1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey
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 County results Smith: 50–60% 60–70% Wene: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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The 1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1944.
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
[edit]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
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Elmer H. Wene, U.S. Representative from Vineland
Declined
[edit]- Arthur Walsh, interim Senator
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Elmer H. Wene | 151,126 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 151,126 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- H. Alexander Smith, Princeton attorney and member of the Republican National Committee
- Andrew O. Wittreich, Tenafly resident
Withdrew
[edit]- Guy Gabrielson, former Speaker of the General Assembly and assemblyman from East Orange[3]
Campaign
[edit]Gabrielson withdrew from the race after party leadership coalesced behind Smith. As consolation, Gabrielson was elected to succeed Smith as Republican National Committeeman. In 1949, he was elected chair of the Republican National Committee.[3]
Results
[edit]| 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
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- John C. Butterworth (Socialist Labor)
- George W. Ridout (Prohibition), Methodist minister
- Morris Riger (Socialist)
- H. Alexander Smith (Republican), Princeton attorney and member of the Republican National Committee
- Elmer H. Wene (Democratic), U.S. Representative from Vineland
Endorsements
[edit]- Individuals
- Russell Davenport, foreign affairs advisor to Wendell Willkie
- Individuals
- Henry W. Jeffers, dairy farmer and former chair of the New Jersey Republican State Committee (Republican)
Campaign
[edit]Smith reported $15,116 (approximately $207,900 in 2023 dollars) in campaign spending, a considerable sum for the time.[5]
Results
[edit]Wene conceded defeat on November 9, after overseas military ballots were counted. Wene received a substantial majority of the military ballots, but it was not sufficient to overcome Smith's margin in the statewide vote.[6]
| 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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Edison Appoints Arthur Walsh To Succeed Barbour as Senator". The New York Times. November 27, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Secretary of the State of New Jersey. "Results of the Primary Election Held May 16th, 1944" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Wildstein, David (December 27, 2018). "Three New Jersey insiders you've probably never heard of". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (November 4, 1944). "DAVENPORT SUPPORTS H.A. SMITH IN JERSEY". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "SMITH SPENT $15,116 IN NEW JERSEY RACE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (November 10, 1944). "WENE CONCEDES DEFEAT IN JERSEY; Smith's Plurality Is 25,725 for Senate -- Charter Loses by 160,431 -- Wolverton Wins". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NJ US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 07, 1944".
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