# 1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

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The 1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1946.
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Robert La Follette, Jr. (who had until 1946 been a member of the Progressive Party) narrowly lost the primary election to Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy would go on to win the general election against Rep. Howard McMurray of Milwaukee in a landslide. McCarthy became the first person other than a La Follette to hold this seat since 1906.

## Background

Robert M. La Follette Jr. had served as U.S. Senator since the special election held after his father's death. He and his brother Philip La Follette came to lead the Wisconsin Progressive Party which became one of the state's major parties, but declined in power by the mid-1940s. La Follette Jr. would have to merge with one of the main parties in order to win re-election in 1946.
Henry A. Wallace wrote a letter to La Follette Jr. asking him and the Progressives "with their great tradition of liberal action come home to the party of Roosevelt, rather than return to the party of Hoover". However, they chose to join the Republicans, but a minority joined the Democrats.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Robert La Follette, Jr., incumbent U.S. Senator
* Joseph McCarthy, judge of Wisconsin's 10th Circuit Court
* Perry J. Stearns, candidate for Senate in 1944

### Campaign

The Republican primary election was noted for its divisiveness and bitterness.
The incumbent senator La Follette, who had just re-joined the Republican Party after the collapse of the Wisconsin Progressive Party earlier that year, was challenged by Judge Joe McCarthy of Appleton. Disbanding the Progressive Party and seeking election on the Republican ticket that same year cost him the support of many progressive supporters that belonged to the former, while the more conservative Republicans were also suspicious of La Follette, as he had previously run against them.
La Follette ran an isolationist campaign against the United Nations and was critical of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Confident of victory, he remained in Washington to draft and win passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 rather than returning to Wisconsin to campaign for re-election.
McCarthy campaigned aggressively and attacked La Follette for not enlisting during World War II, although La Follette had been 46 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and would have been too old to be accepted. McCarthy played up his own wartime service, using his wartime nickname, "Tail-Gunner Joe," and the slogan "Congress needs a tail-gunner". McCarthy also claimed that while he had been away fighting for his country, La Follette had made huge profits from investments; the suggestion that La Follette had been guilty of war profiteering was deeply damaging.
While La Follette initially started with a large lead in the polls, that lead gradually dwindled, and on the primary election day, the results of the final county to report polls tipped the scales in McCarthy's favor. La Follette sent a one-word telegram saying "Congratulations" to McCarthy.

### Results

1946 Republican U.S. Senate primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Joseph McCarthy | 207,935 | 47.25% |
| | Republican | Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (incumbent) | 202,557 | 46.03% |
| | Republican | Perry J. Stearns | 29,605 | 6.73% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 440,097 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Howard J. McMurray, U.S. Representative from Milwaukee

### Results

McMurray was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

## General election
### Candidates

* Georgia Cozzini, candidate for governor in 1946 (Socialist Labor)
* Edwin Knappe, former state assemblyman (1919–21) (Socialist)
* Joseph McCarthy, judge of Wisconsin's 10th Circuit Court (Republican)
* Howard J. McMurray, U.S. Representative from Milwaukee (Democratic)

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Joseph McCarthy | 620,430 | 61.28% | 19.90 |
| | Democratic | Howard J. McMurray | 378,772 | 37.41% | 24.21 |
| | Socialist | Edwin Knappe | 11,750 | 1.16% | 1.16 |
| | Socialist Labor | Georgia Cozzini | 1,552 | 0.15% | 0.07 |
| | None | Scattering | 2,090 | 0.21% | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 241,658 | 23.82% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,014,594 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Results by county

