The 1964 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma took place on November 3, 1964. Democratic senator Robert S. Kerr, who won re-election to his third term in 1960, died in office on January 1, 1963. Governor J. Howard Edmondson resigned from office so that his lieutenant governor, George Nigh, could appoint him to the U.S. Senate. Edmondson ran for election in the ensuing special election, and faced strong competition from former governor Raymond D. Gary and State Senator Fred R. Harris. Edmondson placed first in the primary, but failed to win a majority, with Harris narrowly beating out Gary for second place. In the runoff, Harris defeated Edmondson in a landslide. In the general election, Harris faced former Oklahoma Sooners football coach Bud Wilkinson, the Republican nominee. Even though President Lyndon B. Johnson won Oklahoma by a wide margin over Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, the Senate race was much closer. Ultimately, Harris only narrowly defeated Wilkinson by just 2% of the vote.
.svg){kind=small} | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Harris: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Wilkinson: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- J. Howard Edmondson, incumbent U.S. Senator, former governor of Oklahoma
- Fred R. Harris, state senator
- Raymond D. Gary, former governor of Oklahoma
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | J. Howard Edmondson (inc.) | 215,455 | 36.44% | |
| Democratic | Fred R. Harris | 190,868 | 32.28% | |
| Democratic | Raymond Gary | 170,869 | 28.90% | |
| Democratic | Willard R. Owens | 14,134 | 2.39% | |
| Total votes | 591,326 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff election results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Fred R. Harris | 277,362 | 60.90% | |
| Democratic | J. Howard Edmondson (inc.) | 178,051 | 39.10% | |
| Total votes | 455,413 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Bud Wilkinson, former Oklahoma Sooners football coach[2]
- Thomas J. Harris, Oklahoma City businessman[2]
- Forest W. Beall, former chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party[2]
Runoff Election Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bud Wilkinson | 100,544 | 79.22% | |
| Republican | Thomas J. Harris | 19,170 | 15.10% | |
| Republican | Forest W. Beall | 7,211 | 5.68% | |
| Total votes | 126,925 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Fred R. Harris | 466,782 | 51.17% | −3.67% | |
| Republican | Bud Wilkinson | 445,392 | 48.83% | +4.22% | |
| Majority | 21,390 | 2.34% | −7.89% | ||
| Turnout | 912,174 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "1958-1966 Election Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Wilkinson Announcing Race for U. S. Senate Today". Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, Okla. February 5, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - OK US Senate - Special R Primary Race - May 05, 1964". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
 | This Oklahoma elections-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |