Entering the 1954 campaign, Democrats had a dismal record in state politics, winning the governorship only three times in 24 elections; the party's stock had languished for fifteen years since the damaging administration of George Earle in the late 1930s.

Leader was viewed as another mediocre if idealistic Democratic candidate, who had gained some statewide recognition for refusing to sign a loyalty oath circulated in the legislature at the height of the Second Red Scare.

A longstanding regional divide continued to haunt the Democrats in their primary, William "Doc" McClellan, a former Republican and vocal critic of organizational leadership, gave Leader a strong run for the nomination.

[1][2] Republicans entered the race firmly unified behind Wood, but facing the deep unpopularity of their outgoing Governor Fine, whose administration had been embroiled in several scandals and who had led the push for a much criticized new sales tax.

Perhaps the most important factor in the race was Leader's own principled character and his commitment for reducing the presence of patronage that had long given state government a bad name; for this attitude, he earned the nickname Mr.