1950 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

1950 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
	County results; Tobey: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%; Kelley: 60–70%
Senator before election; Charles W. Tobey; Republican	Elected Senator ; Charles W. Tobey; Republican

The 1950 United States Senate election in New Hampshire took place on November 7, 1956. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles W. Tobey won re-election to a third full term.

Primary elections were held on September 12. Tobey narrowly survived a challenge from Manchester attorney and future governor Wesley Powell.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

Wesley Powell, Manchester attorney and aide to Styles Bridges^[2]
Charles W. Tobey, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1939

Wesley Powell, making his first bid for elective office of an eventual twelve, was an assistant to Tobey's Senate colleague Styles Bridges.^[2]

Campaign

Tobey's fourth campaign for the Republican nomination for Senate was among the bitterest of his thirty-year political career.^[3] Powell waged an aggressively critical campaign, referring to Tobey as a "Truman Republican".^[3] Tobey fought back hard, relishing his reputation as a political maverick and arguing that whether he was a loyal Republican or not, he had always voted "for the best interests of New Hampshire and all the people regardless of party."^[3]

Styles Bridges remained officially neutral in the campaign.^[3]

Results

The results were unclear through election night, with Tobey declared the winner by the Associated Press after the final tabulation in the early hours of September 13.^[3] Powell showed unexpected strength in communities which had historically backed Tobey.^[3]

1950 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles W. Tobey (incumbent)	39,203	50.85%
	Republican	Wesley Powell	39,203	49.15%
Total votes			77,096	100.00%
	{{{party}}}	Blank ballots	1,906	2.48%
Turnout			79,002	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Emmet J. Kelley, state senator from Berlin and member of the New Hampshire racing commission^[4]

Results

1950 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emmet J. Kelley	20,095	100.00%
Total votes			20,095	100.00%
	{{{party}}}	Blank ballots	9,090	31.15%
Turnout			29,185	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Emmet J. Kelley, state senator from Berlin and member of the New Hampshire racing commission^[4] (Democratic)
Wesley Powell, Manchester attorney and aide to Styles Bridges (write-in)
Charles W. Tobey, incumbent Senator since 1939 (Republican)

Campaign

Following his narrow loss in the Republican primary, Wesley Powell attempted to run an independent campaign, which threatened to split the Republican vote and elect the first Democratic senator from New Hampshire in over twenty years. However, the New Hampshire State Ballot Law Commission ruled in favor of Tobey on October 6, who argued that Powell's nominating petitions were "invalid and illegal" because they had not been "filed forty days prior to the election as required by law." Powell acquiesced to the ruling.^[5]

Results

1950 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles W. Tobey (incumbent)	106,142	55.99%	5.06
	Democratic	Emmet J. Kelley	72,473	38.23%	10.84
	Independent	Wesley Powell (write-in)	10,943	5.77%	N/A
Total votes			189,558	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Fuller, Enoch D. (1951). Manual for the General Court. Concord, N.H.: Department of State. p. 322.
^ ^a ^b "WESLEY POWELL, AN EX-GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, IS DEAD AT 65 (Published 1981)". United Press International. 8 January 1981. p. D23. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Senator Tobey Wins by Close Vote Over Young Veteran in Primary; TOBBY WINS POLL BY SCANT MARGIN". The New York Times. Manchester, N.H. Associated Press. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b "EMMET J. KELLEY, 74, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE (Published 1975)". The New York Times. AFB. 6 December 1975. p. 32. Retrieved 14 April 2025. Active in New Hampshire politics for more than four decades beginning with his election to the State Senate in 1933, Mr. Kelley served there until 1950, when he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate against the incumbent, Charles H. Tobey, a Republican.
^ "TOBEY'S RIVAL REMOVED; New Hampshire Board Bars Powell's Independent Race". The New York Times. Concord, N.H. United Press. October 6, 1950. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1951-01-11). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1950" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

[primary-1] Fuller, Enoch D. (1951). Manual for the General Court. Concord, N.H.: Department of State. p. 322.

[powell-2] "WESLEY POWELL, AN EX-GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, IS DEAD AT 65 (Published 1981)". United Press International. 8 January 1981. p. D23. Retrieved 16 April 2025.

[nytimes-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Senator Tobey Wins by Close Vote Over Young Veteran in Primary; TOBBY WINS POLL BY SCANT MARGIN". The New York Times. Manchester, N.H. Associated Press. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2025.

[kelley-4] "EMMET J. KELLEY, 74, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE (Published 1975)". The New York Times. AFB. 6 December 1975. p. 32. Retrieved 14 April 2025. Active in New Hampshire politics for more than four decades beginning with his election to the State Senate in 1933, Mr. Kelley served there until 1950, when he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate against the incumbent, Charles H. Tobey, a Republican.

[5] "TOBEY'S RIVAL REMOVED; New Hampshire Board Bars Powell's Independent Race". The New York Times. Concord, N.H. United Press. October 6, 1950. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2025.

[6] Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1951-01-11). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1950" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

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