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1954 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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1954 United States Senate election in North Carolina

← 1950 (special) November 2, 1954 1958 (special) →
 
Nominee W. Kerr Scott Paul C. West
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 408,312 211,322
Percentage 65.90% 34.10%

County results
Scott:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90-100%
West:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Senator before election

Alton A. Lennon
Democratic

Elected Senator

W. Kerr Scott
Democratic

The 1954 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 2, 1954. Interim Democratic Senator Alton A. Lennon, who had been appointed to fill the vacant seat left by the death of Willis Smith, ran for re-election. Lennon lost the Democratic primary to former Governor W. Kerr Scott, who easily won the general election over Republican Paul C. West.

Scott also won the simultaneous special election to complete the remainder of Willis Smith's term unopposed.

On the same day, Sam Ervin won a special election to North Carolina's other Senate seat, to complete the unexpired term of Clyde Hoey, making this one of the extremely rare occasions when one state held three U.S. Senate elections simultaneously.

Background

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Incumbent Senator Willis Smith died on July 10, 1953. Governor of North Carolina William B. Umstead appointed former State Senator Alton A. Lennon to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected. The special election for the remainder of Smith's term was scheduled for November 2, 1954, simultaneous with the general election for the next term.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  1. ^ a b c Not a candidate in the simultaneous special election primary.

Results (General)

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1954 Democratic Senate special primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic W. Kerr Scott 312,053 50.77%
Democratic Alton A. Lennon (incumbent) 286,730 46.65%
Democratic Alvin Wingfield, Jr. 7,999 1.30%
Democratic Henry L. Sprinkle 2,548 0.42%
Democratic A.E. Turner 2,361 0.38%
Democratic Olla Ray Boyd 1,674 0.27%
Democratic W.M. Bostick 1,293 0.21%
Total votes 614,658 100.00%

Scott secured the Democratic nomination for the term beginning in 1955.

Results (Special)

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1954 Democratic Senate special primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic W. Kerr Scott 274,264 49.34%
Democratic Alton A. Lennon (incumbent) 264,265 47.54%
Democratic Alvin Wingfield, Jr. 12,372 2.23%
Democratic Henry L. Sprinkle 5,013 0.90%
Total votes 555,914 100.00%

Although Lennon qualified for a run-off in the special primary election, he declined to seek one as he had already been eliminated from the race for the full term.

General election

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Results (General)

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1954 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic W. Kerr Scott 408,312 65.90% Decrease1.07
Republican Paul C. West 211,322 34.10% Increase1.48
Write-in 4 0.00% Decrease0.42
Total votes 619,638 100.00%

Results (Special)

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West did not qualify for the ballot in the special election, leaving Kerr unopposed.

1954 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic W. Kerr Scott 402,268 100.00%
Republican Paul C. West (write-in) 8 0.00%
Write-in 7 0.00%
Total votes 402,283 100.00%

References

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  1. ^ a b "NC US Senate - Special D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "NC US Senate - Special Election". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 3, 2021.