There were three special elections to the United States Senate in 1941 during the 77th United States Congress.

Race summary

edit

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1941 after January 3; sorted by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates
Senator Party Electoral history
Texas
(Class 2)
Andrew Jackson Houston Democratic 1941 (Appointed) Interim appointee died June 26, 1941.
New senator elected June 28, 1941.
Democratic hold.
Mississippi
(Class 2)
James Eastland Democratic 1941 (Appointed) Interim appointee retired.
New senator elected September 29, 1941.
Democratic hold.
South Carolina
(Class 2)
Roger C. Peace Democratic 1941 (Appointed) Interim appointee retired.
New senator elected September 30, 1941.
Democratic hold.

Mississippi (special)

edit
1941 United States Senate special election in Mississippi
 
← 1936 September 29, 1941 1942 →
     
Nominee Wall Doxey Ross A. Collins
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 59,556 58,738
Percentage 50.35% 49.65%

U.S. senator before election

James Eastland
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Wall Doxey
Democratic

Four-term Democratic senator Pat Harrison died June 22, 1941, and Democrat James Eastland was appointed June 30, 1941, to continue the term. Democrat Wall Doxey won the September 29, 1941, special election, but would later lose renomination to Eastland for the next term in 1942.[2]

South Carolina (special)

edit
1941 U.S. Senate Democratic primary runoff in South Carolina
 
← 1936 September 16, 1941 1942 →
     
Nominee Burnet R. Maybank Olin D. Johnston
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 92,100 70,687
Percentage 56.58% 43.42%

 
County results
Maybank:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Johnston:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Roger C. Peace
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Burnet R. Maybank
Democratic

James F. Byrnes (Democratic) had resigned July 8, 1941, and Alva Lumpkin (Democratic) was appointed July 22, 1941, to continue the term. Lumpkin died, however, August 1, 1941, so Roger C. Peace (Democratic) was then appointed August 5, 1941, to continue the term. Peace was not a candidate in the special election.

Governor Burnet R. Maybank took the most votes in the September 2, 1941, Democratic primary over Governor Olin Johnston and Representative Joseph R. Bryson.[3] Maybank then won the September 16, 1941, primary runoff.[4] Maybank won the general election unopposed[5] and would serve through two general elections (1942 and 1948) until his death in 1954.

Texas (special)

edit
1941 United States Senate special election in Texas
 
← 1936 June 28, 1941 1942 →
     
Nominee Pappy O'Daniel Lyndon B. Johnson
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 175,590 174,279
Percentage 30.49% 30.26%

     
Nominee Gerald Mann Martin Dies Jr.
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 140,807 80,653
Percentage 24.45% 14.01%

 
 
O'Daniel:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%

Johnson:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90%
Mann:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%

Dies:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Andrew Jackson Houston
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Pappy O'Daniel
Democratic

Democrat Morris Sheppard died April 9, 1941, and Democrat Andrew Jackson Houston was appointed April 21, 1941, to continue the term. Houston died, however, June 26, 1941, before the August 4, 1941, special election. In a 14-candidate race, "Pappy" W. Lee O'Daniel (Democratic) won a slim plurality over Representative Lyndon Baines Johnson (Democratic), which was sufficient for the election.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate - Special Election Race - Jun 28, 1941".
  2. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - MS US Senate - Special Election Race - Sep 23, 1941".
  3. ^ "Our Campaigns - SC US Senate - Special D Primary Race - Sep 02, 1941".
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - SC US Senate - Special D Runoff Race - Sep 16, 1941".
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - SC US Senate - Special Election Race - Sep 30, 1941".
  6. ^ Texas State Historical Association (1943). "Texas Almanac, 1943-1944". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. pp. 259–260. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  1. ^ a b Among the top 4 candidates
  • Mississippi: United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997 The Official Results Michael J. Dubin
  • Texas: Southern Primaries and Elections, 1920-1949 (O'Daniel, Johnson, Mann, Dies) and Brownsville Herald, 6/15/1941 (rest)