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Ehsan Danish

1994 Maine gubernatorial election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →
 
Nominee Angus King Joseph Brennan
Party Independent Democratic
Popular vote 180,829 172,951
Percentage 35.37% 33.83%

 
Nominee Susan Collins Jonathan Carter
Party Republican Green
Popular vote 117,990 32,695
Percentage 23.08% 6.39%

King:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Brennan:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Collins:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      >90%
Tie:      20–30%      30–40%

Governor before election

John R. McKernan, Jr.
Republican

Elected Governor

Angus King
Independent

The 1994 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994 to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor John McKernan was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term. Independent Angus King won the election.

King defeated Democratic nominee, former governor and congressman Joseph Brennan, Republican nominee Susan Collins, a regional coordinator of the Small Business Administration, and Green nominee Jonathan Carter, an environmentalist activist. Ed Finks, as a write-in candidate, received in 1.29% of the vote. This was the first election since 1974 that Maine elected an independent governor. Both King and Collins have represented the state's delegation in the United States Senate since 2013.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 56,359 56.2
Democratic Tom Allen 23,881 23.8
Democratic Dick Barringer 9,136 9.1
Democratic Robert Woodbury 8,150 8.1
Democratic Donnell Carroll 2,618 2.6
Total votes 100,144 100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Susan Collins 19,133 21.3
Republican Sumner Lipman 15,214 17.0
Republican Jasper Wyman 14,335 16.0
Republican Judith Foss 11,734 13.1
Republican Paul R. Young 10,088 11.3
Republican Mary Adams 7,678 8.6
Republican Charles Webster 6,220 6.9
Republican Pamela Cahill 5,154 5.8
Total votes 89,623 100.0

General election

Brennan easily dispatched his challengers in the Democratic primary, while Collins triumphed in a crowded GOP field. As a moderate, Collins was subjected to attacks from the right wing of the Republican Party, who claimed she was too liberal.[3] She was also criticized for her residency; despite being a Maine native, she had lived and worked in Massachusetts and only returned to Maine shortly before launching her gubernatorial campaign with the support of Senator William Cohen.[3] Her closest opponent had been Sumner Lipman, the preferred candidate of incumbent governor John R. McKernan Jr..[3]

King made heavy use of campaign ads, including running them during the primary season despite not being subjected to a primary as an independent candidate.[3] The state's two largest newspapers split their endorsements, with Brennan receiving the endorsement of the Portland Press Herald and Collins the Bangor Daily News, while the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, a gun group, endorsed King.[3]

King would narrowly win over Brennan, with Collins and Carter lagging behind. Collins and Brennan would face off again for Cohen's Senate seat in 1996, with Collins winning. King would be re-elected in a landslide in 1998. After a decade outside of political office, King would be elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. King and Collins continue to hold Maine's two Senate seats to the present day.

Candidates

Results

1994 Maine gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Angus King 180,829 35.37%
Democratic Joseph Brennan 172,951 33.83%
Republican Susan Collins 117,990 23.08%
Green Jonathan Carter 32,695 6.39%
Write-in Ed Finks 6,576 1.29%
Write-in 267 0.05%
Total votes 511,308 100.00%
Independent gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independent

Counties that flipped from Republican to Independent

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

References

  1. ^ "Maine Governor Primary Results". Maine SOS. June 14, 1994. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  2. ^ "Maine Governor Primary Results". Maine SOS. June 14, 1994. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e Potham, Christian P. (1994). "Expectations and the 1994 Maine elections". Maine Policy Review. 3 (3): 50–53.