1948 United States Senate election in Kentucky

1948 United States Senate election in Kentucky

←  1946 (special) November 2, 1948 1952 (special)  →

Nominee Virgil Chapman John Sherman Cooper Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 408,256 383,776 Percentage 51.39% 48.31%

County results Chapman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Cooper:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election John Sherman Cooper Republican Elected U.S. Senator Virgil Chapman Democratic

The 1948 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper, who won a 1946 special election to fill the vacant seat of Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler, ran for a full term in office but was defeated by Democratic U.S. Representative Virgil Chapman.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Virgil Chapman, incumbent U.S. Representative
• John Y. Brown, Sr., member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
• D. E. McQueary
• Milton Whiteworth

Results

Primary results by county

  Chapman

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

  Brown

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

  Other

•   60%–70%

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Virgil Chapman	102,860	50.06
	Democratic	John Y. Brown, Sr.	90,740	44.16
	Democratic	Milton Whiteworth	10,852	5.28
	Democratic	D. E. McQueary	1,010	0.49
Total votes			205,462	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Virgil Chapman, U.S. Representative from Lexington (Democratic)
• John Sherman Cooper, incumbent Senator since 1946 (Republican)
• David R. Cox (Socialist Labor)
• W. A. Standefur (Socialist)
• H. G. Stanfield (Progressive)

Results

1948 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Virgil Chapman	408,256	51.39%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper (incumbent)	383,776	48.31%
	Socialist	W. A. Standefur	1,232	0.16%
	Progressive	H. G. Stanfield	924	0.12%
	Socialist Labor	David R. Cox	254	0.03%
	Democratic	John Y. Brown (write-in)	26	0.00%
	Independent	O. G. Gaines (write-in)	1	0.00%
Total votes			794,469	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

See also

• 1948 United States Senate elections

References

1. Jewell, Malcolm E. (1963). Kentucky Votes. Vol. 1. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 56–57. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
2. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1949). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1948" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.