1938 United States Senate election in Illinois

1938 United States Senate election in Illinois

←  1932 November 8, 1938 1944  →

Nominee Scott W. Lucas Richard J. Lyons Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,638,162 1,542,574 Percentage 51.32% 48.33%

County results Lucas:     50–60%     60–70% Lyons:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election William H. Dieterich Democratic Elected U.S. senator Scott W. Lucas Democratic

The 1938 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1938. ^[1] Incumbent first-term Democrat William H. Dieterich retired. Fellow Democrat Scott W. Lucas was elected to succeed him.

Background

The primaries and general election coincided with those for House and those for state elections. ^[1]

Primaries were held April 12, 1938. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Michael L. Igoe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and former U.S. congressman
• Newton Jenkins, perennial candidate ^[2]
• Albert Lagerstedt, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives ^{[3] [4]}
• Scott W. Lucas, U.S. congressman
• John J. Sullivan, resident of New Lenox ^[5]

Results

Democratic primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott W. Lucas	801,761	49.92
	Democratic	Michael L. Igoe	726,477	45.23
	Democratic	Newton Jenkins	32,808	2.04
	Democratic	John J. Sullivan	31,964	1.99
	Democratic	Albert Lagerstedt	13,236	0.82
Total votes			1,606,246	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• William J. Baker
• Richard J. Lyons, U.S. congressman
• Clarence P. Parker

Results

Republican primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard J. Lyons	505,659	73.51
	Republican	William J. Baker	105,482	15.33
	Republican	Clarence P. Parker	76,784	1.12
Total votes			687,925	100

General election

1938 United States Senate election in Illinois ^{[1] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott W. Lucas	1,638,162	51.32%
	Republican	Richard J. Lyons	1,542,574	48.33%
	Prohibition	Enoch A. Holtwick	10,707	0.34%
	None	Scattering	569	0.02%
Majority			95,588	2.99%
Turnout			3,192,012
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1938 United States Senate elections

References

1. Hughes, Edward J. (ed.). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the Primary Election Held on April 12, 1938. Illinois State Board of Elections. p. 6. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Internet Archive.
2. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Newton Jenkins". www.ourcampaigns.com. Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
3. Smith, Harold (February 15, 1942). "Hopes of GOP Run High in Congress Race: Predict Clean Sweep of North Side". Chicago Tribune . He is Albert Lagerstedt, 25 West Ontario Street, an independent candidate for governor in the 1940 primary. Before coming to Chicago about ten years ago, Lagerstedt had been a congressman from Minnesota from 1922 to 1928.
4. "Lagerstedt, Albert". Minnesota Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
5. "Demo Primary Holds Chief Interest". Bureau County Tribune. April 1, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
6. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved July 14, 2019.