Vacant Guy M. Gillette Democratic The 1936 United States Senate Special Election within the State of Iowa occurred on November 3, 1936, following the death of incumbent Senator Richard Louis Murphy in an automobile accident.

[1] Representative Guy Mark Gillette (D-IA) and Editor of the Chariton Herald-Patriot, Berry F. Halden(R-IA)[2] were the two major party contenders in this election.

[4] Other candidates within the primary were James R. Rhodes, a publisher for the Newton News, and Guy Linville, a lawyer from Cedar Rapids.

[5] Ray Murphy, Former National Commander of the American Legion, declined to contest the Primary.

[5] While the Farmer-Labor Party initially sought out and declared Former Republican Senator Smith W. Brookhart to be their nominee,[4][5] Ernest R. Quick ran as their eventual candidate for the Special Election.