1964 United States Senate special election in Tennessee

For the other Senate election in Tennessee held in parallel, see 1964 United States Senate election in Tennessee.

The 1964 United States Senate special election in Tennessee was held on November 3, 1964, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election as well the other regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Following the death of Senator Estes Kefauver, Governor Frank G. Clement appointed Herbert S. Walters to fill the vacancy until the special election could take place. Walters decided not to run in the special election. Democratic nominee Ross Bass won the election, defeating Republican Howard Baker with 52.1% of the vote.

1964 United States Senate special election in Tennessee

← 1960 November 3, 1964 1966 →

Nominee Ross Bass Howard Baker Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 568,905 517,330 Percentage 52.14% 47.41%

County results Bass:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Baker:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Herbert S. Walters Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ross Bass Democratic

In the primary, Bass defeated Governor Clement by almost 15 points.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ross Bass, U.S. Representative from Pulaski
• Frank G. Clement, Governor of Tennessee
• M. M. Bullard

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ross Bass	330,213	50.79%
	Democratic	Frank G. Clement	233,245	35.87%
	Democratic	M. M. Bullard	86,718	13.34%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Howard Baker
• Charlie Moffett
• Hubert David Patty

Results

Republican Party primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Howard Baker	93,301	84.94%
	Republican	Charlie Moffett	10,596	9.65%
	Republican	Hubert David Patty	5,947	5.41%

General election

General election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ross Bass	568,905	52.14%
	Republican	Howard Baker	517,330	47.41%
	Independent	Melvin Babcock Morgan	4,853	0.44%
Majority			51,575	4.73%
Turnout			1,091,088
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1964 United States Senate elections

References

1. "TN US Senate - Special D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
2. "TN US Senate - Special R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
3. Cook, Rhodes (October 26, 2017). America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State. CQ Press. ISBN 9781506368993. Retrieved February 14, 2019 – via Google Books.