1940 Arkansas elections

Arkansas held a general election on November 5, 1940. At the top of the ticket, Franklin D. Roosevelt won the state handily in his reelection bid. For the United States House of Representatives, five of the six Representatives seeking reelection were unopposed in the general election. In the Arkansas 7th, Oren Harris defeated Wade Kitchens in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

All of Arkansas's statewide constitutional offices were up for reelection, including governor. During the Solid South, the Democratic Party held firm control of virtually every office in The South, including Arkansas. Winning the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election, with several different factions of the party battling in the open primaries. Incumbent governor Carl E. Bailey was primaried by Homer Adkins who defeated Republican Harley C. Stump in a landslide election; all other state constitutional offices were held by the Democrats without general election opposition.

Federal

President

Senate

No Senate elections were held this year in Arkansas.

United States House

State

Arkansas Democrats started the nomination process for a primary to be held on August 13, 1940. The Democratic primary runoff was held on August 27, 1940.

Governor

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent Bob Bailey won the nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas from a five-candidate field in the Democratic primary. Though initially failing to secure a majority, Bailey was given the Democratic nomination when Bransford withdrew before the runoff.

Democratic primary, 1940
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lieutenant Governor Bob Bailey	109,016	44.0
	Democratic	John M. Bransford	58,360	23.5
	Democratic	Hal P. Smith	41,002	16.5
	Democratic	Harve B. Thorn	21,846	8.8
	Democratic	L.E. Coleman	17,807	7.1
Total votes			248,031	100.0

Attorney general

Jack Holt

Secretary of State

Incumbent Crip Hall won the nomination for Arkansas Secretary of State from a four-candidate field in the Democratic primary.

Auditor

Treasurer

Incumbent Earl Page sought a third term. He was challenged by Kenneth Satterfield of Dardanelle, an employee of the state revenue department. Former treasurer Roy V. Leonard was also mentioned to have interest in running, but declined.

State Land Commissioner

Incumbent Otis Page won the nomination for Arkansas Secretary of State from a three-candidate field in the Democratic primary.

References

1 2 3 4 Herndon, Dallas Tabor (1947). Annals of Arkansas. Vol. 1. Hopkinsville, Kentucky: Historical Record Association. p. 291-292. OCLC 3920841.

[Annals-1] 1 2 3 4 Herndon, Dallas Tabor (1947). Annals of Arkansas. Vol. 1. Hopkinsville, Kentucky: Historical Record Association. p. 291-292. OCLC 3920841.

v t e Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022 2026
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas