United States Senate elections, 1946

November 5, 1946^[1]

32 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate, plus 5 mid-term vacancies 49 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Wallace White	Alben Barkley
Party	Republican	Democratic
Leader's seat	Maine	Kentucky
Last election	38 seats	57 seats
Seats before	39	56
Seats won	51	45
Seat change	12	11
Popular vote	14,984,498	11,369,078
Percentage	54.5%	41.4%
Swing	8.4%	8.9%
Seats up	12	24

	Third party

Party	Progressive
Last election	1 seat
Seats before	1
Seats won	0
Seat change	1
Seats up	1

Republican holds

Republican gains

Democratic holds

Majority Leader before election

Alben Barkley
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Wallace White
Republican

The United States Senate elections of 1946 were in the middle of Democratic President Harry Truman's first term.

The Republicans took control of the Senate by picking up twelve seats, mostly from the Democrats.

The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Truman, whose approval rating had sunk to 32% over the president's controversial handling of a wave of post-war labor strikes, such as a nationwide railroad strike in May, at a time when Americans depended on train service for both commuter and long-distance travel. Just as damaging was Truman's back-and-forth over whether to end unpopular wartime price controls to handle shortages, particularly in foodstuffs. For example, price controls on beef had led to a "hamburger famine", but when Truman, in a surprise move, lifted the controls on October 14 — just weeks before the election — meat prices shot up to record levels.

Change in Senate composition

Senate composition before the elections

D₄₈	D₄₇	D₄₆	D₄₅	D₄₄	D₄₃	D₄₂	D₄₁	D₄₀	D₃₉
D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈	D₂₇	D₂₆	D₂₅	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁	D₃₂	D₃₃	D₃₄	D₃₅	D₃₆	D₃₇	D₃₈
D₄₉	← Majority
D₅₀	D₅₁	D₅₂	D₅₃	D₅₄	D₅₅	D₅₆	P₁	R₃₉
R₂₉	R₃₀	R₃₁	R₃₂	R₃₃	R₃₄	R₃₅	R₃₆	R₃₇	R₃₈
R₂₈	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

Senate composition as a result of the elections

R₄₉+	R₅₀+	R₅₁+	D₄₅O	D₄₄O	D₄₃O	D₄₂O	D₄₁√	D₄₀√	D₃₉√
D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈	D₂₇	D₂₆	D₂₅	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁	D₃₂	D₃₃√	D₃₄√	D₃₅√	D₃₆√	D₃₇√	D₃₈√
← Majority
R₄₈+	R₄₇+	R₄₆+	R₄₅+	R₄₄+	R₄₃+	R₄₂+	R₄₁+	R₄₀+	R₃₉O
R₂₉√	R₃₀√	R₃₁√	R₃₂√	R₃₃√	R₃₄√	R₃₅O	R₃₆O	R₃₇O	R₃₈O
R₂₈√	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

Key:

D	Democratic
P	Progressive
R	Republican

√	Incumbent re-elected or appointee elected to finish term
O	Party hold: New senator elected from same party
+	Party gain: New senator elected from different party

Republican wave

The president's lack of popular support is widely seen as the reason for the Democrats' congressional defeat, the largest since they were trounced in the 1928 pro-Republican wave that brought Herbert Hoover to power. And for the first time since before the Great Depression, Republicans were seen as the party which could best handle the American economy.

However, the Republicans also benefited from what today would be called "a good map," meaning that of the one-third of Senate seats up for election, the majority were held by Democrats.

Besides the Republicans being able to hold onto all of their seats, this was the party's largest senate gain since 1920.

Gains and losses

In addition to a net Republican gain by appointment before the election, the Republicans picked up twelve seats, eleven of them from Democrats, and one from Progressive Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (P-WI). This gave them a Senate majority for the first time since Hoover's administration. This election is also notable for the election of Joe McCarthy who would become famous for his investigations of communism in the 1950s.

In addition to capturing open seats in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and New York, the Republicans defeated seven Democratic incumbents:

James M. Tunnell (D-DE)
David I. Walsh (D-MA)
Frank P. Briggs (D-MO), seat was previously held by President Truman himself.
James W. Huffman (D-OH)
Joseph F. Guffey (D-PA)
Abe Murdock (D-UT)
Hugh B. Mitchell (D-WA)

