1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

The 1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1946.

1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
November 5, 1946
 
Nominee Joseph McCarthy Howard J. McMurray
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 620,430 378,772
Percentage 61.28% 37.41%
County results
U.S. senator before election

Robert La Follette, Jr.
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Joseph McCarthy
Republican

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Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Robert La Follette, Jr. (who had until 1946 been a member of the Progressive Party) narrowly lost the primary election to Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy would go on to win the general election against Rep. Howard McMurray of Milwaukee in a landslide. McCarthy became the first person other than a La Follette to hold this seat since 1906.

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

The Republican primary election was noted for its divisiveness and bitterness.

The incumbent Senator La Follette, who had just re-joined the Republican Party after the collapse of the Wisconsin Progressive Party earlier that year, was challenged by Judge Joe McCarthy of Appleton. Disbanding the Progressive Party and seeking election on the Republican ticket that same year cost him the support of many progressive supporters that belonged to the former, while the more conservative Republicans were also suspicious of La Follette, as he had previously run against them.

La Follette ran an isolationist campaign against the United Nations and was critical of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Confident of victory, he remained in Washington to draft and win passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 rather than returning to Wisconsin to campaign for re-election.

McCarthy campaigned aggressively and attacked La Follette for not enlisting during World War II, although La Follette had been 46 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and would have been too old to be accepted. McCarthy played up his own wartime service, using his wartime nickname, "Tail-Gunner Joe," and the slogan "Congress needs a tail-gunner". McCarthy also claimed that while he had been away fighting for his country, La Follette had made huge profits from investments; the suggestion that La Follette had been guilty of war profiteering was deeply damaging.

While La Follette initially started with a large lead in the polls, that lead gradually dwindled, and on the primary election day, the results of the final county to report polls tipped the scales in McCarthy's favor. La Follette sent a one-word telegram saying "Congratulations" to McCarthy.

Results

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1946 Republican U.S. Senate primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joseph McCarthy 207,935 47.25%
Republican Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (incumbent) 202,557 46.03%
Republican Perry J. Stearns 29,605 6.73%
Total votes 440,097 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

McMurray was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Independents and third parties

Socialist

Socialist Labor

General election

Results
General election results[2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joseph McCarthy 620,430 61.28% 19.90
Democratic Howard J. McMurray 378,772 37.41% 24.21
Socialist Edwin Knappe 11,750 1.16% 1.16
Socialist Labor Georgia Cozzini 1,552 0.15% 0.07
None Scattering 2,090 0.21% N/A
Majority 241,658 23.82%
Total votes 1,014,594 100.00%
Republican hold

