The1948 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Republican SenatorHarlan J. Bushfield, suffering from poor health, declined to run for re-election. On September 27, 1948, he died in office; his wife,Vera C. Bushfield, was appointed to succeed him. CongressmanKarl E. Mundt easily won the Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Democratic nominee John A. Engel, an attorney. Hundt defeated Engel in a landslide.
John A. Engel, an attorney fromAvon,[1] was the only Democratic candidate to file for the U.S. Senate and he won the nomination unopposed, thereby removing it from the primary election ballot.[2]
.jpg)