The 1948 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 2, 1948 to elect the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. A special election was needed due to the death of governor

Earl Snell Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of O ...

, who was killed in a plane crash on October 28, 1947.

Campaign

Incumbent governor

John Hubert Hall John Hubert Hall (February 7, 1899 – November 14, 1970) was an American Republican politician from the US state of Oregon. He was Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1947, second in line to the governorship, when the governor, s ...

, who took over after Snell's death until the election, lost the Republican nomination 51.13-48.87%, to

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...

, and the Democrats nominated state senator Lew Wallace, who had previously lost to Earl Snell in the 1942 gubernatorial election in a landslide. In the general election, McKay won the election with 53.23% to Wallace's 44.53%, and was sworn in as Oregon's 25th governor on January 10, 1949.

Results

References

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Gubernatorial 1948 Oregon 1948 November 1948 events in the United States United States gubernatorial elections in the 1940s November 1948 events November 1948 events in North America 1948 in Oregon Government of Oregon 1940s in Oregon 1948 elections 1948 elections in North America 1948 elections in the United States 1940s Oregon elections {{Oregon-election-stub