1940 Washington gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1940 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 1940 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940. Republican nominee Arthur B. Langlie narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Clarence Dill with 50.24% of the vote.

1940 Washington gubernatorial election

← 1936 November 5, 1940 1944 →

Nominee Arthur B. Langlie Clarence Dill Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 392,522 386,706 Percentage 50.2% 49.5%

County results Langlie:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80% Dill:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Clarence D. Martin Democratic Elected Governor Arthur B. Langlie Republican

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on September 10, 1940.^[1]

Candidates

• Arthur B. Langlie, incumbent Mayor of Seattle
• Clarence Dill, former United States Senator
• Clarence D. Martin, incumbent Governor
• Tom Smith
• George H. Gannon
• Frank Burns
• J. Warren Kinney
• Alexander Gabrielsen
• Marius Rasmussen
• George Dana Linn

Results

1940 Washington gubernatorial primary election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clarence Dill	186,008	34.63
	Republican	Arthur B. Langlie	160,551	29.89
	Democratic	Clarence D. Martin (incumbent)	114,484	21.31
	Democratic	Tom Smith	26,572	4.95
	Democratic	George H. Gannon	24,299	4.52
	Republican	Frank Burns	12,967	2.41
	Republican	J. Warren Kinney	6,134	1.14
	Republican	Alexander Gabrielsen	2,647	0.49
	Republican	Marius Rasmussen	1,932	0.36
	Republican	George Dana Linn	1,597	0.30
Total votes			537,181	100.00

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• Arthur B. Langlie, Republican
• Clarence Dill, Democratic

Other candidates

• John Brockway, Communist
• P.J. Ater, Socialist Labor

Results

1940 Washington gubernatorial election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Arthur B. Langlie	392,522	50.24%
	Democratic	Clarence Dill	386,706	49.49%
	Communist	John Brockway	1,674	0.21%
	Socialist Labor	P.J. Ater	426	0.06%
Majority			5,816
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

1. "Elections Search Results: September 1940 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
2. "Election Search Results: November 1940 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved May 11, 2020.