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1940 United States Senate election in Missouri
	County results; Truman: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Davis: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80–90%
U.S. senator before election; Harry S. Truman; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Harry S. Truman; Democratic

The 1940 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 5, 1940. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and future President of the United States Harry S. Truman, who was first elected in 1934, decided to seek re-election to a second term. He narrowly survived a primary challenge from Governor of Missouri Lloyd C. Stark before also narrowly defeating Republican nominee Manvel H. Davis in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Maurice M. Milligan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
Lloyd C. Stark, Governor of Missouri since 1937
Harry S. Truman, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1935

Campaign

Heading into the election of 1940, the Pendergast machine that had propelled Harry S. Truman to victory in the 1934 election had been brought to its knees. Tom Pendergast was ill and imprisoned for widespread voter fraud in the 1936 elections, in which more votes were tallied in Kansas City than its entire population. As such, Truman's connections to Pendergast going back to his 1922 candidacy for judge in Jackson County were a liability in the campaign. Missouri Governor Lloyd C. Stark, who had portrayed himself as an opponent of the machine, challenged Truman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator.^[1]^[2]

Truman, who had decided to seek a second term in February 1940, overcame his Pendergast connections as well as a substantial financial deficit, defeating Stark for the Democratic nomination.^[2]

Results

1940 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry S. Truman (incumbent)	268,354	40.91
	Democratic	Lloyd C. Stark	260,221	39.67
	Democratic	Maurice M. Milligan	127,378	19.42
Total votes			655,953	100

Republican primary

Candidates

William Byers
Manvel H. Davis, former State Senator from Kansas City
Herman G. Grosby
Harold Milligan
Ewing Young Mitchell
Paul O. Peters
David M. Proctor, perennial candidate

Results

1940 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Manvel H. Davis	117,501	40.83
	Republican	David M. Proctor	82,126	28.54
	Republican	Harold H. Milligan	41,630	14.47
	Republican	William Byers	13,946	4.85
	Republican	Ewing Young Mitchell	12,820	4.46
	Republican	Paul O. Peters	12,298	4.27
	Republican	Herman G. Grosby	7,463	2.59
Total votes			287,784	100

General election

Campaign

Touting his experience as a World War I veteran and track record as a U.S. Senator, Truman ultimately defeated Republican candidate and former state senator Manvel H. Davis in the November general election.^[2]

Results

Missouri United States Senate election, 1940^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry S. Truman (incumbent)	930,775	51.17
	Republican	Manvel H. Davis	886,376	48.73
	Socialist	W.F. Rinck	1,669	0.09
	Socialist Labor	Theodore Baeff	196	0.01
Total votes			1,819,016	100

References

^ "Life Before the Presidency". American President: Harry S. Truman. Miller Center, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "His Own Man". The Kansas City Public Library. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Brown, Dwight H. (1942). Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1941 - 1942. Office of the Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential election of November 5, 1940" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved November 26, 2014.