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Last week the final counts were coming in from each of the 3,072 counties of the U. S. In a few States--Washington, Massachusetts, Missouri, Kansas. New Hampshire--the fate of Governors depended on the final count, a recount, or perhaps on the tally of absentee ballots. Election oddities bubbled out of the county tallies: in Lincoln County, N. Mex., old stamping-and-shooting ground of Billy the Kid, Willkie and Roosevelt were tied. So were they in Gilpin County, Colo., in Marinette County, Wis. In almost uninhabited Armstrong County, S. Dak., nobody voted.

The vote by counties (see map) illustrated the great main trend of the 1940 election: industrial centres had voted for President Roosevelt, rural counties for Wendell Willkie. Every city of more than 400,000, with the exception of Cincinnati, went for President Roosevelt. The President won Illinois by only 94,000 votes. But Chicago gave him a plurality of 295,206, and the same city-county discrepancy appeared in New York, Missouri, Wisconsin. He carried approximately 54.6% of the popular vote of the nation (see p. 67). He carried approximately 52.5% of the popular vote outside the Solid South (where, nevertheless, the Democratic majority dropped from 4.4-10-1 in 1936 to 3-5-to-1).

Here & there candidates had spent an uncomfortable week on the anxious seat:

In New Hampshire Republican Robert Blood was still considered Governor-elect one week after the balloting, by 2,814 votes, with Democrat Clyde Keefe still talking of a recount.

In Massachusetts there was still recount talk, although last figures gave Governor Saltonstall 9,000 votes over Democrat Paul A. Dever.

In Missouri there was one of the biggest upsets in the State's political history. For years Lawrence McDaniel, a roly-poly, wisecracking, dependable Democratic wheelhorse, has missed big victories by a hair. Once he was almost mayor of St. Louis. This year he resigned as City Excise Commissioner to run for Governor. Opposing him was Forrest Donnell, an unassuming Republican attorney who had never held public office before. Confident Candidate McDaniel tasted victory prematurely. As Missouri's Democratic victory came through on schedule, jubilant Candidate McDaniel had a lead of 50,000 on Tuesday night, with 75% of the vote reported. Down it went by morning to 17,000. By week's end, Donnell was ahead by 3,698 votes. With 8,000 still to be counted, newspapers hailed Forrest Donnell as Governor-elect. But disappointed Candidate McDaniel said he still had hope.

In Kansas, Republican Governor Payne Ratner appeared to be defeated in a State that went Republican, with absentee ballots officially deciding Kansas' new Governor. Residential voters gave Governor Ratner 416,480; Democratic Candidate William H. Burke, 418,359. But before that 1,879-vote margin made Mr. Burke Governor-elect, some 16,000 absentee ballots remained to be counted. Kansas politicos guessed they would not change the result.

In Washington, pre-election odds that Democrat Clarence Dill would win the Governorship over Seattle's Arthur Langlie were as big as odds that Roosevelt would carry the State. By Election Eve they were better than 2-to-1. Unprofessional, unexciting Arthur Langlie was accounted no match for politically experienced ex-Senator Dill, reportedly had agreed to run only to strengthen the Republican State ticket; Steve Chadwick as candidate for Senator was considered the only Washington Republican with a chance.

Candidate Langlie, businessman and political amateur, was drafted by Seattle's Order of Cincinnatus four years ago to run for mayor (after the city had had a parade of clowning candidates), in the days when Harry Bridges and Dave Beck were slugging it out on the Seattle waterfront. He lost, but by 1938 voters were sorry, put him in by a big majority. So successful was Mayor Langlie that when he came up for re-election there was virtually no contest. Campaigning for Governor, Candidate Langlie talked of the spiritual side of things, was steered by amateur advisers --including a dry-goods salesman, a young reporter, a former department-store manager--who had never dabbled in politics before. Candidate Chadwick had lost to his Democratic opponent by 50,000 votes at week's end. Wendell Willkie lost the State by 112,000. But at last week's end Arthur Langlie had a lead of 2,129 (out of 751,895). Still to be counted were 25,000 absentee ballots.

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