The 1941 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on June 28, 1941 to complete the unexpired term of Senator Morris Sheppard, who died in office on April 9. Interim Senator Andrew Jackson Houston did not run for re-election and died only two days before the election. The race was won by Governor

Pappy O'Daniel Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (March 11, 1890May 11, 1969) was an American Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his populist appeal and support of Texas's business communi ...

with a plurality of the vote; no majority was required. O'Daniel very narrowly defeated U.S. Representative Lyndon B. Johnson, who won the seat after O'Daniel's retirement in 1948.

Background

In April 1941, incumbent Senator Morris Sheppard died in office. Governor

appointed Andrew Jackson Houston to fill the seat until a successor could be duly elected, with the election scheduled for June 28. The winner finished Sheppard's term ending in 1943. Houston did not run to complete the term, only serving as a placeholder for Governor O'Daniel. He died in office only two days before the election.

Candidates

Major candidates

* Martin Dies Jr., U.S. Representative from Lufkin and Chair of the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

* Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Representative from

Gillespie County Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,725. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Central ...

Gerald Mann Gerald C. Mann (January 13, 1907 – January 6, 1990) was an American football player and the Texas Attorney General, attorney general of Texas from 1939 to 1944. Mann studied at Southern Methodist University, where he was twice named to all-con ...

, Attorney General of Texas *

, Governor of Texas

Minor candidates

None of these candidates received more than 0.30% of the popular vote. All of these candidates were Democrats except Evans (Republican), Fletcher (Republican), Jones (Independent), and Brooks (Communist).

Results

References

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...