In 1946, in a special election for the last part of Johnson's term, Knowland defeated Democrat Will Rogers Jr. by 334,000 votes. The special election featured a blank ballot, whereby electors had to write in the name of their choice.Washington Post, "Murkowski appears to make history in Alaska", Debbi Wilgoren, November 3, 2010 (accessed November 3, 2010) He also defeated Rogers in the general election by nearly 261,000 votes, winning a full term in the Senate in his own right.