| County | Joseph Raymond McCarthy Republican | Joseph Raymond McCarthy Republican | Howard Johnstone McMurray Democratic | Howard Johnstone McMurray Democratic | Edwin W. Knappe Socialist | Edwin W. Knappe Socialist | Georgia Olive Cozzini Socialist Labor | Georgia Olive Cozzini Socialist Labor | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Adams | 1,336 | 63.11% | 769 | 36.32% | 9 | 0.43% | 3 | 0.14% | 567 | 26.78% | 2,117 |
| Ashland | 3,144 | 56.18% | 2,416 | 43.17% | 23 | 0.41% | 13 | 0.23% | 728 | 13.01% | 5,596 |
| Barron | 5,093 | 64.45% | 2,778 | 35.16% | 31 | 0.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,315 | 29.30% | 7,902 |
| Bayfield | 2,412 | 56.75% | 1,811 | 42.61% | 19 | 0.45% | 8 | 0.19% | 601 | 14.14% | 4,250 |
| Brown | 20,089 | 65.25% | 10,660 | 34.62% | 35 | 0.11% | 4 | 0.01% | 9,429 | 30.63% | 30,788 |
| Buffalo | 2,877 | 70.41% | 1,177 | 28.81% | 21 | 0.51% | 11 | 0.27% | 1,700 | 41.61% | 4,086 |
| Burnett | 1,644 | 60.91% | 1,040 | 38.53% | 10 | 0.37% | 5 | 0.19% | 604 | 22.38% | 2,699 |
| Calumet | 4,432 | 71.97% | 1,706 | 27.70% | 19 | 0.31% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,726 | 44.27% | 6,158 |
| Chippewa | 7,201 | 62.55% | 4,236 | 36.80% | 53 | 0.46% | 22 | 0.19% | 2,965 | 25.76% | 11,512 |
| Clark | 5,818 | 67.42% | 2,721 | 31.53% | 83 | 0.96% | 8 | 0.09% | 3,097 | 35.89% | 8,630 |
| Columbia | 6,589 | 66.94% | 3,212 | 32.63% | 40 | 0.41% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,377 | 34.31% | 9,843 |
| Crawford | 3,805 | 65.86% | 1,964 | 34.00% | 5 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.05% | 1,841 | 31.87% | 5,777 |
| Dane | 23,222 | 47.38% | 25,200 | 51.42% | 557 | 1.14% | 30 | 0.06% | -1,978 | -4.04% | 49,009 |
| Dodge | 10,556 | 71.41% | 4,151 | 28.08% | 72 | 0.49% | 3 | 0.02% | 6,405 | 43.33% | 14,782 |
| Door | 4,751 | 84.37% | 864 | 15.34% | 12 | 0.21% | 4 | 0.07% | 3,887 | 69.03% | 5,631 |
| Douglas | 7,389 | 52.74% | 6,522 | 46.56% | 72 | 0.51% | 26 | 0.19% | 867 | 6.19% | 14,009 |
| Dunn | 4,549 | 67.41% | 2,149 | 31.85% | 35 | 0.52% | 15 | 0.22% | 2,400 | 35.57% | 6,748 |
| Eau Claire | 8,615 | 56.36% | 6,610 | 43.24% | 57 | 0.37% | 5 | 0.03% | 2,005 | 13.12% | 15,287 |
| Florence | 668 | 63.56% | 375 | 35.68% | 8 | 0.76% | 0 | 0.00% | 293 | 27.88% | 1,051 |
| Fond du Lac | 14,023 | 69.72% | 5,967 | 29.67% | 88 | 0.44% | 34 | 0.17% | 8,056 | 40.06% | 20,112 |
| Forest | 1,491 | 51.65% | 1,384 | 47.94% | 8 | 0.28% | 4 | 0.14% | 107 | 3.71% | 2,887 |
| Grant | 9,115 | 72.26% | 3,440 | 27.27% | 40 | 0.32% | 20 | 0.16% | 5,675 | 44.99% | 12,615 |
