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 County results Bacon: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1940 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940. Incumbent Democratic Governor Richard McMullen originally ran for re-election to a second term, and was renominated by the Democratic Party. However, less than a month before the election, McMullen suffered a heart attack and he dropped out of the race. The state party named Secretary of State Josiah Marvel Jr., as McMullen's replacement on the ballot. [1] On the Republican side, Wilmington Mayor Walter W. Bacon was nominated by the Republican Party for Governor. [2]
Ultimately, even as President Franklin D. Roosevelt was handily winning Delaware en route to re-election nationwide, and as Democrat James M. Tunnell was narrowly elected to the Senate, Bacon defeated Marvel by a decisive margin to regain the governorship for the Republican Party. Bacon received 52% of the vote to Marvel's 45%.
