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1940 Washington gubernatorial election

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1940 Washington gubernatorial election

← 1936 November 5, 1940 1944 →
 
Nominee Arthur B. Langlie Clarence Dill
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 392,522 386,706
Percentage 50.24% 49.49%

County results
Langlie:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%
Dill:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Clarence D. Martin
Democratic

Elected Governor

Arthur B. Langlie
Republican

The 1940 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940. Republican nominee Arthur B. Langlie narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Clarence Dill with 50.24% of the vote. Langlie's 0.74% margin of victory is the third-closest in state history.[a] This is the only gubernatorial election in Washington in which King County has voted for the losing candidate.

Primary election

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The primary election was held on September 10, 1940.[1] At the time, Washington used a blanket primary for nominations, with all candidates appearing on the same ballot and the highest candidate for each party being nominated. Incumbent governor Clarence D. Martin lost the Democratic nomination.

Candidates

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Results

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Blanket primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Clarence Dill 186,008 34.63%
Republican Arthur B. Langlie 160,551 29.89%
Democratic Clarence D. Martin (incumbent) 114,484 21.31%
Democratic Tom Smith 26,572 4.95%
Democratic George H. Gannon 24,299 4.52%
Republican Frank Burns 12,967 2.41%
Republican J. Warren Kinney 6,134 1.14%
Republican Alexander Gabrielsen 2,647 0.49%
Republican Marius Rasmussen 1,932 0.36%
Republican George Dana Linn 1,597 0.30%
Total votes 537,191 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Major party candidates

  • Arthur B. Langlie, Republican
  • Clarence Dill, Democratic

Other candidates

  • John Brockway, Communist
  • P. J. Ater, Socialist Labor

Results

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1940 Washington gubernatorial election[2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Arthur B. Langlie 392,522 50.24% +22.12%
Democratic Clarence Dill 386,706 49.49% −19.87%
Communist John Brockway 1,674 0.21% −0.07%
Socialist Labor P. J. Ater 426 0.06% −0.01%
Majority 5,816 0.74%
Total votes 781,328 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing +41.99%

Results by county

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County[3] Arthur B. Langlie
Republican
Clarence Dill
Democratic
John Brockway
Communist
P. J. Ater
Socialist Labor
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,858 64.25% 1,034 35.75% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 824 28.49% 2,892
Asotin 1,881 53.42% 1,640 46.58% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 241 6.84% 3,521
Benton 3,017 59.30% 2,069 40.66% 2 0.04% 0 0.00% 948 18.63% 5,088
Chelan 9,919 65.16% 5,301 34.82% 2 0.01% 1 0.01% 4,618 30.34% 15,223
Clallam 4,520 47.50% 4,958 52.11% 31 0.33% 6 0.06% -438 -4.60% 9,515
Clark 10,788 50.24% 10,641 49.56% 17 0.08% 27 0.13% 147 0.68% 21,473
Columbia 1,831 68.22% 852 31.74% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 979 36.48% 2,684
Cowlitz 8,461 48.09% 9,070 51.55% 31 0.18% 32 0.18% -609 -3.46% 17,594
Douglas 2,444 61.65% 1,519 38.32% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 925 23.34% 3,964
Ferry 574 31.52% 1,246 68.42% 0 0.00% 1 0.05% -672 -36.90% 1,821
Franklin 1,451 49.34% 1,486 50.53% 4 0.14% 0 0.00% -35 -1.19% 2,941
Garfield 1,242 72.84% 463 27.16% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 779 45.69% 1,705
Grant 2,154 39.49% 3,298 60.46% 0 0.00% 3 0.05% -1,144 -20.97% 5,455
Grays Harbor 11,008 47.51% 12,094 52.20% 50 0.22% 18 0.08% -1,086 -4.69% 23,170
Island 1,629 53.90% 1,389 45.96% 3 0.10% 1 0.03% 240 7.94% 3,022
Jefferson 1,891 52.25% 1,725 47.67% 2 0.06% 1 0.03% 166 4.59% 3,619
King 114,296 48.38% 121,013 51.22% 792 0.34% 139 0.06% -6,717 -2.84% 236,240
Kitsap 8,860 45.94% 10,394 53.89% 24 0.12% 9 0.05% -1,534 -7.95% 19,287
Kittitas 4,348 50.51% 4,251 49.38% 7 0.08% 2 0.02% 97 1.13% 8,608
Klickitat 2,351 50.56% 2,292 49.29% 0 0.00% 7 0.15% 59 1.27% 4,650
Lewis 10,219 54.77% 8,408 45.06% 26 0.14% 5 0.03% 1,811 9.71% 18,658
Lincoln 3,200 57.48% 2,367 42.52% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 833 14.96% 5,567
Mason 2,558 49.18% 2,602 50.03% 39 0.75% 2 0.04% -44 -0.85% 5,201
Okanogan 5,019 53.00% 4,449 46.98% 1 0.01% 0 0.00% 570 6.02% 9,469
Pacific 3,421 49.51% 3,474 50.27% 14 0.20% 1 0.01% -53 -0.77% 6,910
Pend Oreille 1,368 44.85% 1,682 55.15% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -314 -10.30% 3,050
Pierce 33,726 42.76% 44,870 56.89% 207 0.26% 71 0.09% -11,144 -14.13% 78,874
San Juan 871 52.88% 776 47.12% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 95 5.77% 1,647
Skagit 9,909 55.48% 7,920 44.34% 28 0.16% 5 0.03% 1,989 11.14% 17,862
Skamania 889 43.69% 1,146 56.31% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -257 -12.63% 2,035
Snohomish 18,458 46.09% 21,412 53.47% 144 0.36% 34 0.08% 2,954 7.38% 40,048
Spokane 38,393 48.98% 39,901 50.90% 51 0.07% 41 0.05% -1,508 -1.92% 78,386
Stevens 3,595 44.26% 4,527 55.73% 0 0.00% 1 0.01% -932 -11.47% 8,123
Thurston 9,558 51.66% 8,912 48.17% 28 0.15% 2 0.01% 646 3.49% 18,500
Wahkiakum 924 51.97% 844 47.47% 7 0.39% 3 0.17% 80 4.50% 1,778
Walla Walla 9,227 67.81% 4,376 32.16% 2 0.01% 2 0.01% 4,851 35.65% 13,607
Whatcom 15,762 56.00% 12,256 43.54% 122 0.43% 7 0.02% 3,506 12.46% 28,147
Whitman 8,368 65.82% 4,340 34.14% 4 0.03% 1 0.01% 4,028 31.68% 12,713
Yakima 22,534 58.86% 15,709 41.04% 34 0.09% 4 0.01% 6,825 17.83% 38,281
Totals 392,522 50.24% 386,706 49.49% 1,674 0.21% 426 0.05% 5,816 0.74% 781,328

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Notes

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  1. ^ After 2004 and 1912

References

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  1. ^ a b "Elections Search Results: September 1940 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Election Search Results: November 1940 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Washington Secretary of State. "For Governor". Abstract of Votes Polled in the State of Washington at General Election, Nov. 5, 1940. Olympia, Washington. p. 46.