| Green | 4,079 | 68.32% | 1,864 | 31.22% | 27 | 0.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,215 | 37.10% | 5,970 |
| Green Lake | 3,789 | 80.22% | 925 | 19.59% | 5 | 0.11% | 4 | 0.08% | 2,864 | 60.64% | 4,723 |
| Iowa | 4,418 | 67.82% | 2,084 | 31.99% | 11 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,334 | 35.83% | 6,514 |
| Iron | 1,687 | 51.59% | 1,561 | 47.74% | 16 | 0.49% | 6 | 0.18% | 126 | 3.85% | 3,270 |
| Jackson | 2,666 | 64.40% | 1,440 | 34.78% | 24 | 0.58% | 10 | 0.24% | 1,226 | 29.61% | 4,140 |
| Jefferson | 8,379 | 66.83% | 4,105 | 32.74% | 50 | 0.40% | 3 | 0.02% | 4,274 | 34.09% | 12,537 |
| Juneau | 3,717 | 74.64% | 1,237 | 24.84% | 25 | 0.50% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,480 | 49.80% | 4,980 |
| Kenosha | 12,912 | 50.64% | 12,411 | 48.67% | 131 | 0.51% | 44 | 0.17% | 501 | 1.96% | 25,498 |
| Kewaunee | 3,737 | 71.05% | 1,519 | 28.88% | 4 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,218 | 42.17% | 5,260 |
| La Crosse | 11,092 | 66.18% | 5,547 | 33.09% | 99 | 0.59% | 23 | 0.14% | 5,545 | 33.08% | 16,761 |
| Lafayette | 3,764 | 63.05% | 2,179 | 36.50% | 23 | 0.39% | 4 | 0.07% | 1,585 | 26.55% | 5,970 |
| Langlade | 4,299 | 60.30% | 2,811 | 39.43% | 16 | 0.22% | 3 | 0.04% | 1,488 | 20.87% | 7,129 |
| Lincoln | 4,405 | 71.51% | 1,689 | 27.42% | 51 | 0.83% | 15 | 0.24% | 2,716 | 44.09% | 6,160 |
| Manitowoc | 12,615 | 60.77% | 8,063 | 38.84% | 66 | 0.32% | 14 | 0.07% | 4,552 | 21.93% | 20,758 |
| Marathon | 12,231 | 55.02% | 9,676 | 43.53% | 309 | 1.39% | 14 | 0.06% | 2,555 | 11.49% | 22,230 |
| Marinette | 6,132 | 68.56% | 2,759 | 30.85% | 41 | 0.46% | 12 | 0.13% | 3,373 | 37.71% | 8,944 |
| Marquette | 2,035 | 81.47% | 450 | 18.01% | 11 | 0.44% | 2 | 0.08% | 1,585 | 63.45% | 2,498 |
| Milwaukee | 151,104 | 54.74% | 117,163 | 42.44% | 6,910 | 2.50% | 873 | 0.32% | 33,941 | 12.30% | 276,050 |
| Monroe | 5,250 | 69.08% | 2,305 | 30.33% | 42 | 0.55% | 3 | 0.04% | 2,945 | 38.75% | 7,600 |
| Oconto | 5,116 | 72.23% | 1,920 | 27.11% | 40 | 0.56% | 7 | 0.10% | 3,196 | 45.12% | 7,083 |
| Oneida | 3,238 | 58.20% | 2,288 | 41.12% | 32 | 0.58% | 6 | 0.11% | 950 | 17.07% | 5,564 |
| Outagamie | 16,606 | 70.11% | 6,929 | 29.25% | 123 | 0.52% | 29 | 0.12% | 9,677 | 40.85% | 23,687 |
| Ozaukee | 4,627 | 69.38% | 2,018 | 30.26% | 23 | 0.34% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,609 | 39.12% | 6,669 |
| Pepin | 1,500 | 70.49% | 624 | 29.32% | 4 | 0.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 876 | 41.17% | 2,128 |
| Pierce | 4,726 | 73.94% | 1,600 | 25.03% | 50 | 0.78% | 16 | 0.25% | 3,126 | 48.90% | 6,392 |
