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 County results Municipality resultsCurtis: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Reed: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1966 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966. IncumbentRepublicanGovernorJohn Reed was defeated by theDemocraticSecretary of StateKenneth M. Curtis.
Reed had assumed the office of Governor of Maine in 1959, following the death of incumbent DemocratClinton Clauson. Reed was elected to finish Clauson's term ina 1960 special election, and was then re-elected in1962 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 representativeJames Erwin for the Republican nomination. Erwin would go on to be the Republican nominee for Governor in both1970 and1974, but would lose both times.
Curtis overcame two strong challengers in the Democratic primary, dispatchingState House SpeakerDana Childs andSenate PresidentCarlton Day Reed Jr.
Curtis's defeat of Reed marked the beginning a twenty-year period ofRepublican isolation from theBlaine House — Republicans wouldn't recapture it until the1986 election ofJohn R. McKernan Jr.
Curtis, who was 35 at the time of his election, became the youngest sitting governor in the country.[1]
This was the most recent gubernatorial election in Maine in which a non-incumbent candidate won with a majority of the vote, until DemocratJanet Mills won with 50.89% of the vote in2018. As of2022, Reed is the most recent incumbent governor to lose re-election; all succeeding Governors have been re-elected, with the exception ofJames B. Longley, who did not run for re-election in1978, holding himself to a one-term promise.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John H. Reed (Incumbent) | 55,924 | 59.69 | |
| Republican | James Erwin | 37,765 | 40.31 | |
| Total votes | 93,689 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kenneth M. Curtis | 30,879 | 55.63 | |
| Democratic | Carlton Day Reed Jr. | 13,839 | 24.93 | |
| Democratic | Dana Childs | 10,793 | 19.44 | |
| Total votes | 55,511 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kenneth M. Curtis | 172,036 | 53.12% | − | |
| Republican | John H. Reed (Incumbent) | 151,802 | 46.88% | − | |
| Majority | 20,234 | 6.24% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
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