1942 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

1942 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
	Lodge: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%; Casey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Senator before election; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.; Republican	Elected Senator ; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.; Republican

The United States Senate election of 1942 in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1942. Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic U.S. Representative Joseph E. Casey.

Republican primary

Candidates

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., incumbent US Senator since 1937
Courtenay Crocker, former Boston City Councilor (1909–1910) and State Representative (1910–1914)

Campaign

Crocker, who left the Republican Party in 1920 over the party's opposition to the League of Nations and Treaty of Versailles, returned and announced his candidacy for the United States Senate against Senator Lodge, whose grandfather led the 1920 charge against the League and Treaty. Massachusetts Secretary of State Frederic W. Cook ruled that Crocker was ineligible to run in the Republican primary because he did not register as a Republican at least 30 days before filing his nomination papers. However, Suffolk Superior Court Judge John V. Spalding ordered Cook to place Crocker on the ballot.^[1]

Results

Republican primary ^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (incumbent)	174,401	88.12%
	Republican	Courtenay Crocker	23,503	11.88%
	Write-in		8	0.00%
Total votes			197,912	100.00%
	None	Blank votes	24,652	—
Turnout			222,564

After losing the primary, Crocker supported Democratic nominee Joseph E. Casey in the general election.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Joseph E. Casey, U.S. Representative from Clinton
Daniel H. Coakley, former member of the Massachusetts Executive Council
John F. Fitzgerald, former U.S. Representative and Mayor of Boston
Joseph Lee, former member of the Boston School Committee

Results

Democratic primary ^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph E. Casey	108,251	45.47%
	Democratic	John F. Fitzgerald	80,456	33.79%
	Democratic	Joseph Lee	32,260	13.55%
	Democratic	Daniel H. Coakley	17,105	7.18%
	Write-in		18	0.00%
Total votes			238,090	100.00%
	None	Blank	31,528	—
Turnout			269,618

General election

Candidates

Joseph E. Casey, U.S. Representative from Canton (Democratic)
Horace Hillis, candidate for Governor in 1936 and Senate in 1940 (Socialist Labor)
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., incumbent Senator since 1937 (Republican)
George Lyman Paine, candidate for Senate in 1940 (Socialist)
George Thompson, candidate for Governor in 1936 and Senate in 1940 (Prohibition)

Campaign

Casey attempted to make an issue of Lodge's pre-war isolationism, although he had voted for the Lend-Lease Act in 1941. Lodge countered that his isolationism had been rooted in concerns over the nation's lack of military preparedness.^[4]

Lodge, an Army reservist himself, was briefly unable to campaign after he enlisted and was sent to Libya for training. While there, he inadvertently took part in a major Allied defeat when Erwin Rommel launched a surprise attack on Lodge's training position in Tobruk.^[5] He returned to Massachusetts in July, when President Roosevelt required all members of Congress be relieved from active duty. When Casey attempted to portray his service as a mere "Cook's tour of the Libyan desert," Lodge angrily refuted him.^[6]

Late in the campaign, Lodge drew criticism from U.S. Representative John W. McCormack and Secretary of War Henry Stimson for citing a letter from Stimson commending his military service in his campaign. Lodge responded that the use of the letter was only made in response to Casey's and McCormack's earlier "slurs on men in the armed forces."^[7]

Results

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (incumbent)	721,239	52.44	3.91
	Democratic	Joseph E. Casey	641,042	46.61	5.62
	Socialist	George Lyman Paine	4,802	0.35	0.19
	Socialist Labor	Horace I. Hillis	4,781	0.35	0.35
	Prohibition	George L. Thompson	3,577	0.26	0.26
Total votes			1,375,441	100.00%

References

^ "Ely and Crocker File for Senate". The Boston Daily Globe. July 28, 1942.
^ ^a ^b "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1942". www.ourcampaigns.com.
^ Harris, John G. (October 25, 1942). "Courtenay Crocker Bolts Lodge, Will Support Casey for Senator". The Boston Daily Globe.
^ Whalen, Thomas J. (2000). Kennedy versus Lodge: The 1952 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts. Northeastern University Press. p. 47. ISBN 9781555534622.
^ Whalen 2000, p. 47.
^ Whalen 2000, p. 48.
^ "LODGE IS ACCUSED OF MISUSING LETTER". The New York Times. November 3, 1942. p. 14.

[1] "Ely and Crocker File for Senate". The Boston Daily Globe. July 28, 1942.

[auto-2] "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1942". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[3] Harris, John G. (October 25, 1942). "Courtenay Crocker Bolts Lodge, Will Support Casey for Senator". The Boston Daily Globe.

[4] Whalen, Thomas J. (2000). Kennedy versus Lodge: The 1952 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts. Northeastern University Press. p. 47. ISBN 9781555534622.

[FOOTNOTEWhalen200047-5] Whalen 2000, p. 47.

[FOOTNOTEWhalen200048-6] Whalen 2000, p. 48.

[7] "LODGE IS ACCUSED OF MISUSING LETTER". The New York Times. November 3, 1942. p. 14.

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Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Results

See also

References