1948 United States Senate election in Colorado

The 1948 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Democratic Senator Edwin C. Johnson was re-elected to third term in a landslide over Republican Will Nicholson, a businessman and Air Force veteran, winning every county in the state.

1948 United States Senate election in Colorado

← 1942 November 2, 1948 1954 →

Nominee Ed Johnson Will Nicholson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 340,719 165,059 Percentage 66.79% 32.36%

County results Johnson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Edwin C. Johnson Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson Democratic

Johnson outperformed fellow Democrat Harry S. Truman in the concurrent presidential election by 29%. As of 2023, this is the last time that an incumbent Democratic Senator from Colorado was re-elected or won re-election for this seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Eugene Cervi, newspaperman and Chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party^[1]
• Edwin C. Johnson, incumbent Senator since 1933

Results

1948 U.S. Senate Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edwin C. Johnson (incumbent)	84,919	71.86%
	Democratic	Eugene Cervi	33,262	28.15%
Total votes			118,181	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Will Nicholson, owner of the Denver Bears and Air Force veteran
• John C. Vivian, former Governor of Colorado from 1943 to 1947

Results

1948 U.S. Senate Republican primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Nicholson	48,716	53.09%
	Republican	John C. Vivian	43,052	46.91%
Total votes			91,768	100.00%

General election

Results

General election results^[2][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edwin C. Johnson (inc.)	340,719	66.79%	16.56
	Republican	Will Nicholson	165,059	32.36%	16.83
	Progressive	John Gurule	2,981	0.58%	N/A
	Socialist	Carle Whitehead	1,352	0.27%	0.13
Total votes			510,111	100.00%

See also

• 1948 United States Senate elections