The 1941 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on June 28, 1941 to complete the unexpired term of Senator

Morris Sheppard John Morris Sheppard (May 28, 1875April 9, 1941) was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) and introduced it in the Senate, and is referred to as "the fa ...

, who died in office on April 9. Interim Senator

Andrew Jackson Houston Andrew Jackson Houston (June 21, 1854June 26, 1941) was an American politician. He was a son of the famous Texas hero and statesman Sam Houston and his wife Margaret Lea Houston, and was named for his father's mentor Andrew Jackson. He served br ...

did not run for re-election and died only two days before the election. The race was won by Governor Pappy O'Daniel with a plurality of the vote; no majority was required. O'Daniel very narrowly defeated U.S. Representative

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

, who won the seat after O'Daniel's retirement in 1948.

Background

In April 1941, incumbent Senator

died in office. Governor Pappy O'Daniel appointed

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. Martin Dies Jr. (November 5, 1900 – November 14, 1972), also known as Martin Dies Sr., was a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. He was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second and after ...

, U.S. Representative from Lufkin and Chair of the House Un-American Activities Committee *

, U.S. Representative from Gillespie County * Gerald Mann, Attorney General of Texas * Pappy O'Daniel, 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

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

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 ...