1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

none March 2026 September 2023 1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts Massachusetts 1908 presidential no 1942 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1942 1948 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1948 November 7, 1944 150x150px File:Leverett Saltonstall (MA).jpg Leverett Saltonstall Republican Party (United States) 1,228,754 64.29% 3x4.svg John H. Corcoran Democratic Party (United States) 667,086 34.90% 300px County results 300px| Municipality results 1 250px Saltonstall: #FFB2B2 40–50% #E27F7F 50–60% #D75D5D 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90% #A80000 >90%Corcoran: #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% U.S. Senator Sinclair Weeks Republican Party (United States) Leverett Saltonstall Republican Party (United States) The 1944 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1944 to complete the unexpired term of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who had resigned from the Senate to serve in World War II. Republican governor Leverett Saltonstall defeated Cambridge mayor John H. Corcoran in a landslide. Primary elections were held on July 10. Saltonstall was unopposed for the Republican nomination, while Corcoran won a highly competitive race for the Democratic nomination in which all four candidates came from Boston or Cambridge. At the time, Saltonstall's margin of victory was the largest ever recorded by a candidate for statewide office in Massachusetts. Background Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. resigned from the Senate on February 3, 1944, to return to active duty in the U.S. Army during World War II. Despite initial reporting that Leverett Saltonstall would resign as governor so that lieutenant governor Horace T. Cahill could succeed him and appoint him to the vacant seat, Saltonstall opted not to resign.LODGE RESIGNS TO REJOIN ARMY; SALTONSTALL SEEN AS SUCCESSOR 4 Feb 1944 1 The Fitchburg Sentinel Washington Associated Press https://www.newspapers.com/image/45413337/ subscription 3 Jun 2023 Instead, on February 8, Saltonstall appointed Sinclair Weeks, whom Lodge had narrowly defeated for the Senate nomination at the Republican state convention in 1936. A special election was scheduled on November 7, concurrent with the regularly scheduled 1944 elections. Republican primary Candidates Leverett Saltonstall, governor of Massachusetts since 1939 Declined Sinclair Weeks, interim U.S. senator since February 3 Results Governor Saltonstall was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Democratic primary Candidates John H. Corcoran, mayor of Cambridge Joseph A. Langone Jr., former state senator Joseph Lee, former member of the Boston School Committee Richard M. Russell, former U.S. representative and mayor of Cambridge Results Democratic primaryhttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=619865 Our Campaigns - MA US Senate - Special D Primary Race - Jul 11, 1944 Democratic Party (United States) John H. Corcoran 62,537 33.90% Democratic Party (United States) Joseph Lee 47,514 25.76% Democratic Party (United States) Richard M. Russell 47,080 25.52% Democratic Party (United States) Joseph A. Langone Jr. 27,317 14.82% 184,448 100.00% General election Candidates John H. Corcoran, mayor of Cambridge since 1942 (Democratic) Bernard G. Kelly, nominee for Secretary of the Commonwealth in 1942 and Auditor in 1940Bernard G. Kelly at ourcampaigns.com (Socialist Labor) E. Tallmadge Root, nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 1940 (Prohibition) Leverett Saltonstall, Governor of Massachusetts since 1939 (Republican) Results General election Republican Party (US) Leverett Saltonstall 1,228,754 64.29% 11.85 Democratic Party (US) John H. Corcoran 667,086 34.90% 11.71 Socialist Labor Party of America Bernard G. Kelly 12,296 0.64% 0.29 Prohibition Party E. Tallmadge Root 3,269 0.17% 0.09 1,911,405 100.00% Though he was entitled to be seated immediately upon the certification of the election, Saltonstall did not take office until January 4, 1945, when his term as Governor ended. See also United States Senate elections, 1944 References Massachusetts 1944 Massachusetts 1944 Category:1944 Massachusetts elections Category:Special elections to the 78th United States Congress United States Senate 1874