The 1940 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940. Republican nominee Arthur B. Langlie narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Clarence Dill with 50.24% of the vote. Langlie's 0.74% margin of victory is the third-closest in state history.[a] This is the only gubernatorial election in Washington in which King County has voted for the losing candidate.
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 County results Langlie: 50–60% 60–70% 70-80% Dill: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Primary election
editThe primary election was held on September 10, 1940.[1] At the time, Washington used a blanket primary for nominations, with all candidates appearing on the same ballot and the highest candidate for each party being nominated. Incumbent governor Clarence D. Martin lost the Democratic nomination.
Candidates
edit- Frank Burns (R)
- Clarence Dill (D), former United States Senator
- Alexander Gabrielsen (D)
- George H. Gannon (D)
- J. Warren Kinney (R)
- Arthur B. Langlie (R), incumbent Mayor of Seattle
- George Dana Linn (R)
- Clarence D. Martin (D), incumbent Governor
- Marius Rasmussen (R)
- Tom Smith (D)
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Clarence Dill | 186,008 | 34.63% | |
| Republican | Arthur B. Langlie | 160,551 | 29.89% | |
| Democratic | Clarence D. Martin (incumbent) | 114,484 | 21.31% | |
| Democratic | Tom Smith | 26,572 | 4.95% | |
| Democratic | George H. Gannon | 24,299 | 4.52% | |
| Republican | Frank Burns | 12,967 | 2.41% | |
| Republican | J. Warren Kinney | 6,134 | 1.14% | |
| Republican | Alexander Gabrielsen | 2,647 | 0.49% | |
| Republican | Marius Rasmussen | 1,932 | 0.36% | |
| Republican | George Dana Linn | 1,597 | 0.30% | |
| Total votes | 537,191 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editCandidates
editMajor party candidates
- Arthur B. Langlie, Republican
- Clarence Dill, Democratic
Other candidates
- John Brockway, Communist
- P. J. Ater, Socialist Labor
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Arthur B. Langlie | 392,522 | 50.24% | +22.12% | |
| Democratic | Clarence Dill | 386,706 | 49.49% | −19.87% | |
| Communist | John Brockway | 1,674 | 0.21% | −0.07% | |
| Socialist Labor | P. J. Ater | 426 | 0.06% | −0.01% | |
| Majority | 5,816 | 0.74% | |||
| Total votes | 781,328 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | +41.99% | |||
Results by county
edit| County[3] | Arthur B. Langlie Republican |
Clarence Dill Democratic |
John Brockway Communist |
P. J. Ater Socialist Labor |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,858 | 64.25% | 1,034 | 35.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 824 | 28.49% | 2,892 |
| Asotin | 1,881 | 53.42% | 1,640 | 46.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 241 | 6.84% | 3,521 |
| Benton | 3,017 | 59.30% | 2,069 | 40.66% | 2 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 948 | 18.63% | 5,088 |
| Chelan | 9,919 | 65.16% | 5,301 | 34.82% | 2 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% | 4,618 | 30.34% | 15,223 |
| Clallam | 4,520 | 47.50% | 4,958 | 52.11% | 31 | 0.33% | 6 | 0.06% | -438 | -4.60% | 9,515 |
| Clark | 10,788 | 50.24% | 10,641 | 49.56% | 17 | 0.08% | 27 | 0.13% | 147 | 0.68% | 21,473 |
| Columbia | 1,831 | 68.22% | 852 | 31.74% | 1 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 979 | 36.48% | 2,684 |
| Cowlitz | 8,461 | 48.09% | 9,070 | 51.55% | 31 | 0.18% | 32 | 0.18% | -609 | -3.46% | 17,594 |
| Douglas | 2,444 | 61.65% | 1,519 | 38.32% | 1 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 925 | 23.34% | 3,964 |
