1982 Maine gubernatorial election

1982 Maine gubernatorial election

November 2, 1982

Nominee Joseph Brennan Charles Cragin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 281,066 172,949 Percentage 61.9% 38.1%

County results Brennan:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Joseph Brennan Democratic Elected Governor Joseph Brennan Democratic

The 1982 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic Governor Joseph Brennan, who defeated Georgette Berube for his party's nomination, defeated Republican challenger Charles R. Cragin, who defeated Sherry Huber for the Republican nomination. Brennan defeated Cragin, winning his re-election by the highest percent margin in more than thirty years.

The 281,066 votes received by Brennan represented the single highest vote total for governor in Maine history, until the re-election of Governor Janet Mills in 2022. 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, this would not occur again until 1998. This was the only time between 1974 and 2022 that no third-party candidate received more than 5% of the vote.

Results

1982 Maine gubernatorial election results

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