1944_United_States_Senate_election_in_Ohio
The 1944 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Republican Senator Robert A. Taft, first elected in the Republican wave of 1938, was narrowly elected to a second term in office over Democratic former Lieutenant Governor William G. Pickrel, winning 71 of Ohio's 88 counties. Despite Pickrel winning the state's largest urban centers such as Cleveland, his margins there were overcome by Taft's strong showings in the rural areas and small towns.[1] Nevertheless, at less than a point, Taft's victory was significantly smaller than his 7 point win in 1938.
Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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 County results Taft: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Pickrel: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Senator Taft unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1940 and was a national leader of the party's conservative wing. He was an isolationist before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, then he changed his mind and supported Congress' bipartisan effort to pass wartime appropriations for World War 2. In 1944, Taft decided to be a candidate for re-election before considering future presidential runs.
Candidates
- Marvin C. Harrison, former State Senator from Cleveland[2]
- William G. Pickrel, attorney and former Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1928, 1931–33)
- John Taylor
Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William G. Pickrel | 109,281 | 44.07% | |
| Democratic | Marvin C. Harrison | 77,019 | 31.06% | |
| Democratic | John Taylor | 61,647 | 24.86% | |
| Total votes | 247,947 | 100.00% | ||
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Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert A. Taft (incumbent) | 1,500,609 | 50.30% |  3.32 | |
| Democratic | William G. Pickrel | 1,482,610 | 49.70% |  3.32 | |
| Total votes | 2,983,219 | 100.00% | |||
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By county
More information County, Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. Republican ...
| County | Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. Republican |
William Gillespie Pickrel Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 5,419 | 57.73% | 3,968 | 42.27% | 1,451 | 15.46% | 9,387 |
| Allen | 19,279 | 59.62% | 13,057 | 40.39% | 6,220 | 19.23 | 32,336 |
| Ashland | 8,097 | 55.95% | 6,374 | 44.05% | 1,723 | 11.9% | 14,471 |
| Ashtabula | 16,809 | 57.04% | 12,660 | 42.96% | 4,149 | 14.08% | 29,469 |
| Athens | 9,989 | 59.11% | 6,911 | 40.89% | 3,078 | 18.22% | 16,900 |
| Auglaize | 8,121 | 62.03% | 4,970 | 37.97% | 3,151 | 22.06% | 13,091 |
| Belmont | 15,344 | 41.09% | 21,998 | 58.91% | -6,654 | -17.82% | 37,342 |
| Brown | 4,476 | 49.56% | 4,556 | 50.44% | -80 | -0.88% | 9,032 |
| Butler | 20,199 | 42.95% | 26,829 | 57.05% | -6,630 | -14.1% | 47,028 |
| Carroll | 4,826 | 64.27% | 2,683 | 35.73% | 2,143 | 28.54% | 7,509 |
