1940 United States House of Representatives elections in California

The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1940 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 5, 1940. Republicans gained two districts.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1940
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	1,473,115	53.2%	10	+2
	Democratic	1,183,980	42.8%	10	-2
	Communist	57,718	2.1%	0	0
	Prohibition	46,945	1.7%	0	0
	Progressive	5,649	0.2%	0	0
	Independent	1,950	0.1%	0	0
Totals		2,769,357	100.0%	20	—

Delegation composition

Pre-election		Seats
	Democratic-Held	12
	Republican-Held	8

Post-election		Seats
	Democratic-Held	10
	Republican-Held	10

Results

Final results from the Clerk of the House of Representatives: [1]

District 1

California's 1st congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clarence F. Lea (incumbent)	103,547	93.3
	Communist	Albert J. Lima	5,647	5.1
	Independent	Ernest S. Mitchell (write-in)	1,828	1.6
Total votes			111,022	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 2

California's 2nd congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harry Lane Englebright (incumbent)	71,033	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 3

California's 3rd congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank H. Buck (incumbent)	135,461	91.0
	Prohibition	C. H. Farman	10,539	7.1
	Communist	Charles Gricus	2,751	1.8
	Independent	George Kimber (write-in)	122	0.1
Total votes			148,873	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 4

California's 4th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Rolph	75,369	54.6
	Democratic	Franck R. Havenner (incumbent)	61,341	44.4
	Communist	Archie Brown	1,322	1.0
Total votes			138,032	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 5

California's 5th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard J. Welch (incumbent)	119,122	95.8
	Communist	Walter R. Lambert	5,232	4.2
Total votes			124,354	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 6

California's 6th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Albert E. Carter (incumbent)	131,584	96
	Communist	Clarence Paton	5,426	4
Total votes			137,010	100
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 7

California's 7th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John H. Tolan (incumbent)	72,838	55.5
	Republican	Ralph R. Eltse	56,808	43.2
	Communist	Alfred N. Johnson	1,707	1.3
Total votes			131,353	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 8

California's 8th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Z. Anderson (incumbent)	148,180	96.7
	Communist	Elizabeth Nichols	5,186	3.3
	Democratic	J. J. McGrath (write-in)	37	0.1
Total votes			153,403	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 9

California's 9th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bertrand W. Gearhart (incumbent)	99,708	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 10

California's 10th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alfred J. Elliott (incumbent)	125,845	97
	Communist	Louretta Adams	3,826	3
Total votes			129,671	100
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 11

California's 11th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Carl Hinshaw (incumbent)	170,504	96.6
	Communist	Orla E. Lair	6,003	3.4
Total votes			176,507	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 12

California's 12th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Voorhis (incumbent)	99,494	64.0
	Republican	Eugene W. Nixon	54,731	35.2
	Communist	Albert Lewis	1,152	0.8
Total votes			155,377	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 13

California's 13th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Kramer (incumbent)	127,167	75.7
	Prohibition	Charles H. Randall	36,406	21.7
	Communist	Celeste Strack	4,434	2.6
Total votes			168,007	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 14

California's 14th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas F. Ford (incumbent)	73,137	64.3
	Republican	Herbert L. Herberts	37,939	33.3
	Communist	Pettis Perry	2,732	2.4
Total votes			113,808	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 15

California's 15th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John M. Costello (incumbent)	94,435	56.2
	Republican	Norris J. Nelson	71,667	42.6
	Communist	Emil Freed	2,004	1.2
Total votes			168,106	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 16

California's 16th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leland M. Ford (incumbent)	188,049	96.4
	Communist	George C. Sandy	7,017	3.6
Total votes			195,066	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 17

California's 17th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee E. Geyer (incumbent)	75,109	65.5
	Republican	Clifton A. Hix	32,862	28.6
	Progressive	Samuel C. Converse	5,649	4.9
	Communist	Harry L. Gray	1,118	1.0
Total votes			114,738	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 18

California's 18th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Ward Johnson (incumbent)	73,932	54.4
	Democratic	Byron N. Scott	60,764	44.7
	Communist	George R. Ashby	1,355	0.9
Total votes			136,051	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 19

California's 19th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry R. Sheppard (incumbent)	84,931	52.9
	Republican	Lotus H. Loudon	75,495	47.1
Total votes			160,426	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 20

California's 20th congressional district election, 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edouard Izac (incumbent)	69,874	51.1
	Republican	Ed Fletcher	66,132	48.3
	Communist	Esco L. Richardson	806	0.6
Total votes			136,812	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

See also

• 77th United States Congress
• Political party strength in California
• Political party strength in U.S. states
• 1940 United States House of Representatives elections

References

• California Elections Page
• Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives

External links

• California Legislative District Maps (1911-Present)
• RAND California Election Returns: District Definitions