The 1942 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 3, 1942. Incumbent United States Senator

James E. Murray James Edward Murray (May 3, 1876March 23, 1961) was an American politician and United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961. Background Born on a f ...

, who was first elected to the Senate in a special election in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

and was re-elected in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, ran for re-election. Following his victory in a competitive Democratic primary, Murray advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by former United States Attorney for the District of Montana

Wellington D. Rankin Wellington D. Rankin (September 16, 1884 – June 4, 1966) was a Republican public official from the state of Montana. He was born Wellington Duncan Rankin on September 16, 1884 in Missoula, Montana, the son of John and Olive (née Pickeri ...

, the Republican nominee and brother of representative

Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States in 1917. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representat ...

. In a closely fought election, Murray narrowly defeated Rankin to win re-election to his third term and his second full term in the Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent United States Senator *

Joseph P. Monaghan Joseph Patrick Monaghan (March 26, 1906 – July 4, 1985) of Butte, Montana was a U.S. Representative from Montana from 1933 to 1937. He was a Democrat. In 1936 he decided not to run for reelection and instead challenged Democratic incumbent Unit ...

, former United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate for the United States Senate

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, former United States Attorney for the District of Montana, former

Attorney General of Montana The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states. The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the agen ...

*Charles R. Dawley,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

veteran *

Jacob Thorkelson Jacob Thorkelson (September 24, 1876 – November 20, 1945) was a Norwegian American politician from the state of Montana who served as the United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 194 ...

, former United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district

Results

General election

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Senate Election In Montana, 1942

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1942 Montana elections