| Polk | 4,070 | 61.94% | 2,464 | 37.50% | 36 | 0.55% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,606 | 24.44% | 6,571 |
| Portage | 5,802 | 50.40% | 5,689 | 49.42% | 20 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.01% | 113 | 0.98% | 11,512 |
| Price | 3,229 | 63.18% | 1,812 | 35.45% | 54 | 1.06% | 16 | 0.31% | 1,417 | 27.72% | 5,111 |
| Racine | 18,175 | 52.06% | 16,461 | 47.15% | 229 | 0.66% | 45 | 0.13% | 1,714 | 4.91% | 34,910 |
| Richland | 4,187 | 75.40% | 1,353 | 24.37% | 13 | 0.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,834 | 51.04% | 5,553 |
| Rock | 17,409 | 65.71% | 8,890 | 33.55% | 178 | 0.67% | 17 | 0.06% | 8,519 | 32.15% | 26,494 |
| Rusk | 3,340 | 66.64% | 1,641 | 32.74% | 25 | 0.50% | 6 | 0.12% | 1,699 | 33.90% | 5,012 |
| Sauk | 7,463 | 68.75% | 3,151 | 29.03% | 233 | 2.15% | 9 | 0.08% | 4,312 | 39.72% | 10,856 |
| Sawyer | 2,551 | 70.86% | 1,002 | 27.83% | 31 | 0.86% | 16 | 0.44% | 1,549 | 43.03% | 3,600 |
| Shawano | 6,125 | 74.49% | 2,065 | 25.11% | 26 | 0.32% | 7 | 0.09% | 4,060 | 49.37% | 8,223 |
| Sheboygan | 13,330 | 54.65% | 10,283 | 42.16% | 757 | 3.10% | 22 | 0.09% | 3,047 | 12.49% | 24,392 |
| St. Croix | 4,938 | 63.49% | 2,799 | 35.99% | 34 | 0.44% | 6 | 0.08% | 2,139 | 27.50% | 7,777 |
| Taylor | 3,153 | 61.41% | 1,750 | 34.09% | 226 | 4.40% | 5 | 0.10% | 1,403 | 27.33% | 5,134 |
| Trempealeau | 4,189 | 62.82% | 2,446 | 36.68% | 25 | 0.37% | 8 | 0.12% | 1,743 | 26.14% | 6,668 |
| Vernon | 4,509 | 66.06% | 2,299 | 33.68% | 9 | 0.13% | 9 | 0.13% | 2,210 | 32.38% | 6,826 |
| Vilas | 2,098 | 66.99% | 1,015 | 32.41% | 9 | 0.29% | 10 | 0.32% | 1,083 | 34.58% | 3,132 |
| Walworth | 8,896 | 79.83% | 2,212 | 19.85% | 31 | 0.28% | 4 | 0.04% | 6,684 | 59.98% | 11,143 |
| Washburn | 1,818 | 62.09% | 1,099 | 37.53% | 9 | 0.31% | 2 | 0.07% | 719 | 24.56% | 2,928 |
| Washington | 7,789 | 74.69% | 2,597 | 24.90% | 39 | 0.37% | 4 | 0.04% | 5,192 | 49.78% | 10,429 |
| Waukesha | 17,606 | 73.31% | 6,227 | 25.93% | 162 | 0.67% | 20 | 0.08% | 11,379 | 47.38% | 24,015 |
| Waupaca | 7,930 | 79.06% | 2,072 | 20.66% | 24 | 0.24% | 4 | 0.04% | 5,858 | 58.40% | 10,030 |
| Waushara | 3,362 | 81.25% | 760 | 18.37% | 15 | 0.36% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,602 | 62.88% | 4,138 |
| Winnebago | 16,329 | 67.48% | 7,756 | 32.05% | 98 | 0.40% | 16 | 0.07% | 8,573 | 35.43% | 24,199 |
| Wood | 9,189 | 66.36% | 4,610 | 33.29% | 37 | 0.27% | 11 | 0.08% | 4,579 | 33.07% | 13,847 |
| Totals | 620,430 | 61.28% | 378,772 | 37.41% | 11,750 | 1.16% | 1,552 | 0.15% | 241,658 | 23.87% | 1,012,504 |