1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee

For related races, see 1948 United States Senate elections.

1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee
November 2, 1948
 
Nominee Estes Kefauver B. Carroll Reece
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 326,142 166,947
Percentage 65.33% 33.44%
County results
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

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.

Background

For the 1948 U.S. Senate election in Tennessee, Congressman Estes Kefauver challenged the incumbent Tom Stewart, who was backed by longtime Memphis political boss Crump. Crump ran attack ads against Kefauver and his ally, Gordon Browning, who was running for governor, criticizing Browning's record as governor and accusing Kefauver of being a communist sympathizer.[2]

Browning and Kefauver worked together to challenge Crump's influence, highlighting the weakening of his political machine. Key voting groups—including black voters in Memphis, returning veterans, and labor supporters—shifted away from Crump-backed candidates.[2] On primary election day, Browning defeated Governor Jim Nance McCord for the Democratic nomination, while Kefauver defeated Stewart. This marked the first major statewide loss for a Crump-backed candidate in more than twenty years.[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic Party primary results[1][4]
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.[5] Allen J. Strawbridge, a lawyer from Dresden, Tennessee, was also certified to participate in the Republican primary.[6] Reece defeated Strawbridge in the Republican primary.[4]

Republican Party primary results[4]
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.[5] 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.[5]

General election results[4][7]
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

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate - D Primary Race - Aug 04, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ a b c d 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.
  5. ^ a b c 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.
  6. ^ "Reece and Hillbilly Tennessee Candidates". The Lewiston Daily Sun. July 19, 1948. Retrieved September 26, 2024 – via Google Newspapers.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1948". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
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