The 1948 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 2, 1948 to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Oregon. A special election was needed due to the death of governor Earl Snell, who was killed in a plane crash on October 28, 1947.
Campaign
Incumbent governor John Hubert Hall, who took over after Snell's death until the election, lost the Republican nomination 51.13-48.87%, to state senator Douglas McKay, 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Douglas McKay | 271,295 | 53.23 | |
| Democratic | Lew Wallace | 226,958 | 44.53 | |
| Independent | Wendell E. Barnett | 11,380 | 2.23 | |
| Total votes | 509,633 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
- ^ "OR Governor Race - Nov 02, 1948". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 16, 2011.