1946 United States Senate elections

The 1946 United States Senate elections were held November 5, 1946, in the middle of Democratic President Harry S. Truman's first term after Roosevelt's passing. The 32 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, and four special elections were held to fill vacancies. The Republicans took control of the Senate by picking up twelve seats, mostly from the Democrats. This was the first time since 1932 that the Republicans had held the Senate, recovering from a low of 16 seats following the 1936 Senate elections.

1946 United States Senate elections

← 1944 November 5, 1946 1948 →
1947 (MS) →
36 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Wallace White Alben Barkley Party Republican Democratic Leader since February 25, 1944 July 22, 1937 Leader's seat Maine Kentucky Seats before 39 56 Seats won 51 45 Seat change 12 11 Popular vote 15,489,926 12,062,433 Percentage 54.0% 42.0% Seats up 11 24 Races won 23 13   Third party   Party Progressive Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seat change 1 Seats up 1 Races won 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election Rectangular inset (N. Dak. and Va.): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election Alben Barkley Democratic Elected Majority Leader Wallace White Republican

The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Truman, whose approval rating had sunk to 32%^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

This is only one of two occasions in U.S. history that 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in a midterm election (the other being in 1958), and also one of five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in any election, with the other occasions being in 1920, 1932, 1958, and 1980.

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.^[2][3] 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.

Results summary

↓

45	51
Democratic	Republican

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

Parties					Total
		Democratic	Republican	Other
Last elections (1944)		57	38	1	96
Before these elections		56	39	1	96
Not up		32	28	0	60
Up		24	11	1	36
	Class 1 (1940→1946)	21	10	1	32
	Special: Class 2	3	1	—	4
Incumbent retired		4	4	—	8
	Held by same party	3	4	—	7
	Replaced by other party	1 Democrat replaced by  1 Republican		—	1
	Result	3	5	0	8
Incumbent ran		20	7	1	28
	Won re-election	9	6	0	16
	Lost re-election	7 Democrats replaced by   7 Republicans		—	7
	Lost renomination but held by same party	1	1	—	2
	Lost (re)nomination and party lost	3 Democrats replaced by   3 Republicans  1 Progressive replaced by   1 Republican			4
	Result	10	18	0	28
Total elected		13	23	0	36
Net change		11	12	1	12
Nationwide vote		12,062,433	15,489,926	1,142,765	28,695,124
	Share	42.04%	53.98%	3.98%	100%
Result		45	51	0	96

Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives^[4]

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Three Republicans and five Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Alabama (special)	George R. Swift	John Sparkman
Connecticut	Thomas C. Hart	Raymond E. Baldwin
Indiana	Raymond E. Willis	William E. Jenner
Kentucky (special)	William A. Stanfill	John Sherman Cooper
New York	James M. Mead	Irving Ives
Ohio	James W. Huffman	John W. Bricker
Rhode Island	Peter G. Gerry	J. Howard McGrath
Virginia (special)	Thomas G. Burch	A. Willis Robertson

Defeats

One Republican, one Progressive, and ten Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Delaware	James M. Tunnell	John J. Williams
Idaho (special)	Charles C. Gossett	Henry Dworshak
Maryland	George L. P. Radcliffe	Herbert O'Conor
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Edward J. Thye
Missouri	Frank P. Briggs	James P. Kem
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Zales Ecton
Nevada	Edward P. Carville	George W. Malone
Pennsylvannia	Joseph F. Guffey	Edward Martin
Utah	Abe Murdock	Arthur V. Watkins
Washington	Hugh Mitchell	Harry P. Cain
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	Joseph McCarthy

Post election changes

State	Senator	Replaced by
Louisiana	John H. Overton	William C. Feazel
South Dakota	Harlan J. Bushfield	Vera C. Bushfield
Mississippi	Theodore G. Bilbo	John C. Stennis

Change in composition

Before the elections

		D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8
D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9
D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28
D38 Md. Ran	D37 Idaho (sp) Ran	D36 Fla. Ran	D35 Del. Ran	D34 Ariz. Ran	D33 Ala. (sp) Retired	D32	D31	D30	D29
D39 Mass. Ran	D40 Miss. Ran	D41 Mo. Ran	D42 Mont. Ran	D43 Nev. Ran	D44 N.M. Ran	D45 N.Y. Retired	D46 Ohio (reg) Ohio (sp) Retired	D47 Pa. Ran	D48 R.I. Retired
Majority →									D49 Tenn. Ran
R39 Vt. Ran	P1 Wis. Ran	D56 Wyo. Ran	D55 W.Va. Ran	D54 Wash. Ran	D53 Va. (sp) Retired	D52 Va. (reg) Ran	D51 Utah Ran	D50 Texas Ran
R38 N.D. (reg) Ran	R37 N.J. Ran	R36 Neb. Ran	R35 Minn. Ran	R34 Mich. Ran	R33 Maine Ran	R32 Ky. (sp) Retired	R31 Ind. Retired	R30 Conn. (reg) Conn. (sp) Retired	R29 Calif. (reg) Calif. (sp) Ran
R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28
R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9
		R1 N.D. (sp) Elected^[a]	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8

