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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. As of , this was the last time

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

voted for the Republican candidate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Henry Morris * John S. Rice, former state senator from Gettysburg The endorsed candidates for Democratic Party won by a large margin, with Rice winning by a three-quarters of the vote over Mahanoy City businessman Henry Morris.

Results

1946 Pennsylvania governor Democratic primary by county

Republican primary

Candidates

* James H. Duff, Attorney General of Pennsylvania * Carl Mau * John Shroyer, Secretary of Highways The endorsed candidate for the Republican Party won by a large margin, with Duff earning over three-quarters of the vote against outgoing Secretary of Highways John Shroyer of Shamokin.

Results

1946 Pennsylvania governor Republican primary by county

General election

Candidates

* Jim Duff, State Attorney General (from

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

) (Republican) ** Running mate: Dan Strickler, former State Representative and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

general (from Lancaster County) * James Killip (Prohibition) * John Rice, former

President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate The President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (also known more commonly as the "President pro-tem") is a constitutionally-created office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The incumbent holder of the office is Republican Kim Ward. Overv ...

(from Adams County) (Democratic) ** Running mate: John Dent, President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (from Westmoreland County) * George Taylor (Socialist Labor)

Campaign

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 government

Results

References

{{1946 United States elections Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, 1946

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

November 1946 in the United States