| Election Name: | 1946 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Pennsylvania |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1942 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1942 |
| Next Election: | 1950 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1950 |
| Image1: | File:James Henderson Duff.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Jim Duff |
| Running Mate1: | Dan Strickler |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,828,462 |
| Percentage1: | 58.53% |
| Nominee2: | John Rice |
| Running Mate2: | John Dent |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,270,947 |
| Percentage2: | 40.68% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | John Bell |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Jim Duff |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1946 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1946. Republican Party nominee James H. Duff defeated Democratic Party nominee John S. Rice to become Governor of Pennsylvania.[1] As of, this was the last time Philadelphia County voted for the Republican candidate.
The endorsed candidates for the two major parties each won by large margins, with Duff earning over three-quarters of the vote against outgoing Secretary of Highways John Shroyer of Shamokin and Rice winning by a similar margin over Mahanoy City businessman Henry Morris.
A close confidant of popular outgoing Governor Ed Martin, who was running for a US Senate seat, Duff was the clear favorite throughout the campaign. Duff ran as a moderate progressive but also as a hardline anti-communist. He promised to address the key topic of labor strife by limiting strikes and cracking down on union criminal activity while concurrently increasing the minimum wage. Duff also vowed to spur innovation amongst the state's fragmented local governments.https://books.google.com/books?id=AB24rFZOmzcC&dq=rice+duff+governor&pg=PA472