1950 United States Senate special election in North Carolina

none March 2026 1950 United States Senate special election in North Carolina North Carolina Presidential no 1948 United States Senate election in North Carolina 1948 1954 United States Senate special elections in North Carolina 1954 (special) November 7, 1950 150x150px 1885 File:Willissmith.JPG Willis Smith Democratic Party (United States) 364,912 66.97% 3x4.svg E. L. Galvin Republican Party (United States) 177,753 32.62% 1950 United States Senate special election in North Carolina results map by county.svg 300px County resultsSmith: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90%Galvin: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% Senator Frank P. Graham Democratic Party (US) Willis Smith Democratic Party (US) The 1950 United States Senate special election in North Carolina took place on November 7, 1950 in North Carolina as part of the 1950 Senate elections. The incumbent Democratic Senator J. Melville Broughton died two months into his term on March 6, 1949. Frank Porter Graham, the president of the University of North Carolina, was appointed to the vacant seat. Graham was defeated in the Democratic primary by former Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Willis Smith, who would go on to win election by a margin of 34.4%. Smith would die on June 26, 1953, with Alton Lennon appointed to the vacancy. Democratic primary Candidates Olla Ray Boyd, pig farmer and perennial candidateThe Pork Chop Conspiracy https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/10/archives/endpaper-the-pork-chop-conspiracy.html 9 August 2025 New York Times 10 October 1976 Frank Porter Graham, the incumbent Senator Robert R. Reynolds, former U.S. Senator Willis Smith, former Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Campaign thumb|Willis Smith campaign flyer Electoral law at the time did not mandate a runoff election, with the losing candidate able to request one. Following Sweatt v. Painter, which challenged segregation in Texas, Jesse Helms led an advertising campaign through WRAL to successfully encourage Smith to call for a runoff.Martin Johnathan The 1950 Smith-Graham Senate Race https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/the-1950-smith-graham-senate-race/ North Carolina History Project 9 August 2025 The primary runoff pitched a progressive New Deal Democrat (Graham) against a traditional pro-segregation Democrat (Smith).Primary Source: The 1950 Senate Campaign https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/primary-source-1950-senate NCPedia 9 August 2025 en Graham sought to emphasise his commitments to education and other social programmes, however Smith's relentless campaigning on issues of race ultimately prevailed. Results Democratic primaryNorth Carolina Manual 1951 North Carolina Historical Commission 235-238 https://archive.org/details/northcarolinaman1951nort/page/n3/mode/2up 9 August 2025 Democratic Party (US) Frank Porter Graham (incumbent) 303,605 49.09 Democratic Party (US) Willis Smith 250,222 40.46 Democratic Party (US) Robert R. Reynolds 58,752 9.50 Democratic Party (US) Olla Ray Boyd 5,900 0.95 618,479 Democratic runoff Democratic Party (US) Willis Smith 281,114 51.78 +11.32 Democratic Party (US) Frank Porter Graham (incumbent) 261,789 48.22 -0.87 19,325 3.56 542,903 Results maps thumb|left|Primary electionSmith: #4daaff 40–49% 0 #1a91ff 50–59% 0 #0078e6 60–69% 0 #005db3 70–79% 0Graham: #4fd44f 40–49% 0 #2eba2e 50–59% 0 #228b22 60–69% 0 #1a6b1a 70–79% 0 thumb|left|Runoff electionSmith: #1a91ff 50–59% 0 #0078e6 60–69% 0 #005db3 70–79% 0Graham: #2eba2e 50–59% 0 #228b22 60–69% 0 #1a6b1a 70–79% 0 #134c13 80–89% 0 General election 1950 United States Senate Special election in North CarolinaSTATISTICS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 7, 1950 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electioninfo/1950election.pdf Clerk of the US House of Representatives 9 August 2025 26 Democratic Party (US) Willis Smith 364,912 66.97 -3.73 Republican Party (US) E. L. Galvin 177,753 32.62 +3.82 Write-In Frank P. Graham (incumbent) 2,259 0.41 +0.41 187,159 34.35 544,924 Democratic Party (US) References 1950 North Carolina United States Senate North Carolina 1950 North Carolina 1950 United States Senate 1950