1954 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

1954 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

November 2, 1954 (1954-11-02)

Nominee George M. Leader Lloyd Wood Party Democratic Republican Running mate Roy Furman Frank Truscott Popular vote 1,996,266 1,717,070 Percentage 53.7% 46.2%

County results Leader:      50–60%      60–70% Wood:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election John Fine Republican Elected Governor George Leader Democratic

The 1954 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 2. In what is considered a crucial realigning election for the state, Democratic State Senator George M. Leader defeated Republican incumbent Lieutenant Governor Lloyd Wood, becoming the first Democrat to be elected governor since 1934.

Background

Entering the 1954 campaign, Democrats had a dismal record in state politics, winning the governorship only three times in 24 elections; the party's stock had languished for fifteen years since the damaging administration of George Earle in the late 1930s.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• George M. Leader, State Senator from York County
• William "Doc" McClelland, Allegheny County coroner
• Charles J. Schmitt

Campaign

Leader was viewed as another mediocre if idealistic Democratic candidate, who had gained some statewide recognition for refusing to sign a loyalty oath circulated in the legislature at the height of the Second Red Scare. However, Leader was embraced by the growing reform wing of the party, of which Leader's father had been a member during his own tenure in the State Senate. A longstanding regional divide continued to haunt the Democrats in their primary, William "Doc" McClellan, a former Republican and vocal critic of organizational leadership, gave Leader a strong run for the nomination. Despite having only local name recognition, McClelland's sweep of heavily Democratic Western Pennsylvania allowed him to come nearly within 60,000 votes of an upset.

Results

Democratic primary results

  Leader

•   30%-40%
•   40%-50%
•   50%-60%
•   60%-70%
•   70%-80%
•   80%-90%
•   90%-100%

  McClelland

•   40%-50%
•   50%-60%
•   60%-70%
•   70%-80%

Pennsylvania gubernatorial Democratic primary election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George M. Leader	306,688	52.75
	Democratic	William D. McClelland	241,226	41.49
	Democratic	Charles J. Schmitt	33,521	5.76
Total votes			581,435	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Lloyd Wood, incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• Thomas S. Stephenson
• Gordon F. Chamberlin

Results

Republican primary results

  Wood

•   40%-50%
•   50%-60%
•   60%-70%
•   70%-80%
•   80%-90%
•   90%-100%

  Stephenson

•   50%-60%
•   70%-80%

Pennsylvania gubernatorial Republican primary election, 1954

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lloyd Wood	707,133	73.99
	Republican	Thomas S. Stephenson	182,977	19.15
	Republican	Gordon F. Chamberlin	65,554	6.86
Total votes			955,664	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Henry Beitscher (Progressive)
  • running mate: Alex Wright
• Louis Dirle (Socialist Workers)
  • running mate: Frank Knotek
• George M. Leader, State Senator (from York County) (Democratic)
  • running mate: Roy Furman, former Speaker of the State House of Representatives (from Greene County)
• Lloyd Wood, Lieutenant Governor (from Montgomery County) (Republican)
  • running mate: Frank Truscott, Attorney General (from Montgomery County)

Campaign

Republicans entered the race firmly unified behind Wood, but facing the deep unpopularity of their outgoing Governor Fine, whose administration had been embroiled in several scandals and who had led the push for a much criticized new sales tax. Furthermore, a huge rift had opened in the party between the middle class-backed progressive and big business-supported conservative wings of the party. A national recession, which pushed Pennsylvania's unemployment rate to the highest in the nation also worked against Republican hopes of keeping their grasp on the governor's mansion.

After his close call in the primary, Leader ran an energetic campaign, travelling across the state and actively engaging citizens at rallies. In the first gubernatorial campaign where a significant portion of the population owned televisions, Leader ran a series of speeches where he captured audiences with his charismatic appearances; conversely, Lloyd appeared too sluggish in his campaign, and the media chastised his television appearances as "terrible." Perhaps the most important factor in the race was Leader's own principled character and his commitment for reducing the presence of patronage that had long given state government a bad name; for this attitude, he earned the nickname Mr. Clean.

Leader performed not only well in the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton, but won 34 of the state's 67 counties. His impressive win included capturing victories in many GOP strongholds. He captured over 60% in his home of York County, and becoming one of the only Democratic candidates for any major statewide office to take the state's rural, conservative center.

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1954
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	George Leader	Roy Furman	1,996,266	53.66%
	Republican	Lloyd Wood	Frank Truscott	1,717,070	46.15%
	Progressive	Henry Beitscher	Alex Wright	4,471	0.12%
	Socialist Workers Party	Louis Dirle	Frank Knotek	2,650	0.07%
Totals				3,720,424	100.00%

References

• Ackley, Gayle; Arcuri, Patricia D, eds. (1979). The Pennsylvania Manual. Vol. 104. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services.