1940 United States gubernatorial elections

1940 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1939 November 5, 1940; September 9, 1940 (ME) 1941  →
34 governorships
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 30 18 Seats after 28 20 Seat change 2 2 Seats up 19 15 Seats won 17 17
Democratic hold     Democratic gain      Republican hold     Republican gain      No election

United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1940, in 34 states, concurrent with the House, Senate elections and presidential election, on November 5, 1940. Elections took place on September 9 in Maine.

This was the last time Georgia elected its governors to 2-year terms, as it switched to 4-years terms from the 1942 election.

Results

State	Incumbent	Party	Status	Opposing candidates
Arizona	Robert Taylor Jones	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Democratic victory	Sidney Preston Osborn (Democratic) 65.52% Jerrie W. Lee (Republican) 33.81% Charles R. Osburn (Prohibition) 0.67% [1]
Arkansas	Carl E. Bailey	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Democratic victory	Homer Adkins (Democratic) 91.36% H. C. Stump (Republican) 8.22% Walter S. McNutt (Independent) 0.43% [2]
Colorado	Ralph Lawrence Carr	Republican	Re-elected, 54.37%	George E. Saunders (Democratic) 44.96% Carle Whitehead (Socialist) 0.41% Laurence W. Cofman (Prohibition) 0.27% [3]
Connecticut	Raymond E. Baldwin	Republican	Defeated, 47.78%	Robert A. Hurley (Democratic) 49.54% Jasper McLevy (Socialist) 2.31% Joseph Mackay (Socialist Labor) 0.23% Michael A. Russo (Communist) 0.15% [4]
Delaware	Richard McMullen	Democratic	Won Democratic primary but retired as candidate, Republican victory	Walter W. Bacon (Republican) 52.38% Josiah Marvel Jr. (Democratic) 45.41% Ivan Culbertson (Liberal Democrat) 2.21% [5]
Florida	Fred P. Cone	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Spessard Holland (Democratic) 100.00% [6] (Democratic primary runoff results) Spessard L. Holland 56.95% Francis P. Whitehair 43.05% [7]
Georgia	Eurith D. Rivers	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Eugene Talmadge (Democratic) 99.60% J. L. R. Boyd (Prohibition) 0.30% Joe Wallace (Independent) 0.10% [8] (Democratic primary results) Eugene Talmadge 51.58% Columbus Roberts 35.95% Hosea Abit Nix 12.47% [9]
Idaho	C. A. Bottolfsen	Republican	Defeated, 49.52%	Chase A. Clark (Democratic) 50.48% [10]
Illinois	John Henry Stelle	Democratic	Retired, Republican victory	Dwight H. Green (Republican) 52.93% Harry Hershey (Democratic) 46.74% Arthur McDowell (Socialist) 0.18% Clay Freeman Gaumer (Prohibition) 0.16% [11]
Indiana	M. Clifford Townsend	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Henry F. Schricker (Democratic) 49.92% Glenn R. Hillis (Republican) 49.69% Mary Donovan Hapgood (Socialist) 0.27% Omer S. Whiteman (Prohibition) 0.08% Herman Barcus Barefield (Socialist Labor) 0.04% [12]
Iowa	George A. Wilson	Republican	Re-elected, 52.72%	John Valentine (Democratic) 47.07% M. M. Heptonstall (Prohibition) 0.11% Charles Speck (Communist) 0.11% [13]
Kansas	Payne Ratner	Republican	Re-elected, 49.63%	William H. Burke (Democratic) 49.58% David C. White (Prohibition) 0.61% Ida A. Beloof (Socialist) 0.19% [14]
Maine (held, 9 September 1940)	Lewis O. Barrows	Republican	Retired, Republican victory	Sumner Sewall (Republican) 63.79% Fulton J. Redman (Democratic) 36.08% Helen Knudsen (Communist) 0.13% [15]
Massachusetts	Leverett Saltonstall	Republican	Re-elected, 49.74%	Paul A. Dever (Democratic) 49.46% Otis Archer Hood (Communist) 0.28% Jeffrey W. Campbell (Socialist) 0.23% Henning A. Blomen (Socialist Labor) 0.17% E. Tallmadge Root (Prohibition) 0.12% [16]
Michigan	Luren Dickinson	Republican	Defeated, 46.59%	Murray Van Wagoner (Democratic) 53.06% Seth Whitmore (Socialist) 0.20% Philip Raymond (Communist) 0.12% Ralph Naylor (Socialist Labor) 0.04% [17]
Minnesota	Harold Stassen	Republican	Re-elected, 52.06%	Hjalmar Petersen (Farmer-Labor) 36.55% Edward Murphy (Democratic) 11.14% John William Castle (Industrial) 0.25% [18]
Missouri	Lloyd C. Stark	Democratic	Term-limited, Republican victory	Forrest C. Donnell (Republican) 50.05% Larry McDaniel (Democratic) 49.85% Jed A. High (Socialist) 0.09% William Wesley Cox (Socialist Labor) 0.01% [19]
Montana	Roy E. Ayers	Democratic	Defeated, 48.64%	Sam C. Ford (Republican) 50.67% Arvo Fredrickson (Communist) 0.70% [20]
Nebraska	Robert Leroy Cochran	Democratic	Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Republican victory	Dwight Griswold (Republican) 60.86% Terry Carpenter (Democratic) 39.14% [21]
New Hampshire	Francis P. Murphy	Republican	Retired, Republican victory	Robert O. Blood (Republican) 50.74% F. Clyde Keefe (Democratic) 49.26% [22]
