The 1948 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Republican Senator Harlan J. Bushfield, suffering from poor health, declined to run for re-election. On September 27, 1948, he died in office; his wife,

Vera C. Bushfield Vera Sarah Bushfield (née Cahalan, August 9, 1889April 16, 1976) was an American politician served as a United States Senate, U.S. senator from South Dakota in 1948, as well as the Governor of South Dakota, First Lady of South Dakota from 1939 t ...

, was appointed to succeed him. Congressman

Karl E. Mundt Karl Earl Mundt (June 3, 1900August 16, 1974) was an American educator and a Republican member of the United States Congress, representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives (1939–48) and in the United States Senate (19 ...

easily won the Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Democratic nominee John A. Engel, an attorney. Hundt defeated Engel in a landslide.

Democratic primary

John A. Engel, an attorney from Avon, was the only Democratic candidate to file for the U.S. Senate and he won the nomination unopposed, thereby removing it from the primary election ballot.

Republican primary

Candidates

, U.S. Congressman from

South Dakota's 1st congressional district South Dakota's 1st congressional district is an obsolete congressional district that existed from 1913 to 1983. When South Dakota was admitted into the Union in 1889, it was allocated two congressional seats, both of which were elected state-wid ...

* Otto B. Lindstad, State Senator, former Assistant State Attorney General

Results

General election

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1948 United States Senate Election In South Dakota

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

United States Senate elections in South Dakota 1948 South Dakota elections