1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey

The 1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1944.

1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1946 →
 
Nominee H. Alexander Smith Elmer H. Wene
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 939,987 910,096
Percentage 50.44% 48.84%

County results
Smith:      50–60%      60–70%
Wene:      50–60%      60–70%

Senator before election

Arthur Walsh
Democratic

Elected Senator

H. Alexander Smith
Republican

The election was held to fill the unexpired term of W. Warren Barbour, who died in November 1943. H. Alexander Smith was elected to the open seat over Democratic U.S. Representative Elmer H. Wene.

The incumbent Democratic appointee, Arthur Walsh, did not run.

Background

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Incumbent Senator W. Warren Barbour was elected in 1940 to a six-year term set to expire in 1947. He died on November 22, 1943, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

On November 26, Governor of New Jersey Charles Edison appointed Arthur Walsh to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected.[1]

A special election to complete the remainder of Barbour's unexpired term was scheduled for November 7, 1944, concurrent with the general election for presidential electors and U.S. House of Representatives.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Declined

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Results

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1944 Democratic U.S. Senate special primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elmer H. Wene 151,126 100.0%
Total votes 151,126 100.0%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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1944 Republican Senate special primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican H. Alexander Smith 187,190 82.55%
Republican Andrew O. Wittreich 39,576 17.45%
Total votes 226,766 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Results

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1944 U.S. Senate special election in New Jersey[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Howard Alexander Smith 940,051 50.44%
Democratic Elmer H. Wene 910,096 48.84%
Prohibition George W. Ridout 9,873 0.53%
Socialist Labor John C. Butterworth 1,997 0.11%
Socialist Morris Riger 1,593 0.09%
Majority 29,955 1.60%
Turnout 1,863,610
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Edison Appoints Arthur Walsh To Succeed Barbour as Senator". The New York Times. November 27, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Secretary of the State of New Jersey. "Results of the Primary Election Held May 16th, 1944" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - NJ US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 07, 1944".