

Burton M. Cross
Republican

Elected Governor

Edmund Muskie
Democratic

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 (all Republicans) 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. His election is widely viewed as the first step in making Maine a two-party state.

Republican Party (United States) Major political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Burton Melvin Cross was a Maine Republican businessman and politician. Cross was Maine's 61st and 63rd Governor

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

Results

1954 Gubernatorial Election, Maine [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Edmund Muskie 135,67354.49%-
Republican Burton M. Cross (Incumbent)113,29845.51%-
Majority22,3758.99%

Notes

  1. Guide to US Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II. CQ Press. 2005. pp. 1497–1499. ISBN   978-1-56802-981-8.

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