1946 United States Senate election in Mississippi

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1946 U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Mississippi
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1940 July 2, 1946 1947 (special)  
  TheodoreBilbo.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Theodore G. Bilbo Tom Ellis
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote97,82058,005
Percentage51.00%30.24%

  RossACollins.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Ross A. Collins Nelson T. Levings
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote18,87515,720
Percentage9.84%8.20%

1946 United States Senate Primary election in Mississippi results map by county.svg
County results
Bilbo:      30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%
Ellis:      40-50%     50-60%     60-70%

U.S. senator before election

Theodore G. Bilbo
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Theodore G. Bilbo
Democratic

The 1946 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 3, 1946. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Theodore G. Bilbo won re-election to his third term.

Contents

Because Bilbo was unopposed in the general election, his victory in the July 2 primary was tantamount to election. He defeated a field of candidates with 51% of the vote.

However, the United States Senate, with a Republican majority and at the request of liberal Democratic Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho, refused to seat Bilbo based on his adamant opposition to voting rights for black Americans anywhere in the country, incitement of violence against those blacks who tried to vote, and history of accepting bribes. While his re-entry to the Senate was being contested in 1947, Bilbo died of oral cancer.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Withdrew

  • Douglas Smith, landscaper and greenhouse operator from Jackson [1]

Results

1946 Democratic U.S. Senate primary [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Theodore G. Bilbo (incumbent) 97,820 51.00%
Democratic Tom Ellis58,00530.24%
Democratic Ross A. Collins 18,8759.84%
Democratic Nelson T. Levings15,7208.20%
Democratic Frank H. Harper1,3860.72%
Total votes191,806 100.00%

General election

Results

1946 U.S. Senate election in Mississippi [3] [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Theodore G. Bilbo (incumbent) 46,747 100.00% Steady2.svg
Total votes46,747 100.00%

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Edson, Peter (May 11, 1946). "Peter Edson" . Los Angeles Daily News. p. 14. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. "MS US Senate - D Primary Race - Jul 02, 1946". Our Campaigns.
  3. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. "MS US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". Our Campaigns.

Further reading