1966 Maine gubernatorial election

None January 2025 September 2023 1966 Maine gubernatorial election Maine presidential no 1962 Maine gubernatorial election 1962 1970 Maine gubernatorial election 1970 November 8, 1966 150x150px Photo SOS 026 Kenneth M Curtis.jpg Kenneth Curtis Democratic Party (United States) 172,036 53.12% JohnReed-Maine.jpg John Reed Republican Party (United States) 151,802 46.88% 280px County results 280px Municipality results Curtis: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0D0596 >90%Reed: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90% #A80000 >90%Tie: #AE8BB1 50% Governor John H. Reed Republican Party (United States) Kenneth M. Curtis Democratic Party (United States) The 1966 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Republican Governor John Reed was defeated by the Democratic Secretary of State Kenneth M. Curtis. Reed had assumed the office of Governor of Maine in 1959, following the death of incumbent Democrat Clinton Clauson. Reed was elected to finish Clauson's term in a 1960 special election, and was then re-elected in 1962 and became the first person to serve a full four-year term as Governor of Maine. Reed was seeking a second full four-year term, and defeated state representative James Erwin for the Republican nomination. Erwin would go on to be the Republican nominee for Governor in both 1970 and 1974, but would lose both times. Curtis overcame two strong challengers in the Democratic primary, dispatching State House Speaker Dana Childs and Senate President Carlton Day Reed Jr. Curtis's defeat of Reed marked the beginning a twenty-year period of Republican isolation from the Blaine House — Republicans wouldn't recapture it until the 1986 election of John R. McKernan Jr. Curtis, who was 35 at the time of his election, became the youngest sitting governor in the country.1970-02-18 Curtis to Seek Re‐election As the Governor of Maine https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/18/archives/curtis-to-seek-reelection-as-the-governor-of-maine.html 2025-03-07 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 This was the most recent gubernatorial election in Maine in which a non-incumbent candidate won with a majority of the vote, until Democrat Janet Mills won with 50.89% of the vote in 2018. As of 2022, Reed is the most recent incumbent governor to lose re-election; all succeeding Governors have been re-elected, with the exception of James B. Longley, who did not run for re-election in 1978, holding himself to a one-term promise. Republican primary Candidates James Erwin, state representative, of York John H. Reed, incumbent governor, of Fort Fairfield Republican primary results John H. Reed (Incumbent) Republican Party (United States) 55,924 59.69 James Erwin Republican Party (United States) 37,765 40.31 93,689 100.00 Democratic primary Candidates Dana Childs, State House Speaker, of Portland Kenneth M. Curtis, incumbent Secretary of State (1965–1966), of Manchester Carlton Day Reed Jr., Senate President, of Woolwich Results Democratic primary results Kenneth M. Curtis Democratic Party (United States) 30,879 55.63 Carlton Day Reed Jr. Democratic Party (United States) 13,839 24.93 Dana Childs Democratic Party (United States) 10,793 19.44 55,511 100.00 Results Maine gubernatorial election results Guide to US Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II CQ Press 2005 1497–1499 https://archive.org/details/guidetouselectio00cqpr/page/1497 978-1-56802-981-8 2009-05-06 registration Democratic Party (United States) Kenneth M. Curtis 172,036 53.12% - Republican Party (United States) John H. Reed (Incumbent) 151,802 46.88% - 20,234 6.24% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Cumberland (largest city: Portland) Penobscot (largest city: Bangor) Piscataquis (largest municipality: Dover-Foxcroft) Sagadahoc (largest town: Bath) Somerset (largest town: Skowhegan) Washington (largest city: Calais) References expanded 1966 Maine Gubernatorial Category:November 1966 in the United States