1946 United States Senate election in Montana

1946 United States Senate election in Montana

←  1940 November 5, 1946 1952  →

Nominee Zales Ecton Leif Erickson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 101,901 86,476 Percentage 53.47% 45.38%

County results Ecton:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Erickson:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%      No data

U.S. senator before election Burton K. Wheeler Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Zales Ecton Republican

The 1946 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 5, 1946. Incumbent United States Senator Burton K. Wheeler, who was first elected to the Senate in 1922, and was re-elected in 1928, 1934, and 1940, ran for re-election. He was challenged in the Democratic primary by Leif Erickson, the Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, and, following a close election, was narrowly defeated by Erickson. In the general election, Erickson faced State Senator Zales Ecton, the Republican nominee. Ultimately, Ecton defeated Erickson by a fairly wide margin, winning his first and only term in the Senate. Another Republican would not be elected Senator from Montana until 42 years later, when Conrad Burns narrowly won the 1988 election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Leif Erickson, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
• Burton K. Wheeler, incumbent United States Senator

Results

Democratic Primary results by county:

  Erickson

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Wheeler

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Democratic Party primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leif Erickson	49,419	52.61
	Democratic	Burton K. Wheeler (incumbent)	44,513	47.39
Total votes			93,932	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Zales Ecton, State Senator, former State Representative
• R. E. Skeen, railroad brakeman ^[2]

Results

Republican Primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Zales Ecton	22,731	66.94
	Republican	R. E. Skeen	11,226	33.06
Total votes			33,957	100.00

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Montana, 1946 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Zales Ecton	101,901	53.47%	+26.91%
	Democratic	Leif Erickson	86,476	45.38%	−28.06%
	Socialist	Floyd P. Jones	2,189	1.15%
Majority			15,425	8.09%	−38.78%
Turnout			190,566
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

1. "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, July 16, 1946" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
2. "Wheeler Loses Renomination to Erickson After 24 Years in Senate; G.O.P. Picks Ecton". Laurel Outlook. Vol. 38, no. 4. Laurel, Montana. July 17, 1946. p. 1 – via Chronicling America. In the Republican column the two candidates for U.S. senator were Ecton, Manhattan rancher and Republican state senator, and R. E. Skeen, Billings railroad brakeman who entered the race "on a dare."
3. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.