1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1940 November 5, 1946 1952 →

Nominee Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. David I. Walsh Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 989,736 660,200 Percentage 59.55% 39.72%

U.S. senator before election David I. Walsh Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Republican

The 1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 5, 1946. Incumbent Democratic Senator David I. Walsh ran for re-election to a fifth term^[a] in office, but was defeated by Republican former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who returned from service in World War II.

It was the last time a Republican was elected to the Class 1 Senate seat in Massachusetts until 2010, and the last time as of 2022 that a Republican was elected to serve a full term in that seat.

Background[]

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. was elected to two terms in the U.S. Senate in 1936 and 1942, but resigned during his second term to serve in World War II. With the completion of the war in Europe, Lodge returned to Massachusetts and to politics.^[1]

David I. Walsh had served four terms in office since his election as an ally of Woodrow Wilson in 1916 but had alienated New Deal supporters by opposing the labor and social reform measures of the Second New Deal. He was also embroiled in a personal scandal after the owner of a Brooklyn homosexual brothel allegedly frequented by German spies had sworn under oath that Walsh was his client. Though J. Edgar Hoover cleared Walsh of any wrongdoing, the scandal hung over his head.^[2]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

• David I. Walsh, incumbent Senator since 1926^[b]

Results[]

Senator Walsh was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

1946 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David I. Walsh (incumbent)	194,323	99.99%
	Write-in	All others	28	0.01%
	None	Blank votes	93,302	–
Turnout			287,653	100.00

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

• Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., former Senator (1937–44)

Results[]

Lodge was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

1946 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.	186,376	100.00%
	Write-in	All others	8	0.00%
	None	Blank votes	24,331	–
Turnout			210,715	100.00

General election[]

Candidates[]

• Henning A. Blomen, perennial candidate (Socialist Labor)
• Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., former Senator (1937–44) (Republican)
• Mark R. Shaw, temperance activist and pastor from Beverly (Prohibition)
• David I. Walsh, incumbent Senator since 1926^[b]

Campaign[]

Lodge, who considered Walsh a family friend, avoided mentioning his opponent's alleged homosexuality or impropriety. He centered his campaign on criticism of postwar economic conditions, arguing that inflation, labor strife, and consumer goods shortages were leading the country toward "another depression."^[5]

Results[]

United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1946^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	989,736	59.55%	17.17
	Democratic	David I. Walsh (incumbent)	660,200	39.72%	15.92
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	9,221	0.56%	0.35
	Prohibition	Mark R. Shaw	2,898	0.17%	0.32
Total votes			1,662,055	100.0%

Lodge carried carried every county and the city of Boston.^[5]

Notes[]

References[]