1941 United States Senate special election in Texas

1941 United States Senate special election in Texas
	June 28, 1941
	June 28, 1941
U.S. senator before election; Andrew Jackson Houston; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Pappy O'Daniel; Democratic

The 1941 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on June 28, 1941 to complete the unexpired term of Senator Morris Sheppard, who died in office on April 9. Interim Senator Andrew Jackson Houston did not run for re-election. The race was won by Governor Pappy O'Daniel with a plurality of the vote; no majority was required.

O'Daniel very narrowly defeated U.S. Representative Lyndon Baines Johnson, who would go on to win the seat after O'Daniel's retirement in 1948.

Background

In April 1941, incumbent Senator Morris Sheppard died in office. Governor Pappy O'Daniel appointed Andrew Jackson Houston to fill the seat until a successor could be duly elected, with the election scheduled for June 28. The winner would finish Sheppard's term ending in 1943.

Houston did not run to complete the term, only serving as a placeholder for Governor O'Daniel.

Candidates

Major candidates

Martin Dies Jr., U.S. Representative from Lufkin and Chair of the House Un-American Activities Committee
Lyndon Baines Johnson, U.S. Representative from Gillespie County
Gerald Mann, Attorney General of Texas
Pappy O'Daniel, Governor of Texas

Minor candidates

None of these candidates received more than 0.30% of the popular vote.

Joseph C. Bean
John R. Brinkley
Homer Brooks
E. A. Calvin
Arlon Barton "Cyclone" Davis
Politte Elvins
Guy B. Fisher
Enoch Fletcher
W. E. Gilliland
A. E. Harding
Basil Muse Hatfield
Robert Grammer Head
O.F. Heath Sr.
Bubba Hicks
W. R. Jones
W. W. "Cap" King
Starl G. Newsome Jr.
Floyd E. Ryan
Walter A. Schulz
Charles L. Somerville
Joe Thompson
Edwin Waller III
W. C. Welch
John C. Williams

All of these candidates were Democrats except Evans (Republican), Fletcher (Republican), Jones (Independent), and Brooks (Communist).

Results

1941 U.S. Senate special election[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pappy O'Daniel	175,590	30.49%
	Democratic	Lyndon B. Johnson	174,279	30.26%
	Democratic	Gerald Mann	140,807	24.45%
	Democratic	Martin Dies Jr.	80,653	14.01%
	Various	Minor candidates	4,548	0.79%
Total votes			575,877	100.00%

References

"TX US Senate – Special Election". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved 1 Dec 2020.

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[1] "TX US Senate – Special Election". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved 1 Dec 2020.