1940 United States Senate election in Montana

The 1940 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 5, 1940. Incumbent United States Senator Burton K. Wheeler, who was first elected to the Senate in 1922, and was re-elected in 1928 and 1934, ran for re-election. Though he faced a serious challenger in the Democratic primary, he emerged victorious, and advanced to the general election, where he faced E. K. Cheadle, a state district judge and the Republican nominee. Just like in 1934, Wheeler won re-election in a landslide, winning his fourth term in the Senate.

1940 United States Senate election in Montana

← 1934 November 5, 1940 1946 →
 
Nominee Burton K. Wheeler E. K. Cheadle
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 176,753 63,941
Percentage 73.43% 26.57%

County results
Wheeler:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%

U.S. senator before election

Burton K. Wheeler
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Burton K. Wheeler
Democratic

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Burton K. Wheeler (inc.) 75,498 72.86
Democratic H. J. Freebourn 28,128 27.14
Total votes 103,626 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • E. K. Cheadle, Tenth Judicial Circuit District Judge
  • L. Ray Carroll, former State Senator
  • Floyd C. Fluent

Results

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Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican H. K. Cheadle 22,273 52.13
Republican L. Ray Carroll 13,483 31.56
Republican Floyd C. Fluent 6,972 16.32
Total votes 42,728 100.00

General election

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Results

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United States Senate election in Montana, 1940[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Burton K. Wheeler (inc.) 176,753 73.43% +3.29%
Republican E. K. Cheadle 63,941 26.57% −2.17%
Majority 112,812 46.87% +5.47%
Turnout 240,694
Democratic hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ a b "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, July 16, 1940" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  2. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1940" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.