The 1942 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1942 to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Oregon. Republican candidate and Oregon Secretary of State Earl W. Snell defeated state senator Lew Wallace by a more than 3–1 margin, which remains the largest margin of victory in any Oregon gubernatorial election.

Primary election

Oregon held primary elections on May 15, 1942.

Republican party

Candidates

Campaign

In 1938, Republican Charles A. Sprague won an easy victory as governor following a divisive Democratic primary which had seen the defeat of the sitting governor, Charles H. Martin. That same year, Republican Earl Snell was re-elected to a second term as Secretary of State.

In 1942, Snell was ineligible for another term as Secretary and decided to challenge Sprague's re-election effort. Despite the Oregon Legislative Assembly being controlled by his own party, Sprague's progressive stance on numerous issues had caused conflict with the legislature and he had vetoed special interest legislation put forward by members of his own party.[1] An attempted recall of Sprague was unsuccessful,[1] but Snell used the issue, along with accusations that Sprague's efforts to efficiently organize the state for World War II had been inadequate,[2] to achieve a comfortable victory in the primary.

Results

Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Earl Snell 79,696 58.59%
Republican Charles A. Sprague (inc.) 56,285 41.38%
Republican Scattering 35 0.00%
Total votes 136,016 100.00%

Democratic party

In the Democratic primary, state senator Lew Wallace defeated former Oregon House speaker Howard LaTourette to win his party's nomination.

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lew Wallace 36,137 47.04%
Democratic Howard LaTourette 31,724 41.30%
Democratic Grover C. Fretwell 7,223 9.40%
Democratic Scattering 1,737 2.26%
Total votes 76,821 100.00%

General election

In the general election, Snell crushed Wallace by the largest margin of victory ever in an Oregon governor's race, winning at least 70 percent of the vote in every county.

Results

1942 Oregon gubernatorial election[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Earl Snell 220,188 77.87% +20.46%
Democratic Lew Wallace 62,561 22.12% −20.45%
Write-in Scattering 13 0.00%
Total votes 282,762 100.00%
Majority 157,627 55.75%
Republican hold Swing +40.91%

Results by county

County[5] Earl Snell
Republican		 Lew Wallace
Democratic		 Scattering
Write-in		 Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Baker 3,224 78.23% 897 21.77% 0 0.00% 2,327 56.47% 4,121
Benton 3,817 81.16% 884 18.80% 2 0.04% 2,933 62.36% 4,703
Clackamas 12,052 78.14% 3,371 21.86% 0 0.00% 8,681 56.29% 15,423
Clatsop 5,210 84.20% 976 15.77% 2 0.03% 4,234 68.42% 6,188
Columbia 3,613 75.82% 1,152 24.18% 0 0.00% 2,461 51.65% 4,765
Coos 5,431 74.16% 1,892 25.84% 0 0.00% 3,539 48.33% 7,323
Crook 1,065 82.05% 233 17.95% 0 0.00% 832 64.10% 1,298
Curry 1,104 86.93% 166 13.07% 0 0.00% 938 73.86% 1,270
Deschutes 2,938 80.91% 693 19.09% 0 0.00% 2,245 61.83% 3,631
Douglas 5,228 80.70% 1,250 19.30% 0 0.00% 3,978 61.41% 6,478
Gilliam 662 87.11% 98 12.89% 0 0.00% 564 74.21% 760
Grant 1,113 82.38% 238 17.62% 0 0.00% 875 64.77% 1,351
Harney 737 70.73% 305 29.27% 0 0.00% 432 41.46% 1,042
Hood River 1,945 81.14% 452 18.86% 0 0.00% 1,493 62.29% 2,397
Jackson 6,065 82.54% 1,283 17.46% 0 0.00% 4,782 65.08% 7,348
Jefferson 401 80.20% 99 19.80% 0 0.00% 302 60.40% 500
Josephine 3,195 78.91% 854 21.09% 0 0.00% 2,341 57.82% 4,049
Klamath 5,297 80.88% 1,252 19.12% 0 0.00% 4,045 61.77% 6,549
Lake 1,052 77.98% 297 22.02% 0 0.00% 755 55.97% 1,349
Lane 12,578 75.35% 4,114 24.65% 0 0.00% 8,464 50.71% 16,692
Lincoln 3,039 79.87% 766 20.13% 0 0.00% 2,273 59.74% 3,805
Linn 6,396 80.37% 1,562 19.63% 0 0.00% 4,834 60.74% 7,958
Malheur 2,416 80.94% 569 19.06% 0 0.00% 1,847 61.88% 2,985
Marion 14,787 82.29% 3,175 17.67% 7 0.04% 11,612 64.62% 17,969
Morrow 859 79.39% 223 20.61% 0 0.00% 636 58.78% 1,082
Multnomah 82,356 74.79% 27,754 25.21% 0 0.00% 54,602 49.59% 110,110
Polk 4,030 81.22% 932 18.78% 0 0.00% 3,098 62.43% 4,962
Sherman 742 84.13% 140 15.87% 0 0.00% 602 68.25% 882
Tillamook 2,692 81.67% 604 18.33% 0 0.00% 2,088 63.35% 3,296
Umatilla 4,643 84.05% 881 15.95% 0 0.00% 3,762 68.10% 5,524
Union 3,637 75.69% 1,168 24.31% 0 0.00% 2,469 51.38% 4,805
Wallowa 1,363 71.51% 543 28.49% 0 0.00% 820 43.02% 1,906
Wasco 2,267 83.22% 457 16.78% 0 0.00% 1,810 66.45% 2,724
Washington 7,928 79.50% 2,042 20.48% 2 0.02% 5,886 59.03% 9,972
Wheeler 548 87.12% 81 12.88% 0 0.00% 467 74.24% 629
Yamhill 5,758 83.26% 1,158 16.74% 0 0.00% 4,600 66.51% 6,916
Total220,18877.87%62,56122.12%130.00%157,62755.75%282,762

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

References

  1. 1 2 Capace, Nancy (1999). The Encyclopedia of Oregon. Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 116. ISBN 0-403-09840-8.
  2. ↑ "M'Nary takes lead in Oregon primary" (PDF). The New York Times. May 16, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Abstract of Votes - Republican Party - Primary Election May 15, 1942". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Abstract of Votes - Democratic Party - Primary Election May 15, 1942". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Abstract of Votes, Regular General Election, November 3, 1942". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942_Oregon_gubernatorial_election