Results by county
County Joseph Raymond McCarthy
Republican		 Howard Johnstone McMurray
Democratic		 Edwin W. Knappe
Socialist		 Georgia Olive Cozzini
Socialist Labor		 Margin Total votes cast[3]
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,336 63.11% 769 36.32% 9 0.43% 3 0.14% 567 26.78% 2,117
Ashland 3,144 56.18% 2,416 43.17% 23 0.41% 13 0.23% 728 13.01% 5,596
Barron 5,093 64.45% 2,778 35.16% 31 0.39% 0 0.00% 2,315 29.30% 7,902
Bayfield 2,412 56.75% 1,811 42.61% 19 0.45% 8 0.19% 601 14.14% 4,250
Brown 20,089 65.25% 10,660 34.62% 35 0.11% 4 0.01% 9,429 30.63% 30,788
Buffalo 2,877 70.41% 1,177 28.81% 21 0.51% 11 0.27% 1,700 41.61% 4,086
Burnett 1,644 60.91% 1,040 38.53% 10 0.37% 5 0.19% 604 22.38% 2,699
Calumet 4,432 71.97% 1,706 27.70% 19 0.31% 1 0.02% 2,726 44.27% 6,158
Chippewa 7,201 62.55% 4,236 36.80% 53 0.46% 22 0.19% 2,965 25.76% 11,512
Clark 5,818 67.42% 2,721 31.53% 83 0.96% 8 0.09% 3,097 35.89% 8,630
Columbia 6,589 66.94% 3,212 32.63% 40 0.41% 2 0.02% 3,377 34.31% 9,843
Crawford 3,805 65.86% 1,964 34.00% 5 0.09% 3 0.05% 1,841 31.87% 5,777
Dane 23,222 47.38% 25,200 51.42% 557 1.14% 30 0.06% -1,978 -4.04% 49,009
Dodge 10,556 71.41% 4,151 28.08% 72 0.49% 3 0.02% 6,405 43.33% 14,782
Door 4,751 84.37% 864 15.34% 12 0.21% 4 0.07% 3,887 69.03% 5,631
Douglas 7,389 52.74% 6,522 46.56% 72 0.51% 26 0.19% 867 6.19% 14,009
Dunn 4,549 67.41% 2,149 31.85% 35 0.52% 15 0.22% 2,400 35.57% 6,748
Eau Claire 8,615 56.36% 6,610 43.24% 57 0.37% 5 0.03% 2,005 13.12% 15,287
Florence 668 63.56% 375 35.68% 8 0.76% 0 0.00% 293 27.88% 1,051
Fond du Lac 14,023 69.72% 5,967 29.67% 88 0.44% 34 0.17% 8,056 40.06% 20,112
Forest 1,491 51.65% 1,384 47.94% 8 0.28% 4 0.14% 107 3.71% 2,887
Grant 9,115 72.26% 3,440 27.27% 40 0.32% 20 0.16% 5,675 44.99% 12,615
Green 4,079 68.32% 1,864 31.22% 27 0.45% 0 0.00% 2,215 37.10% 5,970
Green Lake 3,789 80.22% 925 19.59% 5 0.11% 4 0.08% 2,864 60.64% 4,723
Iowa 4,418 67.82% 2,084 31.99% 11 0.17% 1 0.02% 2,334 35.83% 6,514
Iron 1,687 51.59% 1,561 47.74% 16 0.49% 6 0.18% 126 3.85% 3,270
Jackson 2,666 64.40% 1,440 34.78% 24 0.58% 10 0.24% 1,226 29.61% 4,140
Jefferson 8,379 66.83% 4,105 32.74% 50 0.40% 3 0.02% 4,274 34.09% 12,537
Juneau 3,717 74.64% 1,237 24.84% 25 0.50% 1 0.02% 2,480 49.80% 4,980
Kenosha 12,912 50.64% 12,411 48.67% 131 0.51% 44 0.17% 501 1.96% 25,498
Kewaunee 3,737 71.05% 1,519 28.88% 4 0.08% 0 0.00% 2,218 42.17% 5,260
La Crosse 11,092 66.18% 5,547 33.09% 99 0.59% 23 0.14% 5,545 33.08% 16,761
Lafayette 3,764 63.05% 2,179 36.50% 23 0.39% 4 0.07% 1,585 26.55% 5,970
Langlade 4,299 60.30% 2,811 39.43% 16 0.22% 3 0.04% 1,488 20.87% 7,129
Lincoln 4,405 71.51% 1,689 27.42% 51 0.83% 15 0.24% 2,716 44.09% 6,160
Manitowoc 12,615 60.77% 8,063 38.84% 66 0.32% 14 0.07% 4,552 21.93% 20,758
