1944 United States Senate election in Ohio

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1944 United States Senate election in Ohio
Flag of Ohio.svg
  1938 November 7, 1944 1950  
  RobertATaft83rdCongress (1).png 3x4.svg
Nominee Robert A. Taft William Pickrel
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote1,500,6091,482,610
Percentage50.30%49.70%

1944 United States Senate election in Ohio results by county map.svg
County results
Taft:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Pickrel:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Robert A. Taft
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Robert A. Taft
Republican

The 1944 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Republican Senator Robert A. Taft, first elected in the Republican wave of 1938, was narrowly elected to a second term in office over Democratic former Lieutenant Governor William G. Pickrel, winning 71 of Ohio's 88 counties. Despite Pickrel winning the state's largest urban centers such as Cleveland, his margins there were overcome by Taft's strong showings in the rural areas and small towns. [1] Nevertheless, at less than a point, Taft's victory was significantly smaller than his 7 point win in 1938.

Contents

Background

Senator Taft unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1940 and was a national leader of the party's conservative wing. He opposed American involvement in World War II before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, then he changed his mind and supported Congress' bipartisan effort to pass wartime appropriations for World War 2. In 1944, Taft decided to be a candidate for re-election before considering future presidential runs.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1944 Democratic Senate primary [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic William G. Pickrel 109,281 44.07%
Democratic Marvin C. Harrison77,01931.06%
Democratic John Taylor61,64724.86%
Total votes247,947 100.00%

General election

Results

1944 United States Senate election in Ohio [4] [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Robert A. Taft (incumbent) 1,500,609 50.30% Decrease2.svg3.32
Democratic William G. Pickrel 1,482,61049.70%Increase2.svg3.32
Total votes2,983,219 100.00%

