1956 Oregon gubernatorial special election
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County results Holmes: 50–60% 60–70% Smith: 50-60% 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1956 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 6, 1956. Democratic state senator Robert D. Holmes narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Elmo Smith to win the election.
Background[]
On January 31, 1956, Governor Paul L. Patterson, who was elected in the 1954 gubernatorial election, died in office of a coronary occlusion.[1] Patterson's death elevated Oregon State Senate President Elmo Smith to governor and a special election for November was called to fill the position for the final two years of Patterson's term.[2] The succession law was changed in 1972 so that the Oregon Secretary of State is first in line to succeed the governor.[3] Lew Wallace unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination.
Election results[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Robert D. Holmes | 369,439 | 50.52 | |||
Republican | Elmo Smith (incumbent) | 361,840 | 49.48 | |||
Total votes | 731,279 | 100 | ||||
Democratic gain from Republican |
References[]
- ^ "Governors of Oregon: Paul Linton Patterson". Oregon State Library. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Governors of Oregon: Elmo Smith". Oregon State Library. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Temporary governor eliminated: Measure modifies line of succession". The Bend Bulletin.
- ^ "OR Governor Race - Nov 06, 1954". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- Oregon gubernatorial elections
- 1956 Oregon elections
- 1956 United States gubernatorial elections
- Oregon special elections
- United States gubernatorial special elections
- November 1956 events in the United States