Marathon 12,231 55.02% 9,676 43.53% 309 1.39% 14 0.06% 2,555 11.49% 22,230
Marinette 6,132 68.56% 2,759 30.85% 41 0.46% 12 0.13% 3,373 37.71% 8,944
Marquette 2,035 81.47% 450 18.01% 11 0.44% 2 0.08% 1,585 63.45% 2,498
Milwaukee 151,104 54.74% 117,163 42.44% 6,910 2.50% 873 0.32% 33,941 12.30% 276,050
Monroe 5,250 69.08% 2,305 30.33% 42 0.55% 3 0.04% 2,945 38.75% 7,600
Oconto 5,116 72.23% 1,920 27.11% 40 0.56% 7 0.10% 3,196 45.12% 7,083
Oneida 3,238 58.20% 2,288 41.12% 32 0.58% 6 0.11% 950 17.07% 5,564
Outagamie 16,606 70.11% 6,929 29.25% 123 0.52% 29 0.12% 9,677 40.85% 23,687
Ozaukee 4,627 69.38% 2,018 30.26% 23 0.34% 1 0.01% 2,609 39.12% 6,669
Pepin 1,500 70.49% 624 29.32% 4 0.19% 0 0.00% 876 41.17% 2,128
Pierce 4,726 73.94% 1,600 25.03% 50 0.78% 16 0.25% 3,126 48.90% 6,392
Polk 4,070 61.94% 2,464 37.50% 36 0.55% 1 0.02% 1,606 24.44% 6,571
Portage 5,802 50.40% 5,689 49.42% 20 0.17% 1 0.01% 113 0.98% 11,512
Price 3,229 63.18% 1,812 35.45% 54 1.06% 16 0.31% 1,417 27.72% 5,111
Racine 18,175 52.06% 16,461 47.15% 229 0.66% 45 0.13% 1,714 4.91% 34,910
Richland 4,187 75.40% 1,353 24.37% 13 0.23% 0 0.00% 2,834 51.04% 5,553
Rock 17,409 65.71% 8,890 33.55% 178 0.67% 17 0.06% 8,519 32.15% 26,494
Rusk 3,340 66.64% 1,641 32.74% 25 0.50% 6 0.12% 1,699 33.90% 5,012
Sauk 7,463 68.75% 3,151 29.03% 233 2.15% 9 0.08% 4,312 39.72% 10,856
Sawyer 2,551 70.86% 1,002 27.83% 31 0.86% 16 0.44% 1,549 43.03% 3,600
Shawano 6,125 74.49% 2,065 25.11% 26 0.32% 7 0.09% 4,060 49.37% 8,223
Sheboygan 13,330 54.65% 10,283 42.16% 757 3.10% 22 0.09% 3,047 12.49% 24,392
St. Croix 4,938 63.49% 2,799 35.99% 34 0.44% 6 0.08% 2,139 27.50% 7,777
Taylor 3,153 61.41% 1,750 34.09% 226 4.40% 5 0.10% 1,403 27.33% 5,134
Trempealeau 4,189 62.82% 2,446 36.68% 25 0.37% 8 0.12% 1,743 26.14% 6,668
Vernon 4,509 66.06% 2,299 33.68% 9 0.13% 9 0.13% 2,210 32.38% 6,826
Vilas 2,098 66.99% 1,015 32.41% 9 0.29% 10 0.32% 1,083 34.58% 3,132
Walworth 8,896 79.83% 2,212 19.85% 31 0.28% 4 0.04% 6,684 59.98% 11,143
Washburn 1,818 62.09% 1,099 37.53% 9 0.31% 2 0.07% 719 24.56% 2,928
Washington 7,789 74.69% 2,597 24.90% 39 0.37% 4 0.04% 5,192 49.78% 10,429
Waukesha 17,606 73.31% 6,227 25.93% 162 0.67% 20 0.08% 11,379 47.38% 24,015
Waupaca 7,930 79.06% 2,072 20.66% 24 0.24% 4 0.04% 5,858 58.40% 10,030
Waushara 3,362 81.25% 760 18.37% 15 0.36% 1 0.02% 2,602 62.88% 4,138
Winnebago 16,329 67.48% 7,756 32.05% 98 0.40% 16 0.07% 8,573 35.43% 24,199
Wood 9,189 66.36% 4,610 33.29% 37 0.27% 11 0.08% 4,579 33.07% 13,847
Totals620,43061.28%378,77237.41%11,7501.16%1,5520.15%241,65823.87%1,012,504

See also

References
  1. "WI US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. "WI US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
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