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 County results Shafer: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Shapp: 40–50% 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1966 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 8.RepublicanRay Shafer, the state's incumbent Lieutenant Governor, was elected to the state's highest office after holding off a charge from future governorMilton Shapp.
Lieutenant GovernorRay Shafer was endorsed by the party establishment and cruised to a primary win. His main opponent was the well knownHarold Stassen, the liberal and somewhat eccentric former governor ofMinnesota who had retired from the presidency of theUniversity of Pennsylvania.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ray Shafer | 835,768 | 78.02 | |
| Republican | Harold Stassen | 172,150 | 16.07 | |
| Republican | George Brett | 63,366 | 5.92 | |
| Total votes | 1,071,284 | 100.00 | ||
Milton Shapp, a wealthy and progressive electronics executive, used his own money to score an upset in theDemocratic primary over the party establishment's choice,Bob Casey. Casey, who would later win the governorship in 1986, was a more conservative politician who relied on labor and rural support over the urban and suburban base that Shapp courted.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Milton Shapp | 543,057 | 48.59 | |
| Democratic | Bob Casey | 493,866 | 44.19 | |
| Democratic | Edwin Murray | 80,803 | 7.23 | |
| Total votes | 1,117,726 | 100.00 | ||
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Shapp ran a spirited campaign,[according to whom?] in which he tagged himself as a "man against the machine", but the ambivalence of party leaders[who?] toward his renegade candidacy may have ultimately led to his defeat; his campaign was also hurt by fierce opposition from thePhiladelphia media, over Shapp's personal involvement in attempting to stop the buyout of thePennsylvania Railroad.[3]
In contrast to Shapp's exuberant campaign, Shafer had difficulty getting his campaign stabilized,[according to whom?] particularly after the original nominee for lieutenant governor, Attorney GeneralWalter Alessandroni, was killed in an aviation accident. Shafer ran on a solid record as a liberal Republican,[according to whom?] but struggled to escape the reputation that his career was dependent upon GovernorBill Scranton; although he was able to collect the resources that would allow him to compete financially with Shapp due to a solid fundraising prowess, he was forced to spend much of the early portion of the campaign defending his independence. However, the party split within Democratic ranks proved too much for Shapp to overcome, and Shafer won a moderate victory.[4][5]
The campaign was smeared by charges of discrimination by both candidates. The Jewish Shapp facedanti-Semitic commentary at many of his rallies and accused GOP committees in several counties of attempts to frighten voters by emphasizing hateful, outdated myths[according to whom?] about Shapp's religion. In contrast, Shafer asserted that Democrats were attempted to portray him as a racist; in the closing weeks of the campaign, pamphlets were distributed in minority neighborhoods, which alleged that Shafer's home included arestrictive covenant that would stop the sale of his property to any non-Caucasians.[4]
| Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1966[6][7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Ray Shafer | Ray Broderick | 2,110,349 | 52.10% | |
| Democratic | Milton Shapp | Leonard Staisey | 1,868,719 | 46.13% | |
| Constitutional | Ed Swartz | Rick Swaney | 57,073 | 1.41% | |
| Socialist Workers | George Taylor | Herman Johansen | 14,527 | 0.36% | |
| Total votes | 4,050,668 | 100.00% | |||
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