Question: The 1948 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 13, 1948, which American businessman and Republican businessman, and mayor of Augusta, faced off against Democratic challenger Louis B. Lausier, defeating him in a landslide?

Context paragraphs:
Maine gubernatorial election, 1952: The 1952 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 8, 1952.  Incumbent Republican Governor Frederick G. Payne was term limited and seeking election to the United States Senate, thus did not run.  Maine Senate President Burton M. Cross faced off against Democratic challenger, former Congressman James C. Oliver (who served in Congress as a Republican) and Independent Neil Bishop in the general election, easily defeating both men.  Burton's election was the ninth consecutive victory for the Republicans in Maine gubernatorial races.

Frederick G. Payne: Frederick George Payne (July 24, 1904 – June 15, 1978) was an American businessman and politician.  A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Maine from 1953 to 1959.  He previously served as the 60th Governor of Maine from 1949 to 1952.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1948: The 1948 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 13, 1948.  Incumbent Republican Governor Horace A. Hildreth, was term limited and seeking election to the United States Senate (eventually losing the Republican Primary to Margaret Chase Smith), thus did not run.  Republican mayor of Augusta Frederick G. Payne faced off against Democratic challenger Louis B. Lausier, defeating him in a landslide.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1970: The 1970 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1970.  Incumbent Democratic Governor of Maine Kenneth M. Curtis chose to seek re-election.  Curtis won a landslide victory in the Democratic primary.  His general election opponent was Maine Attorney General James Erwin, the Republican nominee.  Erwin had also easily won his respective party primary and received the Republican nomination for governor.  Curtis narrowly defeated challenger in one of the tightest elections in Maine history – the final margin of victory was a mere 890 votes.  Curtis received 163,138 votes (50.14%), while Erwin had 162,248 votes (49.86%).

Maine gubernatorial election, 1954: The 1954 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 13, 1954.  Incumbent Republican Governor Burton M. Cross was seeking a second term which would have made him the fifth consecutive Governor (all Republicans) to be elected twice.  Democratic state representative Edmund Muskie, widely viewed as the underdog due to Maine's solidly Republican history, was able to pull an upset victory and become the first Democrat to be elected to the Blaine House since Louis J. Brann in 1934.  His election is widely viewed as the beginning of the rise of the Democratic Party in Maine, and the end of Republican dominance in the state.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1942: The 1942 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 14, 1942.  Incumbent Republican Governor Sumner Sewall was seeking a second term, and faced off against Democratic challenger George W. Lane, Jr. Sewall was able to easily win his re-election.  This contest was the first gubernatorial election held after the entry of the United States into the second world war.

Louis Lausier: Louis B. "Papa" Lausier (November 17, 1879 - January 14, 1962) was a Maine politician.  Lausier was born in 1879 in Biddeford to Antoine and Aurilie (Cartier) Lausier.  He studied the Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Quebec before returning to Biddeford to study law under Maine Supreme Court Justice George F. Haley.  He passed the Maine bar in 1906 and entered Biddeford municipal government, holding the positions of city auditor, municipal judge and alderman.  A Democrat, Lausier represented Biddeford, Maine in the Maine House of Representatives from 1919-20 and 1925-26.  Lausier was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940 and 1948.  In 1948, Lausier sought and received his party's nomination for Governor of Maine.  He lost to Republican Frederick G. Payne, gaining 34% of the vote.  Lausier served as mayor of Biddeford from 1941-55.  While mayor, Lausier was fiscally conservative and refused for the city to obtain debt.  While mayor, many criticized him for ignoring non Franco-Americans living in the town, especially because of the poor quality of the public schools.  He was defeated in the Democratic primary for mayor in 1955 by Albert C. Lambert.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1962: The 1962 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1962.  Incumbent Republican Governor John Reed, had been elected in 1960 in a special election to finish the final two years of Clinton Clauson's term following his death, and was seeking a full term of his own.  He faced off against Democratic challenger Maynard C. Dolloff.  Reed was re-elected by one of the narrowest margins in Maine history – a mere 483 votes.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1950: The 1950 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 11, 1950.  Incumbent Republican Governor Frederick G. Payne was seeking a second term, and faced off against Democratic challenger Earle S. Grant.  Payne went on to win re-election by a wide margin.

Maine gubernatorial election, 1946: The 1946 Maine gubernatorial election took place on September 9, 1946.  Incumbent Republican Governor Horace A. Hildreth, was seeking a second term, and faced off against Democrat F. Davis Clark.  This election represented the first gubernatorial election in Maine following the end of the Second World War, and saw Hildreth easily win re-election

Supporting paragraphs: Maine gubernatorial election, 1948 Frederick G. Payne
Answer: Frederick George Payne