1938 United States House of Representatives elections in California

The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1938 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 8, 1938. Republicans gained four districts. Franck R. Havenner, first elected to Congress as a Progressive, was elected for the rest of his House career as a Democrat.

     Democratic gain      Republican gain
     Democratic hold      Republican hold

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1938
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,137,635	47.7%	12	-3
	Republican	1,112,209	46.6%	8	+4
	Townsend	88,851	3.7%	0	0
	Communist	26,228	1.1%	0	0
	Progressive	17,622	0.7%	0	-1
	Independent	3,863	0.2%	0	0
Totals		2,386,408	100.0%	20	—

Delegation composition

1938 pre-election		Seats
	Democratic-Held	15
	Republican-Held	4
	Progressive-Held	1

1938 post-election		Seats
	Democratic-Held	12
	Republican-Held	8

Results

Final results from the Clerk of the House of Representatives:

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20

District 1

California's 1st congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clarence F. Lea (incumbent)	73,636	63
	Townsend	Ernest S. Mitchell	43,320	37
Total votes			116,956	100
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 2

California's 2nd congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harry Lane Englebright (incumbent)	71,496	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 3

California's 3rd congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank H. Buck (incumbent)	119,236	93.3
	Communist	Nora Conklin	8,271	6.5
	Independent	Walter Schaefer (write-in)	327	0.2
Total votes			127,834	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 4

California's 4th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Franck R. Havenner (incumbent)	64,452	61.2
	Republican	Kennett B. Dawson	40,842	38.8
Total votes			105,294	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic gain from Progressive

District 5

California's 5th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard J. Welch (incumbent)	91,868	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 6

California's 6th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Albert E. Carter (incumbent)	118,632	94.4
	Communist	Dave L. Saunders	7,015	5.6
Total votes			125,647	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 7

California's 7th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John H. Tolan (incumbent)	62,599	55.3
	Republican	Charles W. Fisher	50,504	44.7
Total votes			113,103	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 8

California's 8th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Z. Anderson	84,084	55
	Democratic	John J. McGrath (incumbent)	68,681	45
Total votes			152,765	100
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 9

California's 9th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bertrand W. Gearhart (incumbent)	91,128	96.3
	Independent	George H. Sciaroni (write-in)	3,536	3.7
Total votes			94,664	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

District 10

California's 10th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alfred J. Elliott (incumbent)	84,791	67.3
	Republican	F. Fred Hoelscher	41,194	32.7
Total votes			125,985	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 11

California's 11th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Carl Hinshaw	68,712	47.0
	Democratic	Carl Stuart Hamblen	59,993	41.1
	Townsend	Ralph D. Horton	12,713	8.7
	Progressive	John R. Grey	3,821	2.6
	Communist	Orla E. Lair	817	0.6
Total votes			146,056	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 12

California's 12th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Voorhis (incumbent)	75,003	60.8
	Republican	Eugene W. Nixon	40,457	32.8
	Townsend	Russell R. Hand	7,903	6.4
Total votes			123,363	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 13

California's 13th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Kramer (incumbent)	96,258	65.9
	Republican	K. L. Stockton	44,808	30.7
	Communist	Louis Baron	5,104	3.4
Total votes			146,170	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 14

California's 14th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas F. Ford (incumbent)	67,588	68.3
	Republican	William D. Campbell	31,375	31.7
Total votes			98,963	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 15

California's 15th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John M. Costello (incumbent)	83,086	60.4
	Republican	O. D. Thomas	51,483	37.4
	Communist	Emil Freed	2,951	2.2
Total votes			137,520	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 16

California's 16th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leland M. Ford	97,407	62.8
	Democratic	John F. Dockweiler (write-in)	32,863	21.2
	Townsend	Ted E. Felt	16,045	10.3
	Progressive	J. Barton Huthins	6,643	4.3
	Communist	La Rue McCormick	2,070	1.3
Total votes			155,028	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 17

California's 17th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee E. Geyer (incumbent)	56,513	58.8
	Republican	Clifton A. Hix	26,891	28.0
	Townsend	Fred C. Wagner	8,870	9.2
	Progressive	Robert O. Bates	3,774	3.9
Total votes			96,048	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 18

California's 18th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas M. Eaton	52,216	48.6
	Democratic	Byron N. Scott (incumbent)	51,874	48.3
	Progressive	Solomon Carr	3,384	3.1
Total votes			107,474	100.0
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 19

California's 19th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry R. Sheppard (incumbent)	75,819	53.3
	Republican	C. T. Johnson	66,402	46.7
Total votes			142,221	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

District 20

California's 20th congressional district election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edouard Izac (incumbent)	65,243	60.4
	Republican	John L. Bacon	42,710	39.6
Total votes			107,953	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

See also

• 76th United States Congress
• Political party strength in California
• Political party strength in U.S. states
• 1938 United States House of Representatives elections

References

• California Elections Page
• Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives

External links

• California Legislative District Maps (1911-Present)
• RAND California Election Returns: District Definitions