1938 United States Senate election in Arkansas

The 1938 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Senator Hattie Caraway ran for a second term in office. After narrowly defeating U.S. Representative John Little McClellan in the Democratic primary, she easily won the general election over Republican C.D. Atkinson.

1938 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas

← 1932 November 8, 1938 1944 →

Nominee Hattie Caraway C. D. Atkinson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 122,883 14,290 Percentage 89.58% 10.42%

County results Caraway:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Hattie Caraway Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Hattie Caraway Democratic

Caraway, already the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, became the first woman elected to a second term in office.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Hattie Caraway, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1931
• John L. McClellan, U.S. Representative from Malvern
• J. Rosser Venable

Results

1938 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hattie Caraway (incumbent)	145,472	51.04%
	Democratic	John L. McClellan	134,708	47.27%
	Democratic	J. Rosser Venable	4,813	1.69%
Total votes			284,993	100.00%

General election

Results

1938 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas^[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hattie Caraway (incumbent)	122,883	89.58%
	Republican	C. D. Atkinson	14,290	10.42%
Total votes			137,173	100.00%

See also

• 1938 United States Senate elections

References

1. Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin (2018). "Historical Report of the Secretary of State" (PDF). p. 362.
2. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1939). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.