| Champaign | 7,524 | 62.27% | 4,558 | 37.73% | 2,966 | 24.54% | 12,082 |
| Clark | 21,448 | 49.76% | 21,651 | 50.24% | -203 | -0.48% | 43,099 |
| Clermont | 8,312 | 50.95% | 8,002 | 49.05% | 310 | 1.9% | 16,314 |
| Clinton | 7,090 | 66.54% | 3,565 | 33.46% | 3,525 | 33.08% | 10,615 |
| Columbiana | 19,795 | 54.16% | 16,752 | 45.84% | 3,043 | 8.32% | 36,547 |
| Coshocton | 7,262 | 58.45% | 5,163 | 41.55% | 2,099 | 16.9% | 12,425 |
| Crawford | 9,039 | 54.3% | 7,606 | 45.7% | 1,433 | 8.6% | 16,645 |
| Cuyahoga | 199,422 | 40.27% | 295,775 | 59.73% | -96,353 | -19.46% | 495,197 |
| Darke | 10,454 | 57.14% | 7,842 | 42.86% | 2,612 | 14.28% | 18,296 |
| Defiance | 6,976 | 65.55% | 3,667 | 34.45% | 3,309 | 31.1% | 10,643 |
| Delaware | 8,806 | 65.78% | 4,582 | 34.22% | 4,224 | 31.56% | 13,388 |
| Erie | 10,079 | 58.14% | 7,256 | 41.86% | 2,823 | 16.28% | 17,335 |
| Fairfield | 10,212 | 54.07% | 8,676 | 45.93% | 1,536 | 8.14% | 18,888 |
| Fayette | 5,717 | 60.24% | 3,774 | 39.76% | 1,943 | 20.48% | 9,491 |
| Franklin | 93,200 | 51.28% | 88,553 | 48.72% | 4,647 | 2.56% | 181,753 |
| Fulton | 7,775 | 77.85% | 2,212 | 22.15% | 5,563 | 55.7% | 9,987 |
| Gallia | 6,150 | 70.85% | 2,530 | 29.15% | 3,620 | 41.7% | 8,680 |
| Geauga | 5,104 | 63.99% | 2,872 | 36.01% | 2,232 | 27.98% | 7,976 |
| Greene | 9,425 | 55.91% | 7,431 | 44.09% | 1,994 | 11.82% | 16,856 |
| Guernsey | 8,571 | 58.35% | 6,117 | 41.65% | 2,454 | 16.7% | 14,688 |
| Hamilton | 149,226 | 52.0% | 137,752 | 48.0% | 11,474 | 4.0% | 286,978 |
| Hancock | 12,587 | 65.83% | 6,534 | 34.17% | 6,053 | 31.66% | 19,121 |
| Hardin | 8,318 | 61.75% | 5,153 | 38.25% | 3,165 | 23.5% | 13,471 |
| Harrison | 4,968 | 60.81% | 3,202 | 39.19% | 1,766 | 21.62% | 8,170 |
| Henry | 6,407 | 69.03% | 2,875 | 30.97% | 3,532 | 38.06% | 9,282 |
| Highland | 7,592 | 58.75% | 5,330 | 41.25% | 2,262 | 17.5% | 12,922 |
| Hocking | 4,233 | 54.48% | 3,537 | 45.52% | 696 | 8.96% | 7,770 |
| Holmes | 2,618 | 49.83% | 2,636 | 50.17% | -18 | -0.34% | 5,254 |
| Huron | 10,681 | 64.19% | 5,959 | 35.81% | 4,722 | 28.38% | 16,640 |
| Jackson | 6,674 | 59.85% | 4,478 | 40.15% | 2,196 | 19.7% | 11,152 |
| Jefferson | 15,812 | 41.76% | 22,053 | 58.24% | -6,241 | -16.48% | 37,865 |
| Knox | 9,554 | 64.62% | 5,231 | 35.38% | 4,323 | 29.24% | 14,785 |
| Lake | 13,086 | 54.74% | 10,820 | 45.26% | 2,266 | 9.48% | 23,906 |
| Lawrence | 8,942 | 56.17% | 6,978 | 43.83% | 1,964 | 12.34% | 15,920 |
| Licking | 15,756 | 56.1% | 12,328 | 43.9% | 3,428 | 12.2% | 28,084 |
| Logan | 9,497 | 66.6% | 4,763 | 33.4% | 4,734 | 33.2% | 14,260 |
| Lorain | 23,154 | 49.55% | 23,578 | 50.45% | -424 | -0.9% | 46,732 |
| Lucas | 75,177 | 51.18% | 71,720 | 48.82% | 3,457 | 2.36% | 146,897 |
| Madison | 5,501 | 63.35% | 3,183 | 36.65% | 2,318 | 26.7% | 8,684 |
| Mahoning | 36,891 | 37.52% | 61,442 | 62.48% | -24,551 | -24.96% | 98,333 |
| Marion | 11,252 | 55.75% | 8,931 | 44.25% | 2,321 | 11.5% | 20,183 |
| Medina | 9,978 | 63.83% | 5,654 | 36.17% | 4,324 | 27.66% | 15,632 |