| Ferry | 574 | 31.52% | 1,246 | 68.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.05% | -672 | -36.90% | 1,821 |
| Franklin | 1,451 | 49.34% | 1,486 | 50.53% | 4 | 0.14% | 0 | 0.00% | -35 | -1.19% | 2,941 |
| Garfield | 1,242 | 72.84% | 463 | 27.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 779 | 45.69% | 1,705 |
| Grant | 2,154 | 39.49% | 3,298 | 60.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.05% | -1,144 | -20.97% | 5,455 |
| Grays Harbor | 11,008 | 47.51% | 12,094 | 52.20% | 50 | 0.22% | 18 | 0.08% | -1,086 | -4.69% | 23,170 |
| Island | 1,629 | 53.90% | 1,389 | 45.96% | 3 | 0.10% | 1 | 0.03% | 240 | 7.94% | 3,022 |
| Jefferson | 1,891 | 52.25% | 1,725 | 47.67% | 2 | 0.06% | 1 | 0.03% | 166 | 4.59% | 3,619 |
| King | 114,296 | 48.38% | 121,013 | 51.22% | 792 | 0.34% | 139 | 0.06% | -6,717 | -2.84% | 236,240 |
| Kitsap | 8,860 | 45.94% | 10,394 | 53.89% | 24 | 0.12% | 9 | 0.05% | -1,534 | -7.95% | 19,287 |
| Kittitas | 4,348 | 50.51% | 4,251 | 49.38% | 7 | 0.08% | 2 | 0.02% | 97 | 1.13% | 8,608 |
| Klickitat | 2,351 | 50.56% | 2,292 | 49.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.15% | 59 | 1.27% | 4,650 |
| Lewis | 10,219 | 54.77% | 8,408 | 45.06% | 26 | 0.14% | 5 | 0.03% | 1,811 | 9.71% | 18,658 |
| Lincoln | 3,200 | 57.48% | 2,367 | 42.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 833 | 14.96% | 5,567 |
| Mason | 2,558 | 49.18% | 2,602 | 50.03% | 39 | 0.75% | 2 | 0.04% | -44 | -0.85% | 5,201 |
| Okanogan | 5,019 | 53.00% | 4,449 | 46.98% | 1 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 570 | 6.02% | 9,469 |
| Pacific | 3,421 | 49.51% | 3,474 | 50.27% | 14 | 0.20% | 1 | 0.01% | -53 | -0.77% | 6,910 |
| Pend Oreille | 1,368 | 44.85% | 1,682 | 55.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -314 | -10.30% | 3,050 |
| Pierce | 33,726 | 42.76% | 44,870 | 56.89% | 207 | 0.26% | 71 | 0.09% | -11,144 | -14.13% | 78,874 |
| San Juan | 871 | 52.88% | 776 | 47.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 95 | 5.77% | 1,647 |
| Skagit | 9,909 | 55.48% | 7,920 | 44.34% | 28 | 0.16% | 5 | 0.03% | 1,989 | 11.14% | 17,862 |
| Skamania | 889 | 43.69% | 1,146 | 56.31% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -257 | -12.63% | 2,035 |
| Snohomish | 18,458 | 46.09% | 21,412 | 53.47% | 144 | 0.36% | 34 | 0.08% | 2,954 | 7.38% | 40,048 |
| Spokane | 38,393 | 48.98% | 39,901 | 50.90% | 51 | 0.07% | 41 | 0.05% | -1,508 | -1.92% | 78,386 |
| Stevens | 3,595 | 44.26% | 4,527 | 55.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.01% | -932 | -11.47% | 8,123 |
| Thurston | 9,558 | 51.66% | 8,912 | 48.17% | 28 | 0.15% | 2 | 0.01% | 646 | 3.49% | 18,500 |
| Wahkiakum | 924 | 51.97% | 844 | 47.47% | 7 | 0.39% | 3 | 0.17% | 80 | 4.50% | 1,778 |
| Walla Walla | 9,227 | 67.81% | 4,376 | 32.16% | 2 | 0.01% | 2 | 0.01% | 4,851 | 35.65% | 13,607 |
| Whatcom | 15,762 | 56.00% | 12,256 | 43.54% | 122 | 0.43% | 7 | 0.02% | 3,506 | 12.46% | 28,147 |
| Whitman | 8,368 | 65.82% | 4,340 | 34.14% | 4 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.01% | 4,028 | 31.68% | 12,713 |
| Yakima | 22,534 | 58.86% | 15,709 | 41.04% | 34 | 0.09% | 4 | 0.01% | 6,825 | 17.83% | 38,281 |
| Totals | 392,522 | 50.24% | 386,706 | 49.49% | 1,674 | 0.21% | 426 | 0.05% | 5,816 | 0.74% | 781,328 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Elections Search Results: September 1940 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Election Search Results: November 1940 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Washington Secretary of State. "For Governor". Abstract of Votes Polled in the State of Washington at General Election, Nov. 5, 1940. Olympia, Washington. p. 46.