1948 United States Senate election in Colorado
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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.
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November 2, 1948
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 County results Johnson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
| 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
| 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
| 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% | |||