| Meigs | 6,151 | 67.65% | 2,941 | 32.35% | 3,210 | 35.3% | 9,092 |
| Mercer | 6,830 | 60.5% | 4,459 | 39.5% | 2,371 | 21.0% | 11,289 |
| Miami | 14,641 | 60.19% | 9,684 | 39.81% | 4,957 | 20.38% | 24,325 |
| Monroe | 3,228 | 51.58% | 3,030 | 48.42% | 198 | 3.16% | 6,258 |
| Montgomery | 60,771 | 42.78% | 81,272 | 57.22% | -20,501 | -14.44% | 142,043 |
| Morgan | 4,203 | 72.27% | 1,613 | 27.73% | 2,590 | 44.54% | 5,816 |
| Morrow | 5,041 | 67.21% | 2,459 | 32.79% | 2,582 | 34.42 | 7,500 |
| Muskingum | 16,763 | 57.79% | 12,243 | 42.21% | 4,520 | 15.58% | 29,006 |
| Noble | 3,711 | 62.96% | 2,183 | 37.04% | 1,528 | 25.92% | 5,894 |
| Ottawa | 6,045 | 55.38% | 4,870 | 44.62% | 1,175 | 10.76% | 10,915 |
| Paulding | 4,316 | 65.11% | 2,313 | 34.89% | 2,003 | 30.22% | 6,629 |
| Perry | 6,828 | 59.22% | 4,702 | 40.78% | 2,126 | 18.44% | 11,530 |
| Pickaway | 5,592 | 50.93% | 5,387 | 49.07% | 205 | 1.86% | 10,979 |
| Pike | 2,865 | 40.82% | 4,154 | 59.18% | -1,289 | -18.36% | 7,019 |
| Portage | 11,880 | 50.22% | 11,775 | 49.78% | 105 | 0.44% | 23,655 |
| Preble | 6,380 | 57.25% | 4,764 | 42.75% | 1,616 | 14.5% | 11,144 |
| Putnam | 6,781 | 66.12% | 3,475 | 33.88% | 3,306 | 32.24% | 10,256 |
| Richland | 16,431 | 50.48% | 16,117 | 49.52% | 314 | 0.96% | 32,548 |
| Ross | 11,060 | 53.44% | 9,637 | 46.56% | 1,423 | 6.88% | 20,697 |
| Sandusky | 13,123 | 69.18% | 5,847 | 30.82% | 7,276 | 38.36% | 18,970 |
| Scioto | 16,787 | 50.45% | 16,487 | 49.55% | 300 | 0.9% | 33,274 |
| Seneca | 13,261 | 67.04% | 6,519 | 32.96% | 6,742 | 34.08% | 19,780 |
| Shelby | 6,174 | 52.36% | 5,617 | 47.64% | 557 | 4.72% | 11,791 |
| Stark | 48,952 | 46.18% | 57,054 | 53.82% | -8,102 | -7.64% | 106,006 |
| Summit | 64,085 | 43.39% | 83,596 | 56.61% | -19,511 | -13.22% | 147,681 |
| Trumbull | 24,602 | 43.36% | 32,131 | 56.64% | -7,529 | -13.28% | 56,733 |
| Tuscarawas | 13,303 | 45.88% | 15,694 | 54.12% | -2,391 | -8.24 | 28,997 |
| Union | 6,492 | 70.15% | 2,762 | 29.85% | 3,730 | 40.3% | 9,254 |
| Van Wert | 8,065 | 60.79% | 5,202 | 39.21% | 2,863 | 21.58% | 13,267 |
| Vinton | 2,541 | 59.56% | 1,725 | 40.44% | 816 | 19.12% | 4,266 |
| Warren | 8,248 | 59.55% | 5,602 | 40.45% | 2,646 | 19.1% | 13,850 |
| Washington | 11,197 | 63.47% | 6,445 | 36.53% | 4,752 | 26.94% | 17,642 |
| Wayne | 12,665 | 56.98% | 9,564 | 43.02% | 3,101 | 13.96 | 22,229 |
| Williams | 8,399 | 71.6% | 3,332 | 28.4% | 5,067 | 43.2% | 11,731 |
| Wood | 15,473 | 66.02% | 7,964 | 33.98% | 7,509 | 32.04% | 23,437 |
| Wyandot | 5,599 | 63.45% | 3,225 | 36.55% | 2,374 | 26.9% | 8,824 |
| Totals | 1,500,609 | 50.30% | 1,482,610 | 49.70% | 17,999 | 0.6% | 2,983,219 |
Close
- (Patterson, p. 278)
- "In Senator Race". Mansfield News-Journal. Cleveland. February 21, 1944. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- "1944 Democratic Primary". www.sos.state.oh.us. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- "OH US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1944". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 12, 2022.