1954 United States Senate special election in Ohio

1954 United States Senate special election in Ohio

←  1950 November 6, 1954 1956  →

Nominee George H. Bender Thomas A. Burke Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,257,874 1,254,904 Percentage 50.06% 49.94%

County results Bender:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Burke:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Thomas A. Burke Democratic Elected U.S. Senator George H. Bender Republican

The United States Senate special election in Ohio of 1954 was held on November 2, 1954 to complete the unexpired term of late Senator Robert A. Taft, who died in office on July 31, 1953. Senator Thomas A. Burke (who was appointed as Taft's successor) ran to complete the term in office but was narrowly defeated by U.S. Representative George Bender.

Background

On July 31, 1953, incumbent Republican Senator Robert A. Taft died in office. His term was scheduled to expire in 1957. Governor Frank Lausche appointed Thomas A. Burke, the Democratic Mayor of Cleveland, to fill his seat until a successor could be duly elected.

The special election was scheduled for November 2, 1954, concurrent with the regularly scheduled state and federal elections. Burke ran to complete the term. This was the last U.S. Senate special election in Ohio until the one to this seat in 2026.

Republican primary

Candidates

• George H. Bender, U.S. Representative from Chagrin Falls
• William B. Saxbe, State Representative from Mechanicsburg

Results

1954 Republican Senate special primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George H. Bender	254,390	57.40%
	Republican	William B. Saxbe	188,783	42.60%
Total votes			443,173	100.00%

General election

1954 United States Senate special election in Ohio ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George Bender	1,257,874	50.06%	7.48
	Democratic	Thomas A. Burke (incumbent)	1,254,904	49.94%	7.48
Total votes			2,512,778	100.0%

See also

• 1954 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Republican Primary: May 4, 1954 - Ohio Secretary of State". www.sos.state.oh.us.
2. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1954" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
3. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 02, 1954". www.ourcampaigns.com.