1982 Maine gubernatorial election

The 1982 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic Governor Joseph Brennan defeated Republican challenger Charles R. Cragin. Brennan defeated Cragin, winning his re-election by the highest percent margin in more than thirty years.

1982 Maine gubernatorial election

← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →

Nominee Joseph Brennan Charles Cragin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 281,066 172,949 Percentage 61.91% 38.09%

County results Municipality results Brennan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cragin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      40–50%      50%

Governor before election Joseph Brennan Democratic Elected Governor Joseph Brennan Democratic

Brennan would be challenged in the Democratic primary by Lewiston state representative Georgette Berube, but would easily dispatch her. Cragin defeated Falmouth state representative Sherry Huber and Waterville state senator Richard Pierce in the GOP primary. Berube and Huber would be the first women to ever run for Governor of Maine.

The 281,066 votes received by Brennan represented the single highest vote total for governor in Maine history, until the election of Governor Janet Mills in 2018. Brennan's coattails allowed Democrats to win the first trifecta in the state since 1913. This was the first time a gubernatorial candidate won a majority of the vote since 1970, and the last time a gubernatorial candidate would win a majority of the vote until 1998. This was the only Maine gubernatorial election between 1970 and 2022 that no third-party or independent candidate received at least 5% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Georgette Berube, member of the State House, of Lewiston
• Joseph E. Brennan, incumbent Governor, of Portland

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph E. Brennan	56,990	76.80
	Democratic	Georgette Berube	17,219	23.20
Total votes			74,209	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Charles Cragin, attorney and candidate for Governor in 1978, of Falmouth
• Sherry Huber, member of the State House, of Falmouth
• Richard Pierce, member of the State Senate, of Waterville

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Cragin	32,235	38.02
	Republican	Sherry Huber	27,739	32.71
	Republican	Richard Pierce	24,820	29.27
Total votes			84,794	100.00

General election results

Brennan won reelection in a landslide, carrying all 16 counties with at least 50% of the vote. This was the first election in which a Democrat carried all 16 counties in Maine since the 1964 presidential election, and the first — and to date, only — time in history a Democratic candidate would win all 16 counties in a gubernatorial election.

1982 Maine gubernatorial election results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Brennan (Incumbent)	281,066	61.91%	−
	Republican	Charles Cragin	172,949	38.09%	−
Majority			108,117	23.81%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Hancock (largest municipality: Ellsworth)
• Knox (largest municipality: Rockland)
• Lincoln (largest city: Waldoboro)
• Piscataquis (largest municipality: Dover-Foxcroft)
• Waldo (largest city: Belfast)