Arthur T. "Art" McGonigle (1905-1977) was a Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 businessman and the 1958 Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 nominee for state governor.

McGonigle was born in Kane, Pennsylvania

Kane, Pennsylvania

Kane is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie. It was founded in 1863 by Civil War general Thomas L. Kane at an elevated site 2210 feet above sea level. In the early part of the twentieth century, Kane had large glassworks, bottle works, lumber mills, and manufactures of...

. He grew up in a Methodist home and gained a reputation as an affable individual. McGonigle attended Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

 and later took a job as a traveling salesman for General Foods

General Foods

General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...

. He took an entry level job at Bachman Bakeries in the 1930s and eventually worked his way up to become CEO of the company; he introduced new manufacturing techniques that allowed the corporation to become the world's largest pretzel manufacturer.

McGonigle first became involved in Republican politics when he became party treasurer in 1956, as the organization was searching for someone with business experience to clean up a bad financial situation. He caught the attention of party leaders in 1958

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1958

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1958 was held on November 4. Democrat David Lawrence defeated Republican Art McGonigle by a smaller than anticipated margin....

, and was asked to run for governor as a dark horse

Dark horse

Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...

 candidate. McGonigle ran an aggressive campaign and invested a portion of his personal wealth; although he lost by only about 2% points, he was unable to defeat seasoned political veteran David Lawrence

David L. Lawrence

David Leo Lawrence was an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963. He is to date the only mayor of Pittsburgh to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he had been the mayor of Pittsburgh from 1946 through 1959...

.