1966 Maryland gubernatorial election

← 1962

November 8, 1966

1969 (special) →


Nominee	Spiro Agnew	George P. Mahoney	Hyman A. Pressman
Party	Republican	Democratic	Independent
Popular vote	455,318	373,543	90,899
Percentage	49.50%	40.61%	9.88%

County results

Agnew: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70%

Mahoney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

Governor before election

J. Millard Tawes
Democratic

Elected Governor

Spiro Agnew
Republican

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Question P

The 1966 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democratic Governor J. Millard Tawes was unable to seek a third term in office. In the election to succeed him, George P. Mahoney, a controversial segregationist, emerged from the Democratic primary due to splintered support for the two major candidates. Baltimore County Executive Spiro Agnew, was nominated by the Republican Party as their gubernatorial candidate. Mahoney and Agnew squared off, along with independent candidate Hyman A. Pressman. Ultimately, Agnew was victorious over Mahoney, with Pressman a distant third. This year was the last time that the state of Maryland elected a Republican governor until 2002. Agnew was later nominated for Vice President by the Republican National Convention, per Richard Nixon's request, in 1968, an election he and Nixon won.

As of 2023^[update] this marks the last time the following Independent city and Counties have voted Republican in a gubernatorial election: Baltimore City, Montgomery, and Prince George’s.

Democratic primary

Candidates

George P. Mahoney, Baltimore paving contractor and perennial candidate
Carlton R. Sickles, United States Congressman from Maryland's At-large congressional district
Thomas B. Finan, Attorney General of Maryland
Clarence W. Miles, lawyer and community activist
Charles J. Luthardt, Sr.
Morgan L. Amaimo, real estate broker and perennial candidate
Ross Zimmerman Pierpont, surgeon
Andrew J. Easter, perennial candidate

Results

Democratic Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George P. Mahoney	148,446	30.21
	Democratic	Carlton R. Sickles	146,607	29.84
	Democratic	Thomas B. Finan	134,216	27.31
	Democratic	Clarence W. Miles	42,304	8.61
	Democratic	Charles J. Ludhardt, Sr.	7,336	1.49
	Democratic	Morgan L. Amaimo	6,048	1.23
	Democratic	Ross Zimmerman Pierpont	4,311	0.88
	Democratic	Andrew J. Easter	2,098	0.43
Total votes			491,366	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Baltimore County Executive Spiro Agnew
Andrew John Groszer, Jr.
John J. Harbaugh, Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in 1964
Henry J. Laque, Jr., perennial candidate
Louis R. Milio, Maryland congressional candidate

Results

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Spiro Agnew	98,531	83.16
	Republican	Andrew John Groszer, Jr.	9,987	8.43
	Republican	John J. Harbaugh	4,322	3.65
	Republican	Henry J. Laque, Jr.	3,365	2.84
	Republican	Louis R. Milio	2,277	1.92
Total votes			118,482	100.00

General election

Campaign

Baltimore paving contractor and perennial candidate George P. Mahoney won the Democratic primary on a segregationist platform, which was possible due to the presence of several strong candidates. Mahoney's slogan, "Your home is your castle--protect it",^[3] as well as his stance on many civil rights issues,^[4] prompted Baltimore City Comptroller Hyman A. Pressman to enter the race as an independent candidate. Mahoney's controversial stances caused many in the Maryland Democratic Party to split their support between Agnew, which was possible due to his socially progressive views, and Pressman, which enabled Agnew to win the election with a plurality, taking 70% of the black vote.^[5]

Results

Maryland gubernatorial election, 1966^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Spiro Agnew	455,318	49.50%	+5.15%
	Democratic	George P. Mahoney	373,543	40.61%	-15.03%
	Independent	Hyman A. Pressman	90,899	9.88%
	Write-ins		1	0.00%
Majority			81,775	8.89%	-2.39%
Turnout			919,761
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0174, Page 0525 - Maryland Manual, 1969-70".
^ "Maryland Manual - Governor of Maryland, Republican Party" (PDF). Maryland State Archives. 1969–1970. p. 526.
^ "George Mahoney, 87, Maryland Candidate". The New York Times. March 21, 1989.
^ Hardesty, Richard. [A] Veil of Voodoo. Graduate School of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, 05 May 2008. Web.
^ Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party*, p. 191
^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0173, Page 0503 - Maryland Manual, 1967-68".

v t e Elections in Maryland
General	1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1857 1861 1864 1867 1871 1875 1879 1883 1887 1891 1895 1899 1903 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1969 (sp) 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
State Senate	1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
House of Delegates	1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1788 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	1788 1790 1791 1793 1793 (sp) 1795 1796 1796 (sp) 1797 (sp) 1800 (sp) 1801 (sp) 1802 1806 1806 (sp) 1808 1809 1813 (sp) 1816 (sp) 1819 1819 (sp) 1821 1822 (sp) 1825 1826 (sp) 1827 1831 1833 1835 (sp) 1836 (sp) 1837 1838 (sp) 1839 1839 (sp) 1841 (sp) 1843 1849 1850 (sp) 1851 1855 1861 1864 (sp) 1865 (sp) 1868 (sp) 1874 1880 1884 1886 1890 1892 1892 (sp) 1896 1898 1902 1904 1908 1908 (sp) 1910 1913 (sp) 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024
U.S. House	1789 1790 1792 1794 1798 1803 1806 1822 1826 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1844 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Attorney General	2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Comptroller	2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
County Executive	2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
County offices	2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
See also: Political party strength in Maryland

v t e (1964 ←) 1966 United States elections (→ 1968)
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State legislatures	Iowa Senate

v t e Notable third-party performances in United States elections
* Third party is endorsed by a major party
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Territorial Governors (since 1970)	U.S. Virgin Islands 1970 Puerto Rico 1972 District of Columbia 1974 U.S. Virgin Islands 1974 U.S. Virgin Islands 1978 Puerto Rico 1980 U.S. Virgin Islands 1986 Puerto Rico 1988 U.S. Virgin Islands 1990 U.S. Virgin Islands 1994 U.S. Virgin Islands 1998 Puerto Rico 2000 Northern Mariana Islands 2001 U.S. Virgin Islands 2002 Northern Mariana Islands 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands 2006 Northern Mariana Islands 2009 District of Columbia 2010 U.S. Virgin Islands 2010 District of Columbia 2014 Northern Mariana Islands 2014 U.S. Virgin Islands 2014 Puerto Rico 2016 District of Columbia 2018 Guam 2018 Northern Mariana Islands 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 Puerto Rico 2020 District of Columbia 2022 Northern Mariana Islands 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands 2022
Portal:Politics Third party (U.S. politics) List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections Third-party and independent members of the United States Congress