1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

←  1942 November 5, 1946 1948  →

Nominee John Sherman Cooper John Y. Brown Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 327,652 285,829 Percentage 53.27% 46.47%

County results Cooper:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Brown:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election William A. Stanfill Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper Republican

The 1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 1946, to complete the unexpired term of Senator Happy Chandler, who resigned to become Commissioner of Baseball. Interim Senator William A. Stanfill did not run for the full term. Republican John Sherman Cooper defeated Democratic former U.S. Representative John Y. Brown to complete the term.

This was the first of seven consecutive elections to this seat (three special and four regular) in twenty years for which Cooper was the Republican nominee.

Background

Incumbent Senator Happy Chandler resigned to become Commissioner of Baseball on November 1, 1945. Governor Simeon Willis appointed William A. Stanfill to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected. The special election was scheduled for November 5, 1946, concurrent with the general election.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Philip P. Ardery
• John Y. Brown, former U.S. Congressmember
• James Delk
• Blakey Helm
• Tom Logan
• George T. Smith
• Henry C. Stephens, Jr.
• John J. Thobe
• Norris Brooks Vincent

Results

Primary results by county

  Brown

•   30%–40%
•   40%–50%
•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%
•   90–100%

  Ardery

•   30%–40%
•   40%–50%
•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%

  Other

•   30%–40%
•   40%–50%
•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%
•   90–100%

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Y. Brown	55,297	43.64
	Democratic	Philip P. Ardery	42,423	33.48
	Democratic	Blakey Helm	9,864	7.79
	Democratic	Norris Brooks Vincent	7,253	5.72
	Democratic	Tom Logan	4,690	3.70
	Democratic	George T. Smith	2,444	1.93
	Democratic	John J. Thobe	1,826	1.44
	Democratic	Henry C. Stephens, Jr.	1,656	1.31
	Democratic	James Delk	1,245	0.98
Total votes			126,698	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• John Sherman Cooper, circuit judge and former State Representative
• Roscoe Conklin Douglas

Results

Primary results by county

  Cooper

•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%
•   90–100%

  Douglas

•   60%–70%

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper	48,092	85.85
	Republican	Roscoe Conklin Douglas	7,927	14.15
Total votes			56,019	100.00

General election

Candidates

• John Young Brown, former U.S. Representative at-large (Democratic)
• John Sherman Cooper, circuit judge and former State Representative from Pulaski County (Republican)
• W. E. Sandefur (Socialist)

Results

1946 U.S. Senate special election in Kentucky ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper	327,652	53.27%
	Democratic	John Young Brown	285,829	46.47%
	Socialist	W. E. Sandefur	1,638	0.27%
Total votes			615,119	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1946 United States Senate elections

References

1. Jewell, Malcolm E. (1963). Kentucky Votes. Vol. 1. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 50–51. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
2. Jewell, Malcolm E. (1963). Kentucky Votes. Vol. 1. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 52–53. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
3. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1947). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.