| Election Name: | 1954 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Flag Year: | 1912 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1953 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 1953 |
| Next Election: | 1955 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 1955 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Seats For Election: | 34 governorships |
| Election Date: | November 2, 1954; September 13, 1954 (ME) |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 19 |
| Seats After1: | 27 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| 1Data1: | 11 |
| 2Data1: | 19 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 29 |
| Seats After2: | 21 |
| Seat Change2: | 8 |
| 1Data2: | 23 |
| 2Data2: | 15 |
| Map Size: | 324px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1954, in 34 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections. Elections also took place on September 13 in Maine. The special election in Florida was due to the death of incumbent governor Daniel T. McCarty on September 28, 1953. In Tennessee, the governor was elected to a 4-year term for the first time, instead of a 2-year term.[1]
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing candidates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Jim Folsom (Democratic) 73.37% Tom Abernathy (Republican) 26.63% [2] | ||
| Arizona | Republican | Defeated, 47.49% | Ernest McFarland (Democratic) 52.51% [3] | ||
| Arkansas | Democratic | Defeated in Democratic primary, Democratic victory | Orval Faubus (Democratic) 62.09% Pratt C. Remmel (Republican) 37.89% Scattering 0.02% [4] | ||
| California | Goodwin Knight | Republican | Re-elected, 56.83% | Richard P. Graves (Democratic) 43.16% Scattering 0.01% [5] | |
| Colorado | Republican | Retired, Democratic victory | Edwin C. Johnson (Democratic) 53.56% Donald G. Brotzman (Republican) 46.44% [6] | ||
| Connecticut | Republican | Defeated, 49.16% | Abraham Ribicoff (Democratic) 49.50% Jasper McLevy (Socialist) 1.19% Vivien Kellems (Independent Republican) (write-in) 0.15% [7] | ||
| Florida (special) | Democratic | Defeated in Democratic primary, Democratic victory | LeRoy Collins (Democratic) 80.43% J. Thomas Watson[8] (Republican) 19.52% Scattering 0.05% [9] | ||
| Georgia | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Marvin Griffin (Democratic) 99.98% Scattering 0.02% [10] (Democratic primary results) Marvin Griffin 36.32% (302) Melvin E. Thompson 25.07% (56) Tom Linder 13.50% (26) Fred Hand 12.09% (22) Charlie Gowen 11.42% (4) Grace Wilkey Thomas 0.97% Ben Garland 0.44% [11] | ||
| Idaho | Republican | Term-limited, Republican victory | Robert E. Smylie (Republican) 54.24% Clark Hamilton (Democratic) 45.76% [12] | ||
| Iowa | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Leo Hoegh (Republican) 51.37% Clyde E. Herring (Democratic) 48.35% Howard H. Tyler (Independent) 0.28% [13] | ||
| Kansas | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Fred Hall (Republican) 52.98% George Docking (Democratic) 45.97% Chester A. Roberts (Prohibition) 0.89% W. W. Tamplin (Socialist) 0.16% [14] | ||
| Maine (held, September 13, 1954) | Republican | Defeated, 45.51% | Edmund Muskie (Democratic) 54.49% [15] | ||
| Maryland | Theodore McKeldin | Republican | Re-elected, 54.46% | Curley Byrd (Democratic) 45.55% [16] | |
| Massachusetts | Christian Herter | Republican | Re-elected, 51.76% | Robert F. Murphy (Democratic) 47.80% Lawrence Gilfedder (Socialist Labor) 0.30% Guy S. Williams (Prohibition) 0.14% [17] | |
| Michigan | G. Mennen Williams | Democratic | Re-elected, 55.62% | Donald S. Leonard (Republican) 44.05% E. Harold Munn (Prohibition) 0.27% Theos A. Grove (Socialist Labor) 0.05% Frank Lovell (Socialist Workers) 0.03% [18] | |
| Minnesota | Republican | Defeated, 46.80% | Orville Freeman (Democratic Farmer-Labor) 52.73% Ross P. Schelin (Industrial Government) 0.47% [19] | ||
| Nebraska | Republican | Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Republican victory | Victor E. Anderson (Republican) 60.28% William Ritchie (Democratic) 39.72% [20] | ||
| Nevada | Charles H. Russell | Republican | Re-elected, 53.10% | Vail M. Pittman (Democratic) 46.90% [21] | |
| New Hampshire | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Lane Dwinell (Republican) 55.12% John Shaw (Democratic) 44.88% [22] | ||
| New Mexico | Republican | Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Democratic victory | John F. Simms (Democratic) 57.01% Alvin Stockton (Republican) 42.99% [23] | ||
| New York | Republican | Retired, Democratic victory | W. Averell Harriman (Democratic) 49.61% Irving Ives (Republican) 49.40% John T. McManus (American Labor) 0.91% David L. Weiss (Socialist Workers) 0.05% Nathan Karp (Industrial Government) 0.03% [24] | ||
| North Dakota | Norman Brunsdale | Republican | Re-elected, 64.21% | Cornelius Bymers (Democratic) 35.79% [25] | |
| Ohio | Frank Lausche | Democratic | Re-elected, 54.10% | Jim Rhodes (Republican) 45.91% [26] | |
| Oklahoma | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Raymond Gary (Democratic) 58.67% Reuben K. Sparks (Republican) 41.34% [27] | ||
| Oregon | Paul L. Patterson | Republican | Re-elected, 56.91% | Joseph K. Carson (Democratic) 43.09% [28] | |
| Pennsylvania | Republican | Term-limited, Democratic victory | George M. Leader (Democratic) 53.66% Lloyd H. Wood (Republican) 46.15% Henry Beitscher (Progressive) 0.12% Louis Dirle (Socialist Labor) 0.07% [29] | ||
| Rhode Island | Dennis J. Roberts | Democratic | Re-elected, 57.69% | Dean J. Lewis (Republican) 41.72% Arthur E. Marley (Independent) 0.59% [30] | |
| South Carolina | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | George Bell Timmerman Jr. (Democratic) unopposed [31] (Democratic primary results) George Bell Timmerman Jr. 61.34% Lester L. Bates 38.66% [32] | ||
| South Dakota | Republican | Term-limited, Republican victory | Joe Foss (Republican) 56.67% Ed C. Martin (Democratic) 43.33% [33] | ||
| Tennessee | Frank G. Clement | Democratic | Re-elected, 87.20% | John Randolph Neal Jr. (Independent) 12.27% W. E. Michel (Republican) 0.53% Scattering 0.01% [34] (Democratic primary results) Frank G. Clement 68.17% Gordon W. Browning 27.61% Raulston Schoolfield 4.23% [35] | |
| Texas | Allan Shivers | Democratic | Re-elected, 89.42% | Tod R. Adams (Republican) 10.39% Scattering 0.19% [36] | |
| Vermont | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Joseph B. Johnson (Republican) 52.27% E. Frank Branon (Democratic) 47.70% Scattering 0.02% [37] | ||
| Wisconsin | Walter J. Kohler Jr. | Republican | Re-elected, 51.45% | William Proxmire (Democratic) 48.40% Arthur Wepfer (Socialist Labor) 0.15% [38] | |
| Wyoming | Republican | Defeated in Republican primary, Republican victory | Milward Simpson (Republican) 50.50% William M. Jack (Democratic) 49.50% [39] |