The 1944 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Republican Senator
Robert A. Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...
, 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
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, his margins there were overcome by Taft's strong showings in the rural areas and small towns.
[(Patterson, p. 278)] Nevertheless, at less than a point, Taft's victory was significantly smaller then his 7 point win in 1938.
Background
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
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, then he changed his mind and supported Congress' bipartisan effort to pass wartime appropriations for
World War 2
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In 1944, Taft decided to be a candidate for re-election before considering future presidential runs.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*Marvin C. Harrison
*
William G. Pickrel, attorney and former Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1928, 1931–33)
*John Taylor
Results
General election
Results
By county
See also
*
1944 United States Senate elections
References
{{1944 United States elections
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...