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1938 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
	County results; Wiley: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Ekern: 40–50%; Duffy: 30–40% 40–50%
U.S. senator before election; F. Ryan Duffy; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Alexander Wiley; Republican

The 1938 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator F. Ryan Duffy ran for a second term in office. In a three way race, Alexander Wiley defeated Duffy and Lieutenant Governor Herman L. Ekern.

Primary elections were held on September 20. Senator Duffy was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. The Republican primary was a rematch of the 1936 gubernatorial primary; Wiley defeated John B. Chapple, who had been nominated in the previous two Senate races. After losing, Chapple entered the general election as a candidate advocating for the Townsend Act. In the Progressive primary, Ekern defeated Thomas R. Amlie by roughly 9,091 votes.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

F. Ryan Duffy, incumbent senator since 1933

Results

1938 U.S. Senate Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	F. Ryan Duffy (incumbent)	109,129	100.00%
Total votes			109,129	100.00%

Progressive primary

Candidates

Thomas R. Amlie, U.S. Representative from Beloit
Herman L. Ekern, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Results

1938 U.S. Senate Progressive primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive	Herman L. Ekern	79,885	53.02%
	Progressive	Thomas R. Amlie	70,794	46.98%
Total votes			150,679	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

William J. Campbell, nominee for U.S. House from Oshkosh in 1934
John B. Chapple, nominee for Senate in 1932 and 1934 and candidate for governor in 1936
Stephen J. McMahon, former judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals
Edward J. Samp, former University of Wisconsin–Madison football star and candidate for Treasurer in 1930
William Henry Stafford, U.S. Representative from Milwaukee
Alexander Wiley, nominee for governor in 1936

Results

1938 U.S. Senate Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alexander Wiley	70,400	32.91%
	Republican	John B. Chapple	56,403	26.37%
	Republican	William Henry Stafford	26,533	12.40%
	Republican	Edward J. Samp	25,669	12.00%
	Republican	William J. Campbell	23,790	11.12%
	Republican	Stephen J. McMahon	11,111	5.19%
Total votes			213,906	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Fred Basset Blair, bookseller and perennial candidate (Communist)
John B. Chapple, perennial candidate (Townsend Republican)
F. Ryan Duffy, incumbent senator since 1933 (Democratic)
Herman L. Ekern, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (Progressive)
Joseph Ehrhardt, perennial candidate (Socialist Labor)
Alexander Wiley, nominee for governor in 1936 (Republican)

Results

1938 U.S. Senate election in Wisconsin^[2]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Alexander Wiley	446,770	47.66%	+11.46%
Progressive	Herman L. Ekern	249,209	26.58%	+26.58%
Democratic	F. Ryan Duffy (incumbent)	231,976	24.74%	−32.24%
Independent Republican	John B. Chapple	7,251	0.77%	—
Communist	Fred B. Blair	1,283	0.14%	−0.13%
Socialist Labor	Joseph Ehrhardt	1,014	0.11%	—
Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Parties and Elections: The Primary Election". Wisconsin Blue Book, 1940. p. 541. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1939). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

[primary-1] "Parties and Elections: The Primary Election". Wisconsin Blue Book, 1940. p. 541. Retrieved April 11, 2023.

[2] Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1939). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

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1938 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Progressive primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References