1954 Arkansas gubernatorial election

1954 Arkansas gubernatorial election
	County results Faubus: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Remmel: 50–60%
Governor before election; Francis Cherry; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Orval Faubus; Democratic

The 1954 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954.

Incumbent Democratic Governor Francis Cherry was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary.

Democratic nominee Orval Faubus defeated Republican nominee Pratt C. Remmel with 62.09% of the vote.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on July 27, 1954, with the Democratic runoff held on August 10, 1954.^[1]

Francis Cherry, incumbent Governor
Orval Faubus, newspaper publisher^[2] and former Director of State Highway Commission^[3]
Guy H. Jones, State Senator^[4]
Gus McMillan, real estate dealer^[5]

Democratic primary results^[6]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Francis Cherry (incumbent)	154,879	47.71
	Democratic	Orval Faubus	109,614	33.77
	Democratic	Guy H. Jones	41,249	12.71
	Democratic	Gus McMillan	18,857	5.81
Total votes			324,599	100.00

Democratic primary run-off results^[8]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Orval Faubus	191,328	50.91
	Democratic	Francis Cherry (incumbent)	184,509	49.09
Total votes			375,837	100.00

Orval Faubus, Democratic
Pratt C. Remmel, Republican, Former insurance executive, Mayor of Little Rock^[9]

Remmel's showing against Faubus was the best showing by a non-Democrat since 1888 and by a Republican since 1872.

1954 Arkansas gubernatorial election^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Orval Faubus	208,121	62.09%	−25.32%
	Republican	Pratt C. Remmel	127,004	37.89%	+25.30%
	Scattering		51	0.02%	+0.02%
Majority			81,117	24.20%
Turnout			335,176	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

^ "Table IV. 1954 Elections". Voting Information. Washington, D.C.: Prepared by Office of Armed Forces Information & Education, Department of Defense. April 1954. pp. 99–101. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "Arkansas vote". The Key West citizen. Key West, Fla. July 28, 1954. p. 8. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ Historical Review - Volume Two. Arkansas State Highway Commission and Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (PDF). Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2004. p. 81. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "Guy Hamilton "Mutt" Jones (1911–1986)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "McClellan claiming victory in primary; has lead of 4,428". Evening star. Washington, D.C. July 28, 1954. p. A-6. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "AR Governor, 1956 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 100.
^ "AR Governor, 1954 - D Runoff". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "Pratt Remmel (1915–1991)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ "AR Governor, 1954". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 42.

Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.