1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee

1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee
	Results by county; Kefauver: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Reece: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Senator before election; Tom Stewart ; Democratic	Elected Senator; Estes Kefauver ; Democratic

Last updated November 06, 2024

The 1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 2, 1948, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Stewart was defeated in the Democratic primary by Estes Kefauver.^[1] In the general election, Kefauver defeated Republican Congressman B. Carroll Reece.

Democratic primary

Candidates

George W. Hardin
John Hickey
Estes Kefauver, U.S. Representative from Chattanooga
John R. Neal, attorney, professor and perennial candidate
John A. Mitchell, incumbent judge for the 5th Judicial Circuit^[2]
Tom Stewart, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1938

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[1]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Estes Kefauver	171,791	42.24%
	Democratic	A. Tom Stewart (incumbent)	129,873	31.94%
	Democratic	John Mitchell	96,192	23.65%
	Democratic	George W. Hardin	5,415	1.33%
	Democratic	John R. Neal	1,876	0.46%
	Democratic	John Hickey	1,534	0.38%
Total votes			406,681	100.00%

Republican primary

While B. Carroll Reece was the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Republican leaders in Tennessee began to discuss the prospect of Reece running for the United States Senate. As Tennessee law allowed a person to qualify for a primary without candidate consent, Reece's associates entered his name into the primary. Reece stepped down from his chairmanship of the RNC after the nomination of Thomas E. Dewey at the 1948 Republican National Convention. After considering the option of running for his former position representing Tennessee's 1st congressional district, Reece instead announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate.^[4] Allen J. Strawbridge, a lawyer from Dresden, Tennessee, was also certified to participate in the Republican primary.^[5] Reece defeated Strawbridge in the Republican primary.^[3]

Repubican Party primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	B. Carroll Reece	82,522	81.7%
	Republican	Allen J. Strawbridge	18,526	18.3%
Total votes			101,048	100.00%

General election

In the general election, Reece ran on an anti-communist platform.^[4] An uncertainty at the beginning of the general election was Boss Crump. Kefauver had won over Crump's preferred candidate and Crump had long maintained a political détente with East Tennessee Republicans. Tennessee Republicans were optimistic that Crump would either support Reece or oppose Kefauver. While Crump did not support Kefauver, he did drop his opposition in the month before the election. Reece lost the general election by a similar margin as most Tennessee Republicans running statewide in that era.^[4]

General election results^[3]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Estes Kefauver	326,142	65.33%
	Republican	B. Carroll Reece	166,947	33.44%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	6,103	1.22%
	None	Scattering	26	0.01%
Majority			159,195	31.89%
Turnout			499,218
	Democratic hold

Related Research Articles

Brazilla Carroll Reece was an American Republican Party politician from Tennessee. He represented eastern Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives for all but six years from 1921 to 1961 and served as the Chair of the Republican National Committee from 1946 to 1948. A conservative, he led the party's Old Right wing alongside Robert A. Taft in crusading against interventionism, communism, and the liberal policies pursued by the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.

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References

1 2 "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate - D Primary Race - Aug 04, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
↑ "Judge Mitchell Dies; Rites Set". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. August 4, 1982. p. 20. Retrieved September 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com. Mitchell ventured outside the judicial field once - in an unsuccessful race in 1948 for the U.S. Senate.
1 2 3 4 Frist, William H.; Annis, Jr., J. Lee (1999). Tennessee Senators, 1911-2001: Portraits of Leadership in a Century of Change. Lanham: Madison Books. p. 288. Retrieved September 26, 2024– via Internet Archive.
1 2 3 Bowers, Fashion Suzanne (2007). "Republican, First, Last, and Always: A Biography of B. Carroll Reece". Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee. pp. 132–133. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
↑ "Reece and Hillbilly Tennessee Candidates". The Lewiston Daily Sun . July 19, 1948. Retrieved September 26, 2024– via Google Newspapers.
↑ "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.

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[TN1948-1] 1 2 "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate - D Primary Race - Aug 04, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.

[2] "Judge Mitchell Dies; Rites Set". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. August 4, 1982. p. 20. Retrieved September 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com. Mitchell ventured outside the judicial field once - in an unsuccessful race in 1948 for the U.S. Senate.

[Frist_1999-3] 1 2 3 4 Frist, William H.; Annis, Jr., J. Lee (1999). Tennessee Senators, 1911-2001: Portraits of Leadership in a Century of Change. Lanham: Madison Books. p. 288. Retrieved September 26, 2024– via Internet Archive.

[Bowers_2007-4] 1 2 3 Bowers, Fashion Suzanne (2007). "Republican, First, Last, and Always: A Biography of B. Carroll Reece". Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee. pp. 132–133. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

[5] "Reece and Hillbilly Tennessee Candidates". The Lewiston Daily Sun . July 19, 1948. Retrieved September 26, 2024– via Google Newspapers.

[6] "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.

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