Complete list of races

State	Incumbent	Party	Result	Opposing Candidates
Alabama Special: Class 2	George R. Swift	Democratic	Appointee retired when successor elected to finish term Democratic hold	John Sparkman (Democratic) unopposed
Arizona	Ernest W. McFarland	Democratic	Re-elected	Ernest W. McFarland (Democratic) 69.2% Ward S. Powers (Republican) 30.1%
California	William F. Knowland	Republican	Re-elected	William F. Knowland (Republican) 54.1% Will Rogers, Jr. (Democratic) 44.2%
Connecticut	Thomas C. Hart	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 56.1% Joseph M. Tone (Democratic) 40.7%
Delaware	James M. Tunnell	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	John J. Williams (Republican) 55.2% James M. Tunnell (Democratic) 44.9%
Florida	Spessard Holland	Democratic	Re-elected	Spessard Holland (Democratic) 78.7% J. Harry Schad (Republican) 21.4%
Idaho Special: Class 2	Charles C. Gossett	Democratic	Appointee lost nomination to finish term Republican gain	Henry C. Dworshak (Republican) 58.6% George E. Donart (Democratic) 41.4%
Indiana	Raymond E. Willis	Republican	Retired Republican hold	William E. Jenner (Republican) 52.4% M. Clifford Townsend (Democratic) 46.8%
Kentucky Special: Class 2	William A. Stanfill	Republican	Appointee retired when successor elected to finish term Republican hold	John S. Cooper (Republican) 53.3% John Y. Brown (Democratic) 46.5%
Maine	Ralph O. Brewster	Republican	Re-elected	Ralph O. Brewster (Republican) 63.6% Peter M. MacDonald (Democratic) 36.5%
Maryland	George L. P. Radcliffe	Democratic	Lost renomination Democratic hold	Herbert R. O'Conor (Democratic) 50.2% David J. Markey (Republican) 49.8%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Republican) 59.6% David I. Walsh (Democratic) 39.7%
Michigan	Arthur H. Vandenberg	Republican	Re-elected	Arthur H. Vandenberg (Republican) 67.1% James H. Lee (Democratic) 32.0%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Republican	Lost renomination Republican hold	Edward John Thye (Republican) 58.9% Theodore Jorgenson (Democratic) 39.8%
Mississippi	Theodore G. Bilbo	Democratic	Re-elected	Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic) unopposed
Missouri	Frank P. Briggs	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	James P. Kem (Republican) 52.7% Frank P. Briggs (Democratic) 47.1%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	Lost renomination Republican gain	Zales N. Ecton (Republican) 53.5% Leif Erickson (Democratic) 45.4%
Nebraska	Hugh Butler	Republican	Re-elected	Hugh Butler (Republican) 70.8% John E. Mekota (Democratic) 29.2%
Nevada	Edward P. Carville	Democratic	Lost renomination Republican gain	George W. Malone (Republican) 55.2% Berkeley L. Bunker (Democratic) 44.8%
New Jersey	H. Alexander Smith	Republican	Re-elected	H. Alexander Smith (Republican) 58.5% George E. Brunner (Democratic) 40.1%
New Mexico	Dennis Chavez	Democratic	Re-elected	Dennis Chavez (Democratic) 51.5% Patrick J. Hurley (Republican) 48.5%
New York	James M. Mead	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Irving M. Ives (Republican) 52.6% Herbert H. Lehman (Democratic) 47.6%
North Dakota	William Langer	Republican	Re-elected	William Langer (Republican) 53.3% Arthur E. Thompson (Independent) 23.5% Abner B. Larson (Democratic) 23.2%
North Dakota Special: Class 3	Milton R. Young	Republican	Appointee elected to finish term	Milton R. Young (Republican) 55.5% William Lanier (Democratic) 27.4% Gerald P. Nye (Independent) 15.2%
Ohio	James W. Huffman	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	John W. Bricker (Republican) 57.0% James W. Huffman (Democratic) 42.4%
Pennsylvania	Joseph F. Guffey	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Edward Martin (Republican) 59.3% Joseph F. Guffey (Democratic) 39.8%
Rhode Island	Peter G. Gerry	Democratic	Retired Democratic hold	J. Howard McGrath (Democratic) 55.1% W. Gurnee Dwyer (Republican) 44.9%
Tennessee	Kenneth D. McKellar	Democratic	Re-elected	Kenneth D. McKellar (Democratic) 66.6% W. B. Ladd (Republican) 26.2%
Texas	Tom Connally	Democratic	Re-elected	Tom Connally (Democratic) 88.5% Murray C. Sells (Republican) 11.5%
Utah	Abe Murdock	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Arthur V. Watkins (Republican) 51.2% Abe Murdock (Democratic) 48.8%
Vermont	Warren R. Austin	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Ralph E. Flanders (Republican) 74.6% Charles P. McDevitt (Democratic) 25.4%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	Re-elected	Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) 64.9% Lester S. Parsons (Republican) 30.5%
Virginia Special: Class 2	Thomas G. Burch	Democratic	Appointee retired when successor elected to finish term Democratic hold	A. Willis Robertson (Democratic) 68.2% Robert H. Woods (Republican) 29.0%
Washington	Hugh B. Mitchell	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Harry P. Cain (Republican) 54.3% Hugh B. Mitchell (Democratic) 45.2%
West Virginia	Harley M. Kilgore	Democratic	Re-elected	Harley M. Kilgore (Democratic) 50.3% Thomas Sweeney (Republican) 49.7%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette, Jr.	Progressive	Lost renomination as a Republican Republican gain	Joseph R. McCarthy (Republican) 61.3% Howard J. McMurray (Democratic) 37.4% Edwin Knappe (Socialist) 1.2%
Wyoming	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	Re-elected	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.2% Harry B. Henderson (Republican) 43.8%

References

↑ September 9, 1946 in Maine

United States Senate elections

1788/89 1790/91 1792/93 1794/95 1796/97 1798/99 1800/01 1802/03 1804/05 1806/07 1808/09 1810/11 1812/13 1814/15 1816/17 1818/19 1820/21 1822/23 1824/25 1826/27 1828/29 1830/31 1832/33 1834/35 1836/37 1838/39 1840/41 1842/43 1844/45 1846/47 1848/49 1850/51 1852/53 1854/55 1856/57 1858/59 1860/61 1862/63 1864/65 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878/79 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888/89 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912/13 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

Special elections Election disputes Results by state List of elections in the United States House elections Presidential elections Gubernatorial elections

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.