By county

CountyRobert Alphonso Taft Sr.
Republican
William Gillespie Pickrel
Democratic
MarginTotal votes cast [6]
# %# %# %
Adams 5,41957.73%3,96842.27%1,45115.46%9,387
Allen 19,27959.62%13,05740.39%6,22019.2332,336
Ashland 8,09755.95%6,37444.05%1,72311.9%14,471
Ashtabula 16,80957.04%12,66042.96%4,14914.08%29,469
Athens 9,98959.11%6,91140.89%3,07818.22%16,900
Auglaize 8,12162.03%4,97037.97%3,15122.06%13,091
Belmont 15,34441.09%21,99858.91%-6,654-17.82%37,342
Brown 4,47649.56%4,55650.44%-80-0.88%9,032
Butler 20,19942.95%26,82957.05%-6,630-14.1%47,028
Carroll 4,82664.27%2,68335.73%2,14328.54%7,509
Champaign 7,52462.27%4,55837.73%2,96624.54%12,082
Clark 21,44849.76%21,65150.24%-203-0.48%43,099
Clermont 8,31250.95%8,00249.05%3101.9%16,314
Clinton 7,09066.54%3,56533.46%3,52533.08%10,615
Columbiana 19,79554.16%16,75245.84%3,0438.32%36,547
Coshocton 7,26258.45%5,16341.55%2,09916.9%12,425
Crawford 9,03954.3%7,60645.7%1,4338.6%16,645
Cuyahoga 199,42240.27%295,77559.73%-96,353-19.46%495,197
Darke 10,45457.14%7,84242.86%2,61214.28%18,296
Defiance 6,97665.55%3,66734.45%3,30931.1%10,643
Delaware 8,80665.78%4,58234.22%4,22431.56%13,388
Erie 10,07958.14%7,25641.86%2,82316.28%17,335
Fairfield 10,21254.07%8,67645.93%1,5368.14%18,888
Fayette 5,71760.24%3,77439.76%1,94320.48%9,491
Franklin 93,20051.28%88,55348.72%4,6472.56%181,753
Fulton 7,77577.85%2,21222.15%5,56355.7%9,987
Gallia 6,15070.85%2,53029.15%3,62041.7%8,680
Geauga 5,10463.99%2,87236.01%2,23227.98%7,976
Greene 9,42555.91%7,43144.09%1,99411.82%16,856
Guernsey 8,57158.35%6,11741.65%2,45416.7%14,688
Hamilton 149,22652.0%137,75248.0%11,4744.0%286,978
Hancock 12,58765.83%6,53434.17%6,05331.66%19,121
Hardin 8,31861.75%5,15338.25%3,16523.5%13,471
Harrison 4,96860.81%3,20239.19%1,76621.62%8,170
Henry 6,40769.03%2,87530.97%3,53238.06%9,282
Highland 7,59258.75%5,33041.25%2,26217.5%12,922
Hocking 4,23354.48%3,53745.52%6968.96%7,770
Holmes 2,61849.83%2,63650.17%-18-0.34%5,254
Huron 10,68164.19%5,95935.81%4,72228.38%16,640
Jackson 6,67459.85%4,47840.15%2,19619.7%11,152
Jefferson 15,81241.76%22,05358.24%-6,241-16.48%37,865
Knox 9,55464.62%5,23135.38%4,32329.24%14,785
Lake 13,08654.74%10,82045.26%2,2669.48%23,906
Lawrence 8,94256.17%6,97843.83%1,96412.34%15,920
Licking 15,75656.1%12,32843.9%3,42812.2%28,084
Logan 9,49766.6%4,76333.4%4,73433.2%14,260
Lorain 23,15449.55%23,57850.45%-424-0.9%46,732
Lucas 75,17751.18%71,72048.82%3,4572.36%146,897
Madison 5,50163.35%3,18336.65%2,31826.7%8,684
Mahoning 36,89137.52%61,44262.48%-24,551-24.96%98,333
Marion 11,25255.75%8,93144.25%2,32111.5%20,183
Medina 9,97863.83%5,65436.17%4,32427.66%15,632
Meigs 6,15167.65%2,94132.35%3,21035.3%9,092
Mercer 6,83060.5%4,45939.5%2,37121.0%11,289
Miami 14,64160.19%9,68439.81%4,95720.38%24,325
Monroe 3,22851.58%3,03048.42%1983.16%6,258
Montgomery 60,77142.78%81,27257.22%-20,501-14.44%142,043
Morgan 4,20372.27%1,61327.73%2,59044.54%5,816
Morrow 5,04167.21%2,45932.79%2,58234.427,500
Muskingum 16,76357.79%12,24342.21%4,52015.58%29,006
Noble 3,71162.96%2,18337.04%1,52825.92%5,894
Ottawa 6,04555.38%4,87044.62%1,17510.76%10,915
Paulding 4,31665.11%2,31334.89%2,00330.22%6,629
Perry 6,82859.22%4,70240.78%2,12618.44%11,530
Pickaway 5,59250.93%5,38749.07%2051.86%10,979
Pike 2,86540.82%4,15459.18%-1,289-18.36%7,019
Portage 11,88050.22%11,77549.78%1050.44%23,655
Preble 6,38057.25%4,76442.75%1,61614.5%11,144
Putnam 6,78166.12%3,47533.88%3,30632.24%10,256
Richland 16,43150.48%16,11749.52%3140.96%32,548
Ross 11,06053.44%9,63746.56%1,4236.88%20,697
Sandusky 13,12369.18%5,84730.82%7,27638.36%18,970
Scioto 16,78750.45%16,48749.55%3000.9%33,274
Seneca 13,26167.04%6,51932.96%6,74234.08%19,780
Shelby 6,17452.36%5,61747.64%5574.72%11,791
Stark 48,95246.18%57,05453.82%-8,102-7.64%106,006
Summit 64,08543.39%83,59656.61%-19,511-13.22%147,681
Trumbull 24,60243.36%32,13156.64%-7,529-13.28%56,733
Tuscarawas 13,30345.88%15,69454.12%-2,391-8.2428,997
Union 6,49270.15%2,76229.85%3,73040.3%9,254
Van Wert 8,06560.79%5,20239.21%2,86321.58%13,267
Vinton 2,54159.56%1,72540.44%81619.12%4,266
Warren 8,24859.55%5,60240.45%2,64619.1%13,850
Washington 11,19763.47%6,44536.53%4,75226.94%17,642
Wayne 12,66556.98%9,56443.02%3,10113.9622,229
Williams 8,39971.6%3,33228.4%5,06743.2%11,731
Wood 15,47366.02%7,96433.98%7,50932.04%23,437
Wyandot 5,59963.45%3,22536.55%2,37426.9%8,824
Totals1,500,60950.30%1,482,61049.70%17,9990.6%2,983,219

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References

  1. (Patterson, p. 278)
  2. "In Senator Race" . Mansfield News-Journal . Cleveland. February 21, 1944. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  3. "1944 Democratic Primary". www.sos.state.oh.us. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  4. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  5. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1944".
  6. "OH US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1944". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 12, 2022.