1918 United States Senate special election in Missouri

1918 United States Senate special election in Missouri

Nominee Selden P. Spencer Joseph W. Folk Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 302,680 267,397 Percentage 52.39% 46.29%

County results Spencer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Folk:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Xenophon P. Wilfley Democratic Elected U.S. senator Selden P. Spencer Republican

The 1918 United States Senate special election in Missouri took place on November 5, 1918 in Missouri. Democrat William J. Stone was elected to the full term in 1914, but died on April 14, 1918. Xenophon P. Wilfley was appointed to the vacant seat on April 30, 1918. He lost the Democratic primary election to Joseph W. Folk, who was defeated by Republican Selden P. Spencer in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joseph W. Folk, former governor of Missouri
• Xenophon P. Wilfley, the incumbent Senator
• John C. Higdon, lawyer^[1]

Results

Democratic primary August 6, 1918^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph W. Folk	107,690	55.06
	Democratic	Xenophon P. Wilfley	80,009	40.90
	Democratic	John C. Higdon	7,907	4.04
Total votes			195,606	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• Selden P. Spencer, former circuit court judge^[3] and former state representative for the St. Louis City-5th district^[4]
• Jay L. Torrey, Rough Rider and former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives^[5]

Results

Republican primary August 6, 1918^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Selden P. Spencer	71,790	63.67
	Republican	Jay L. Torrey	40,956	36.33
Total votes			112,746	100

Other candidates

Socialist

Socialist primary August 6, 1918^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	Caleb Lipscomb	1,414	100
Total votes			1,414	100

Socialist Labor

Socialist Labor primary August 6, 1918^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	48	100
Total votes			48	100

Results

1918 United States Senate election in Missouri^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Selden P. Spencer	302,680	52.39%	+10.81
	Democratic	Joseph W. Folk	267,397	46.29%	−4.12
	Socialist	Caleb Lipscomb	6,725	1.16%	−1.60
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	904	0.16%	−0.04
Majority			35,283	6.10%
Turnout			577,706
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

1. "PARTY TICKETS FOR THE PRIMARY ARE COMPLETED". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. July 7, 1918. p. 12. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.
2. Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1919 - 1920. Missouri Secretary of State's Office. 1920. p. 390. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
3. "Selden P. Spencer bio". United States Congress website. 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
4. "Missouri Legislators S". Secretary of State of Missouri. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
5. Roberts, Phil. "The Other Roughriders: Col. Torrey and Wyoming's Volunteer Cavalry". WyoHistory.org. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
6. Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1919 - 1920. Missouri Secretary of State's Office. 1920. p. 412. Retrieved August 13, 2023.