1952 United States Senate election in Tennessee

The 1952 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 1952. Incumbent Democratic Senator and President pro tempore of the Senate Kenneth D. McKellar ran for re-election to a seventh term in office but was defeated in the Democratic primary by U.S. Representative Al Gore Sr. Gore easily won the general election against Republican Hobart Atkins.

1952 United States Senate election in Tennessee

← 1946 November 4, 1952 1958 →
 
Nominee Albert Gore Sr. Hobart F. Atkins
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 545,432 153,479
Percentage 74.19% 20.88%

County results
Gore:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Atkins:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Kenneth McKellar
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Albert Gore Sr.
Democratic

In the primary, Incumbent Senator McKellar stood for a seventh term (the first Senator to do so), despite being 83. He was opposed for renomination by Middle Tennessee Congressman Albert Gore. McKellar's re-election slogan was "Thinking Feller? Vote McKellar," which Gore countered with "Think Some More – Vote for Gore." Gore defeated McKellar for the Democratic nomination in August in what was widely regarded as an upset.[1]

McKellar's defeat was part of a statewide trend of change in 1952. That year, the incumbent governor, Gordon Browning, was defeated by Frank G. Clement in the primary.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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1952 Democratic Senate primary[2][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Albert Gore Sr. 334,957 56.54%
Democratic Kenneth McKellar (incumbent) 245,054 41.36%
Democratic John Randolph Neal Jr. 7,181 1.21%
Democratic Herman H. Ross 4,950 0.84%
Democratic James Patrick Sutton (write-in) 293 0.05%
Total votes 592,435 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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  • Hobart F. Atkins, nominee for Senate in 1952 (Republican)
  • Richard M. Barber (Independent)
  • Albert Gore Sr., incumbent Senator since 1953 (Democratic)
  • John Randolph Neal Jr., attorney, academic, and perennial candidate (Good Government & Clean Elections)

Results

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1952 U.S. Senate election in Tennessee[4][5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Albert Gore Sr. 545,432 74.19%  7.59
Republican Hobart F. Atkins 153,479 20.88%  5.29
Independent Richard M. Barber 22,169 3.02% N/A
Independent John Randolph Neal Jr. 14,132 1.92%  3.35
Total votes 735,219 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kenneth D. McKellar". Tennessee Historical Society. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "TN US Senate – D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Tennessee Secretary of State. Tennessee Blue Book, 1954. p. 316.
  4. ^ Cook, Rhodes (February 14, 2021). America Votes 32: 2015–2016, Election Returns by State. CQ Press. ISBN 9781506368993 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "tN US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1953). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1952" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.