1942 United States Senate election in Montana

1942 United States Senate election in Montana
	County results; Murray: 40–50% 50–60% ; Rankin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; James E. Murray; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; James E. Murray; Democratic

The 1942 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 3, 1942. Incumbent United States Senator James E. Murray, who was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1934 and was re-elected in 1936, ran for re-election. Following his victory in a competitive Democratic primary, Murray advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by former United States Attorney for the District of Montana Wellington D. Rankin, the Republican nominee and brother of representative Jeannette Rankin. In a closely fought election, Murray narrowly defeated Rankin to win re-election to his third term and his second full term in the Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

James E. Murray, incumbent United States Senator
Joseph P. Monaghan, former United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district, 1936 independent candidate for the United States Senate

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James E. Murray (incumbent)	47,826	62.49%
	Democratic	Joseph P. Monaghan	28,709	37.51%
Total votes			76,535	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Wellington D. Rankin, former United States Attorney for the District of Montana, former Attorney General of Montana
Charles R. Dawley, United States Army veteran
Jacob Thorkelson, former United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district

Results

Republican Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wellington D. Rankin	24,677	58.83%
	Republican	Charles R. Dawley	9,267	22.09%
	Republican	Jacob Thorkelson	7,999	19.07%
Total votes			41,943	100.00%

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Montana, 1942^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James E. Murray (incumbent)	83,673	49.07%	−5.91%
	Republican	Wellington D. Rankin	82,461	48.36%	+21.25%
	Prohibition	Charles R. Miller	2,711	1.59%
	Socialist	E. H. Helterbran	1,669	0.98%
Majority			1,212	0.71%	−27.16%
Turnout			170,514
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, July 21, 1942" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1942" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

[Primary_election_results-1] "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, July 21, 1942" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

[2] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1942" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

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