New Jersey	A. Harry Moore	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Charles Edison (Democratic) 51.38% Robert C. Hendrickson (Republican) 48.04% Marion Douglas (Socialist) 0.40% Manuel Cantor (Communist) 0.08% John C. Butterworth (Socialist Labor) 0.07% Elmo L. Bateman (National Prohibition) 0.03% [23]
New Mexico	John E. Miles	Democratic	Re-elected, 55.59%	Maurice Miera (Republican) 44.41% [24]
North Carolina	Clyde R. Hoey	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	J. Melville Broughton (Democratic) 75.70% Robert H. McNeill (Republican) 24.30% [25]
North Dakota	John Moses	Democratic	Re-elected, 63.11%	Jack A. Patterson (Republican) 36.89% [26]
Ohio	John W. Bricker	Republican	Re-elected, 55.55%	Martin L. Davey (Democratic) 44.45% [27]
Rhode Island	William Henry Vanderbilt III	Republican	Defeated, 44.08%	J. Howard McGrath (Democratic) 55.84% Wilfred J. Boissy (Communist) 0.08% [28]
South Dakota	Harlan J. Bushfield	Republican	Re-elected, 55.14%	Lewis W. Bicknell (Democratic) 44.86% [29]
Tennessee	Prentice Cooper	Democratic	Re-elected, 72.09%	C. Arthur Bruce (Republican) 27.91% [30]
Texas	W. Lee O'Daniel	Democratic	Re-elected, 94.43%	George C. Hopkins (Republican) 5.55% Ben H. Lauderdale (Communist) 0.03% [31]
Utah	Henry H. Blood	Democratic	Retired, Democratic victory	Herbert B. Maw (Democratic) 52.07% Don B. Colton (Republican) 47.69% Ada Williams Quinn (Independent) 0.24% [32]
Vermont	George Aiken	Republican	Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Republican victory	William Henry Wills (Republican) 64.03% John McGrath (Democratic) 35.97% [33]
Washington	Clarence D. Martin	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Republican victory	Arthur B. Langlie (Republican) 50.24% Clarence Dill (Democratic) 49.49% John Brockway (Communist) 0.21% P. J. Ater (Socialist Labor) 0.06% [34]
West Virginia	Homer A. Holt	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Matthew M. Neely (Democratic) 56.38% Daniel Boone Dawson (Republican) 43.62% [35]
Wisconsin	Julius P. Heil	Republican	Re-elected, 40.67%	Orland Steen Loomis (Progressive) 39.78% Francis E. McGovern (Democratic) 19.29% Fred B. Blair (Communist) 0.17% Louis Fisher (Socialist Labor) 0.08% Scattering 0.01% [36]

See also

• 1940 United States elections
  • 1940 United States presidential election
  • 1940 United States Senate elections
  • 1940 United States House of Representatives elections

References

1. "AZ Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
2. "AR Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
3. "CO Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
4. "CT Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
5. "DE Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
6. "FL Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
7. "FL Governor, 1940 – D Runoff". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
8. "GA Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
9. "GA Governor, 1940 – D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
10. "ID Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
11. "IL Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
12. "IN Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
13. "IA Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
14. "KS Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
15. "ME Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
16. "MA Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
17. "MI Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
18. "MN Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
19. "MO Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
20. "MT Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
21. "NE Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
22. "NH Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
23. "NJ Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
24. "NM Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
25. "NC Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
26. "ND Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
27. "OH Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
28. "RI Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
29. "SD Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
30. "TN Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
31. "TX Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
32. "UT Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
33. "VT Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
34. "WA Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
35. "WV Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
36. "WI Governor, 1940". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 14, 2019.