The 1942 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1942 to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Oregon. Republican candidate and Oregon Secretary of State Earl W. Snell defeated state senator Lew Wallace by a more than 3–1 margin, which remains the largest margin of victory in any Oregon gubernatorial election.

Primary election Oregon held primary elections on May 15, 1942.

Republican party Candidates Earl Snell, Oregon Secretary of State Charles A. Sprague, incumbent governor

Campaign In 1938, Republican Charles A. Sprague won an easy victory as governor following a divisive Democratic primary which had seen the defeat of the sitting governor, Charles H. Martin. That same year, Republican Earl Snell was re-elected to a second term as Secretary of State.

In 1942, Snell was ineligible for another term as Secretary and decided to challenge Sprague's re-election effort. Despite the Oregon Legislative Assembly being controlled by his own party, Sprague's progressive stance on numerous issues had caused conflict with the legislature and he had vetoed special interest legislation put forward by members of his own party. An attempted recall of Sprague was unsuccessful, but Snell used the issue, along with accusations that Sprague's efforts to efficiently organize the state for World War II had been inadequate, to achieve a comfortable victory in the primary.

Results

Democratic party In the Democratic primary, state senator Lew Wallace defeated former Oregon House speaker Howard LaTourette to win his party's nomination. Candidates Grover C. Fretwell Howard LaTourette, former Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Lew Wallace, member of Oregon State Senate

Results

General election In the general election, Snell crushed Wallace by the largest margin of victory ever in an Oregon governor's race, winning at least 70 percent of the vote in every county.

Results

Results by county County Earl SnellRepublican Lew WallaceDemocratic ScatteringWrite-in Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Baker3,22478.23%89721.77%00.00%2,32756.47%4,121Benton3,81781.16%88418.80%20.04%2,93362.36%4,703Clackamas12,05278.14%3,37121.86%00.00%8,68156.29%15,423Clatsop5,21084.20%97615.77%20.03%4,23468.42%6,188Columbia3,61375.82%1,15224.18%00.00%2,46151.65%4,765Coos5,43174.16%1,89225.84%00.00%3,53948.33%7,323Crook1,06582.05%23317.95%00.00%83264.10%1,298Curry1,10486.93%16613.07%00.00%93873.86%1,270Deschutes2,93880.91%69319.09%00.00%2,24561.83%3,631Douglas5,22880.70%1,25019.30%00.00%3,97861.41%6,478Gilliam66287.11%9812.89%00.00%56474.21%760Grant1,11382.38%23817.62%00.00%87564.77%1,351Harney73770.73%30529.27%00.00%43241.46%1,042Hood River1,94581.14%45218.86%00.00%1,49362.29%2,397Jackson6,06582.54%1,28317.46%00.00%4,78265.08%7,348Jefferson40180.20%9919.80%00.00%30260.40%500Josephine3,19578.91%85421.09%00.00%2,34157.82%4,049Klamath5,29780.88%1,25219.12%00.00%4,04561.77%6,549Lake1,05277.98%29722.02%00.00%75555.97%1,349Lane12,57875.35%4,11424.65%00.00%8,46450.71%16,692Lincoln3,03979.87%76620.13%00.00%2,27359.74%3,805Linn6,39680.37%1,56219.63%00.00%4,83460.74%7,958Malheur2,41680.94%56919.06%00.00%1,84761.88%2,985Marion14,78782.29%3,17517.67%70.04%11,61264.62%17,969Morrow85979.39%22320.61%00.00%63658.78%1,082Multnomah82,35674.79%27,75425.21%00.00%54,60249.59%110,110Polk4,03081.22%93218.78%00.00%3,09862.43%4,962Sherman74284.13%14015.87%00.00%60268.25%882Tillamook2,69281.67%60418.33%00.00%2,08863.35%3,296Umatilla4,64384.05%88115.95%00.00%3,76268.10%5,524Union3,63775.69%1,16824.31%00.00%2,46951.38%4,805Wallowa1,36371.51%54328.49%00.00%82043.02%1,906Wasco2,26783.22%45716.78%00.00%1,81066.45%2,724Washington7,92879.50%2,04220.48%20.02%5,88659.03%9,972Wheeler54887.12%8112.88%00.00%46774.24%629Yamhill5,75883.26%1,15816.74%00.00%4,60066.51%6,916Total220,18877.87%62,56122.12%130.00%157,62755.75%282,762

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Columbia Coos Deschutes Union

References