The Life of Pennsylvania Governor George M. Leader: Challenging Complacency

The Life of Pennsylvania Governor George M. Leader tells the story of George Michael Leader, who, at thirty-six years old, was the second youngest person ever elected to the office of governor of Pennsylvania and served from 1955 to 1959. His chances at being elected were tenuous at best: Democrats never fared well in pursuit of the governor's office in the Keystone State. His election was an upset. Republican Party stalwarts were stunned at the tally in Leader's favor. Leader's election ushered in an era when the commonwealth's electorate shifted its allegiance from majority Republican to majority Democrat, a trend that continues in the twenty-first century.