John Howard Pyle Republican Ernest McFarland Democratic The 1954 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1954.

Incumbent Governor John Howard Pyle, the first Republican elected to the office in two decades, ran for reelection for a third term.

Senator Ernest McFarland defeated Governor John Howard Pyle by a narrow margin.

Due to the Republican Party tidal wave led by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, incumbent U.S.

He subsequently decided to run for the office of Governor of Arizona and challenge incumbent Republican Governor John Howard Pyle, the first Republican to hold the office for more than two decades.