1940 United States Senate special election in Illinois

The 1940 United States Senate special election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1940.^[1] The election was triggered by the vacancy left by the death in office of Democrat J. Hamilton Lewis. After Lewis' death, James M. Slattery was appointed to fill the seat in the interim period until the individual elected in the special election would be sworn-in. Slattery was the Democratic Party's nominee in the special election. He was defeated by Republican nominee Charles W. Brooks. Brooks' father-in-law, Senator John Thomas of Idaho also won a special election that same day and the two would serve in the Senate together until Thomas' death in 1945.

1940 United States Senate special election in Illinois

← 1936 November 5, 1940 1942 →

Nominee Charles W. Brooks James M. Slattery Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,045,924 2,025,097 Percentage 50.07% 49.56%

Results by county Brooks:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Slattery:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election James M. Slattery Democratic Elected U.S. senator Charles W. Brooks Republican

The primaries and general election coincided with those for other federal elections (president and House) and those for state elections.^[1]

Primaries were held April 9, 1940.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Benjamin S. Adamowski, State Representative from Chicago
• James M. Slattery, interim Senator and former chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission

Results

Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James M. Slattery (incumbent)	796,036	60.89
	Democratic	Benjamin S. Adamowski	511,231	39.11
Total votes			1,307,267	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• C. Wayland Brooks, nominee for Governor in 1936
• Ralph E. Church, U.S. Representative from Evanston

Results

Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C. Wayland Brooks	618,857	59.61
	Republican	Ralph E. Church	419,315	40.39
Total votes			1,038,172	100

General election

1940 United States Senate special election in Illinois^[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C. Wayland Brooks	2,045,924	50.07
	Democratic	James M. Slattery (incumbent)	2,025,097	49.56
	Prohibition	Enoch A. Holtwick	3,844	0.21
	Socialist	Clarence H. Mayer	2,281	0.16
	Write-in	Others	7	0.00
Majority			20,827	0.51
Turnout			4,086,179
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• 1940 United States Senate elections

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939-1940 PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 9, 1940" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
2. "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential election of November 5, 1940" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved November 26, 2014.