1948 United States Senate election in Maine

1948 United States Senate election in Maine

←  1942 September 13, 1948 1954  →

Nominee Margaret Chase Smith Adrian Scolten Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 159,182 64,074 Percentage 71.30% 28.70%

County Results Smith:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

U.S. senator before election Wallace H. White Jr. Republican Elected U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith Republican

The 1948 United States Senate election in Maine was held on September 13, 1948. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Wallace White did not seek a fourth term in office.

U.S. Representative Margaret Chase Smith defeated the two most recent Governors of Maine, Horace Hildreth and Sumner Sewall, in the Republican primary. In the general election, Smith resoundingly defeated Democrat Adrian Scolten of Portland.

Smith was the first woman ever elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate without first being appointed. ^[a] Smith's election also made her the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States Congress, as well as the first woman to represent the state of Maine in the Senate. ^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Albion P. Beverage
• Horace Hildreth, Governor of Maine since 1945
• Sumner Sewall, former Governor of Maine from 1941 to 1945
• Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Representative from Skowhegan

Results

1948 Republican U.S. Senate primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Margaret Chase Smith	63,786	51.90%
	Republican	Horace Hildreth	30,949	25.18%
	Republican	Sumner Sewall	21,763	17.71%
	Republican	Albion Beverage	6,399	5.21%
Total votes			122,897	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Adrian Scolten, farmer

Results

Scolten was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

1948 Democratic U.S. Senate primary ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adrian Scolten	15,452	100.00%
Total votes			15,452	100.00%

General election

Results

1948 U.S. Senate election in Maine ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Margaret Chase Smith	159,182	71.30%	4.63
	Democratic	Adrian Scolten	64,074	28.70%	4.63
Total votes			223,256	100.00%

See also

• 1948 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Senator Margaret Chase Smith (1897–1995)". University of Maine.
2. "ME US Senate- R Primary Race - Jun 21, 1948". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
3. "ME US Senate- D Primary Race - Jun 21, 1948". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
4. "ME US Senate Race - September 13, 1948". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.

Notes

1. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas was elected to two terms in the Senate, but she had been appointed first to succeed her dead husband and was an incumbent in each of her elections. In 1938, Gladys Pyle was elected to represent South Dakota in the U.S. Senate for 55 days to complete the term of Peter Norbeck.