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 County results Smith: 50–60% 60–70% Wene: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1944 United States Senate special election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1944.
The election was held to fill the unexpired term ofW. Warren Barbour, who died in November 1943.H. Alexander Smith was elected to the open seat overDemocratic U.S. RepresentativeElmer H. Wene.
The incumbent Democratic appointee,Arthur Walsh, did not run.
Incumbent SenatorW. Warren Barbour was elected in 1940 to a six-year term set to expire in 1947. He died on November 22, 1943, of a cerebral hemorrhage.
On November 26, Governor of New JerseyCharles Edison appointedArthur Walsh to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected.[1]
A special election to complete the remainder of Barbour's unexpired term was scheduled for November 7, 1944, concurrent with the general election for presidential electors and U.S. House of Representatives.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Elmer H. Wene | 151,126 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 151,126 | 100.0% | ||
Gabrielson withdrew from the race after party leadership coalesced behind Smith. As consolation, Gabrielson was elected to succeed Smith as Republican National Committeeman. In 1949, he was elected chair of theRepublican National Committee.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | H. Alexander Smith | 187,190 | 82.55% | |
| Republican | Andrew O. Wittreich | 39,576 | 17.45% | |
| Total votes | 226,766 | 100.00% | ||
Smith reported $15,116 (approximately $213,358 in 2024 dollars) in campaign spending, a considerable sum for the time.[5]
Wene conceded defeat on November 9, after overseas military ballots were counted. Wene received a substantial majority of the military ballots, but it was not sufficient to overcome Smith's margin in the statewide vote.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Alexander Smith | 940,051 | 50.44% | |
| Democratic | Elmer H. Wene | 910,096 | 48.84% | |
| Prohibition | George W. Ridout | 9,873 | 0.53% | |
| Socialist Labor | John C. Butterworth | 1,997 | 0.11% | |
| Socialist | Morris Riger | 1,593 | 0.09% | |
| Majority | 29,955 | 1.60% | ||
| Turnout | 1,863,610 | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
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