1944 Arkansas gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1944 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 1944 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1944.

1944 Arkansas gubernatorial election

← 1942 November 7, 1944 1946 →

Nominee Benjamin Travis Laney Harley C. Stump Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 186,401 30,442 Percentage 85.96% 14.04%

County results Laney:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Stump:      50–60%

Governor before election Homer Martin Adkins Democratic Elected Governor Benjamin Travis Laney Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Governor Homer Martin Adkins did not seek a third term, instead running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

Democratic nominee Benjamin Travis Laney defeated Republican nominee Harley C. Stump with 85.96% of the vote.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on July 25, 1944, with the Democratic runoff scheduled for August 8, 1944 if no candidate won over 50% of the vote.

Candidates

• Benjamin Travis Laney, businessman and former mayor of Camden^[1]
• J. Bryan Sims, former State Comptroller^[1][2][3]
• David D. Terry, former U.S. Representative

Results

Results map of the Democratic primary by county.
Laney:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Sims:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Terry:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%

Democratic primary results^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benjamin Travis Laney	70,965	38.55
	Democratic	J. Bryan Sims	63,434	34.46
	Democratic	David D. Terry	49,685	26.99
Total votes			184,084	100.00

Sims withdrew from a runoff, and Laney became the Democratic nominee.^[6][7][8]

General election

Candidates

• Benjamin Travis Laney, Democratic
• Harley C. Stump, Republican, Mayor of Stuttgart^[9] and candidate for Governor in 1940

Results

1944 Arkansas gubernatorial election^{[10][11][12][13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Benjamin Travis Laney	186,401	85.96%	−14.04%
	Republican	Harley C. Stump	30,442	14.04%	N/A
Majority			155,959	71.92%
Turnout			216,843	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing