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1940 United States Senate election in Minnesota 
Summary
The 1940 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 5, 1940. Incumbent U.S. Senator Henrik Shipstead defected to the Republican Party of Minnesota from the Farmer–Labor Party of Minnesota, and defeated former Governor Elmer Benson of the Farmer–Labor Party and John E. Regan of the Minnesota Democratic Party to win a fourth term.
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 County results Shipstead: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Benson: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Declared edit
- Louis Erickson
- John E. O'Rourke, Former Minnesota State Representative from the 27th district (1935-1937)
- John E. Regan, 1932 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Minnesota State Representative from the 8th district (1931-1933)
- Joseph Wolf
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John E. Regan | 50,328 | 52.31% | |
| Democratic | Joseph Wolf | 20,759 | 21.58% | |
| Democratic | Louis Erickson | 13,966 | 14.52% | |
| Democratic | John E. O'Rourke | 11,154 | 11.59% | |
| Total votes | 96,207 | 100.00% | ||
Farmer–Labor primary edit
Candidates edit
Declared edit
- Elmer A. Benson, 24th Governor of Minnesota (1937-1939) and former U.S. Senator (1935-1936)
- George H. Lommen, Minnesota State Senator from the 61st district since 1927
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer–Labor | Elmer A. Benson | 79,245 | 61.90% | |
| Farmer–Labor | George H. Lommen | 48,781 | 38.10% | |
| Total votes | 128,026 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Declared edit
- Ben Andreen
- Ray P. Chase, Former U.S. Representative (1933-1935) and 9th Minnesota State Auditor (1921-1931)
- Michael Ferch
- O. J. Hagen
- Asher Howard, Former Minnesota State Representative from the 34th district (1917-1923)
- Martin A. Nelson, 1934 and 1936 Republican gubernatorial nominee (unsuccessful)
- Henrik Shipstead, Incumbent U.S. Senator since 1923
- Engelberth Zeiner
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Henrik Shipstead (Incumbent) | 168,876 | 51.37% | |
| Republican | Martin A. Nelson | 97,812 | 29.75% | |
| Republican | Ray P. Chase | 35,697 | 10.86% | |
| Republican | Ben Andreen | 13,858 | 4.22% | |
| Republican | O. J. Hagen | 5,810 | 1.77% | |
| Republican | Asher Howard | 3,313 | 1.01% | |
| Republican | Michael Ferch | 1,712 | 0.52% | |
| Republican | Engelberth Zeiner | 1,660 | 0.50% | |
| Total votes | 328,738 | 100.00% | ||
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Henrik Shipstead (Incumbent) | 641,049 | 53.01% | |
| Farmer–Labor | Elmer A. Benson | 310,875 | 25.71% | |
| Democratic | John E. Regan | 248,658 | 20.56% | |
| Trotskyist Anti-War | Grace Holmes Carlson | 8,761 | 0.72% | |
| Independent | Carl Winter | 256 | 0.02 | |
| Total votes | 1,209,343 | 100.00% | ||
| Majority | 330,174 | 27.30% | ||
| Republican gain from Farmer–Labor | ||||