1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts explained

Election Name:1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
Country:Massachusetts
Flag Year:1908
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1942 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Previous Year:1942
Next Election:1948 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Next Year:1948
Election Date:November 7, 1944
Image1:File:Leverett Saltonstall cph.3b10555.jpg
Nominee1:Leverett Saltonstall
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:1,228,754
Percentage1:64.29%
Nominee2:John H. Corcoran
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:667,086
Percentage2:34.90%
Map Size:250px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:Sinclair Weeks
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Leverett Saltonstall
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1944. Republican Governor Leverett Saltonstall was elected to finish the term of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who had resigned from the Senate to serve in World War II.

Primary elections were held on July 10; Saltonstall was unopposed for the Republican nomination, while John H. Corcoran won a highly competitive race for the Democratic nomination, in which all four candidates came from Boston or Cambridge.

Background

Incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. resigned from the Senate on February 3, 1944, to return to active duty in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Despite initial reporting that Governor Leverett Saltonstall would resign so that Lieutenant Governor Horace T. Cahill could appoint him to the vacant seat, he chose not to.[1] Instead, on February 8, Saltonstall appointed Sinclair Weeks, whom Lodge had narrowly defeated at the party convention in 1936.

A special election was scheduled on November 7, concurrent with the regularly scheduled elections to state and national office.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Governor Saltonstall was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

Though he was entitled to be seated immediately upon the certification of the election, Saltonstall did not take office until January 4, 1945, when his term as Governor ended.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: LODGE RESIGNS TO REJOIN ARMY; SALTONSTALL SEEN AS SUCCESSOR. 4 Feb 1944. 1. The Fitchburg Sentinel. Washington. Associated Press. subscription. 3 Jun 2023.
  2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=104527 Bernard G. Kelly