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 County results McKellar: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Hooper: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1916 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 7, 1916. IncumbentDemocratic SenatorLuke Lea ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated for the Democratic nomination by U.S. RepresentativeKenneth McKellar. McKellar won the general election againstRepublicanGovernor of TennesseeBen W. Hooper.[1]
This was the first popular election for U.S. Senator held in Tennessee, following the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. McKellar would go on to serve six terms in the Senate, becomingone of the longest serving members of either house of Congress.
In the initial primary, held in November 1915, McKellar finished first, carrying both East and West Tennessee. His support in East Tennessee came on the back of SenatorJohn Knight Shields, who controlled federal patronage in the state and assigned federal employees to campaign on McKellar's behalf. Patterson finished second, carrying Central Tennessee. Senator Lea was eliminated.[2]
In a runoff, McKellar increased his margin over Patterson.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kenneth McKellar | 143,718 | 54.42% | ||
| Republican | Ben W. Hooper | 118,174 | 44.75% | ||
| Socialist | H. H. Magnum | 2,193 | 0.83% | ||
| Total votes | 264,085 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
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