Maryland gubernatorial election, 1966

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Maryland gubernatorial election, 1966
Flag of Maryland.svg
 1962November 8, 1966 1969  

  Spiro Agnew.jpg
Nominee Spiro Agnew George P. Mahoney Hyman A. Pressman
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Popular vote455,318373,54390,899
Percentage49.50%40.61%9.88%

Maryland gubernatorial election 1966.svg
County results

Governor before election

J. Millard Tawes
Democratic

Elected Governor

Spiro Agnew
Republican

The Maryland gubernatorial election of 1966 was held on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democratic Governor J. Millard Tawes was unable to seek a third term in office. In the election to succeed him, George P. Mahoney, a controversial segregationist, emerged from the Democratic primary due to splintered support for the two major candidates. Baltimore County Executive Spiro Agnew, who was selected by Richard M. Nixon as his running mate in 1968, was nominated by the Republican Party as their gubernatorial candidate. Mahoney and Agnew squared off, along with independent candidate Hyman A. Pressman. Ultimately, Agnew was victorious over Mahoney, with Pressman a distant third. This year would be the last time that the state of Maryland elected a Republican governor until 2002.

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.

J. Millard Tawes American politician

John Millard Tawes, a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 54th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1959 to 1967. He remains the only Marylander to be elected to the three positions of State Treasurer, Comptroller, and governor.

George Perry Mahoney was an Irish American Catholic building contractor and Democratic Party politician from the State of Maryland. A segregationist Dixiecrat and perennial candidate, Mahoney is perhaps most famous as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Maryland in 1966 in which he used the campaign slogan, "Your home is your castle; protect it."

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Baltimore Largest city in Maryland

Baltimore is the largest city in the state of Maryland within the United States. Baltimore was established by the Constitution of Maryland as an independent city in 1729. With a population of 611,648 in 2017, Baltimore is the largest such independent city in the United States. As of 2017, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be just under 2.808 million, making it the 20th largest metropolitan area in the country. Baltimore is located about 40 miles (60 km) northeast of Washington, D.C., making it a principal city in the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the fourth-largest CSA in the nation, with a calculated 2017 population of 9,764,315.

Carlton R. Sickles American politician

Carlton Ralph Sickles was an American lawyer and a Congressman from Maryland's at-large congressional seat.

Attorney General of Maryland attorney general for the U.S. state of Maryland

The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qualified voter in Maryland and must have resided and practiced law in the state for at least ten years.

Results

Democratic Primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic George P. Mahoney148,44630.21
Democratic Carlton R. Sickles146,60729.84
Democratic Thomas B. Finan134,21627.31
Democratic Clarence W. Miles42,3048.61
Democratic Charles J. Ludhardt, Sr.7,3361.49
Democratic Morgan L. Amaimo6,0481.23
Democratic Ross Zimmerman Pierpont4,3110.88
Democratic Andrew J. Easter2,0980.43
Total votes491,366100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Baltimore County, Maryland County in the United States

Baltimore County is third-most populous county located in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Along with Washington, D.C. and its suburbs, Baltimore County forms the southern anchor of the Northeast megalopolis, which stretches northward to Boston. Baltimore County hosts a diversified economy, with particular emphasis on education, government, and health care.

Spiro Agnew 39th Vice President of the United States

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th vice president of the United States from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second and most recent vice president to resign the position, the other being John C. Calhoun in 1832. Unlike Calhoun, Agnew resigned as a result of scandal.

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.

Results

Republican primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Spiro Agnew98,53183.16
Republican Andrew John Groszer, Jr.9,9878.43
Republican John J. Harbaugh4,3223.65
Republican Henry J. Laque, Jr.3,3652.84
Republican Louis R. Milio2,2771.92
Total votes118,482100.00

General election

Campaign

Baltimore paving contractor and perennial candidate George P. Mahoney won the Democratic primary on a segregationist platform, which was possible due to the presence of several strong candidates. Mahoney's slogan, "Your home is your castle--protect it", [3] as well as his stance on many civil rights issues, [4] prompted Baltimore City Comptroller Hyman A. Pressman to enter the race as an independent candidate. Mahoney's controversial stances caused many in the Maryland Democratic Party to split their support between Agnew, which was possible due to his socially progressive views, and Pressman, which enabled Agnew to win the election with a plurality, taking 70% of the black vote. [5]

Hyman A. Pressman served as the Comptroller of Baltimore City, Maryland, from 1963–1991. He ran for Governor of Maryland in 1966 as an Independent after the Democratic Party nominated segregationist George P. Mahoney as its candidate.

Maryland Democratic Party

The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current state party chair is Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.

Results

Maryland gubernatorial election, 1966 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Spiro Agnew 455,318 49.50% +5.15%
Democratic George P. Mahoney 373,54340.61%-15.03%
Independent Hyman A. Pressman 90,8999.88%
Write-ins10.00%
Majority81,7758.89%-2.39%
Turnout 919,761
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

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