William Lemke

★ U.S. Representative

Born: August 13, 1878
Died: May 30, 1950
Age at death: 71
Home state: North Dakota
Party: Republican
Years in office: 15 years in the U.S. House
On the ballot: 1932–1948

Career timeline

1932Rep 1934Rep 1936Rep 1938Rep 1942Rep 1944Rep

1946Rep 1948Rep

8-0

RecordWin–Loss

Total Popular Votes

Lemke966,909

Opponents2.0M

Elections run

Between 1932 and 1948, William Lemke ran in 8 U.S. House elections, winning all 8. Lemke's biggest single-election total was 153,288 votes, in the 1938 U.S. House election in North Dakota's at-large district. Lemke's closest win came in the 1946 U.S. House election in North Dakota's at-large district, decided by 1,118 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in North Dakota's at-large district or all 1948 U.S. House races.

How many votes has William Lemke received?

William Lemke has received 966,909 popular votes across 8 U.S. elections, with a career record of 8–0.

Election history

William Lemke’s election history
Year	Office	Result	Votes	Opponent(s)
1948	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	132,34341.45%	Usher Burdick (head-to-head) Alfred S Dale (head-to-head) John M Weiler
1946	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	103,20537.35%	Charles Robertson (head-to-head) James M Hanley Francis Cooper
1944	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	101,00729.78%	Charles Robertson (head-to-head) H Halvorson (head-to-head) J R Kennedy Usher L Burdick George McClellan A C Townley
1942	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	65,90523.55%	Usher Burdick (head-to-head) Charles R Robertson H Halvorson (head-to-head) E A Johanson
1938	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	153,28837.36%	Usher Burdick (head-to-head) Howard I Henry Alfred S Dale (head-to-head) J B Field
1936	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	131,11729.29%	Usher Burdick (head-to-head) Henry Holt J J Nygaard I J Moe P H Miller E A Johansson Jasper Haaland (head-to-head) W D Webster
1934	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	144,70530.57%	Usher Burdick (head-to-head) W D Lynch (head-to-head) G F Lamb J H Sinclair Jasper Haaland (head-to-head) Effie Kjorstad
1932	U.S. HouseNorth Dakota	Won	135,33931.81%	James Sinclair W D Lynch (head-to-head) R B Murphy Pat J Barrett Ella Reeve Bloor

Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (L000238) and Wikidata (Q377233). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.

Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “William Lemke: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/william-lemke-north-dakota-2. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified September 25, 2026.