Election results

		D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8
D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9
D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28
D38 N.M. Re-elected	D37 Miss. Re-elected	D36 Md. Hold	D35 Fla. Elected^[b]	D34 Ariz. Re-elected	D33 Ala. (sp) Hold	D32	D31	D30	D29
D39 R.I. Hold	D40 Tenn. Re-elected	D41 Texas Re-elected	D42 Va. (reg) Re-elected	D43 Va. (sp) Hold	D44 W.Va. Re-elected	D45 Wyo. Re-elected	R51 Wis. Gain	R50 Wash. Gain	R49 Utah Gain
Majority →
R39 Vt. Elected^[b]	R40 Del. Gain	R41 Idaho (sp) Gain	R42 Mass. Gain	R43 Mo. Gain^[c]	R44 Mont. Gain	R45 Nev. Gain	R46 N.Y. Gain	R47 Ohio (reg) Gain Ohio (sp) Gain	R48 Pa. Gain
R38 N.D. (reg) Re-elected	R37 N.J. Re-elected	R36 Neb. Re-elected	R35 Minn. Hold	R34 Mich. Re-elected	R33 Maine Re-elected	R32 Ky. (sp) Hold	R31 Ind. Hold	R30 Conn. (reg) Conn. (sp) Hold	R29 Calif. (reg) Calif. (sp) Elected^[b]
R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28
R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8

Key	D# Democratic P# Progressive R# Republican

Race summaries

Special elections during the 79th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1946, ordered by election date, then state.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
North Dakota (Class 3)	Milton Young	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected June 25, 1946.	▌ Y Milton Young (Republican) 55.5% ▌William Lanier (Democratic) 27.4% ▌Gerald Nye (Independent) 15.2%
Alabama (Class 2)	George R. Swift	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Democratic hold.	▌ Y John Sparkman (Democratic) Unopposed
California (Class 1)	William Knowland	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1946. Winner also elected to next term; see below.	▌ Y William Knowland (Republican) 74.3% ▌Will Rogers Jr. (Democratic) 15.9% ▌George H. McLain (Democratic) 3.12%^[5]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Thomas C. Hart	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican hold. Winner also elected to next term; see below.	▌ Y Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 55.8% ▌Joseph M. Tone (Democratic) 41.0% ▌Frederic C. Smedley (Socialist) 3.2%^[6]
Idaho (Class 2)	Charles C. Gossett	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican gain.	▌ Y Henry Dworshak (Republican) 58.6% ▌George E. Donart (Democratic) 41.4%
Kentucky (Class 2)	William A. Stanfill	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican hold.	▌ Y John Sherman Cooper (Republican) 53.3% ▌John Y. Brown Sr. (Democratic) 46.5%
Ohio (Class 1)	James W. Huffman	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican gain. Winner was not elected to the next term; see below.	▌ Y Kingsley A. Taft (Republican) 56.2% ▌Henry P. Webber (Democratic) 43.8%^[7]
Virginia (Class 2)	Thomas G. Burch	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Democratic hold.	▌ Y A. Willis Robertson (Democratic) 68.2% ▌Robert H. Woods (Republican) 29.0%

Races leading to the 80th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1947; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Arizona	Ernest McFarland	Democratic	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Ernest McFarland (Democratic) 69.2% ▌Ward S. Powers 30.1%
California	William Knowland	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner also elected to finish term; see above.	▌ Y William Knowland (Republican) 54.1% ▌Will Rogers Jr. (Democratic) 44.2% ▌Douglas Corrigan (Prohibition) 1.62%^[5]
Connecticut	Thomas C. Hart	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Winner also elected to finish term; see above.	▌ Y Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 55.8% ▌Wilbur Lucius Cross (Democratic) 40.5% ▌Frederic C. Smedley (Socialist) 3.3%^[6]
Delaware	James M. Tunnell	Democratic	1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y John J. Williams (Republican) 55.2% ▌James M. Tunnell (Democratic) 44.9%
Florida	Spessard Holland	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	▌ Y Spessard Holland (Democratic) 78.7% ▌J. Harry Schad (Republican) 21.4%
Indiana	Raymond E. Willis	Republican	1940	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌ Y William E. Jenner (Republican) 54.9% ▌M. Clifford Townsend (Democratic) 43.4%
Maine	Owen Brewster	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Owen Brewster (Republican) 63.6% ▌Peter M. MacDonald (Democratic) 36.5%
Maryland	George L. P. Radcliffe	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y Herbert O'Conor (Democratic) 50.2% ▌D. John Markey (Republican) 49.8%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	1918 1924 (Lost) 1926 (special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (Republican) 59.6% ▌David I. Walsh (Democratic) 39.7%
Michigan	Arthur Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Arthur Vandenberg (Republican) 67.1% ▌James H. Lee (Democratic) 32.0%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Republican	1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌ Y Edward J. Thye (Republican) 58.9% ▌Theodore Jorgenson (DFL) 39.8%
Mississippi	Theodore G. Bilbo	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic) Unopposed^[8]
Missouri	Frank P. Briggs	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y James P. Kem (Republican) 52.7% ▌Frank P. Briggs (Democratic) 47.1%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Zales Ecton (Republican) 53.5% ▌Leif Erickson (Democratic) 45.4%
Nebraska	Hugh A. Butler	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Hugh A. Butler (Republican) 70.8% ▌John E. Mekota (Democratic) 29.2%
Nevada	Edward P. Carville	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y George W. Malone (Republican) 55.2% ▌Berkeley L. Bunker (Democratic) 44.8%
New Jersey	H. Alexander Smith	Republican	1944 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y H. Alexander Smith (Republican) 58.5% ▌George E. Brunner (Democratic) 40.1%
New Mexico	Dennis Chávez	Democratic	1935 (Appointed) 1936 (special) 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Dennis Chávez (Democratic) 51.5% ▌Patrick J. Hurley (Republican) 48.5%
New York	James M. Mead	Democratic	1940	Incumbent retired to run for New York Governor. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Irving Ives (Republican) 52.6% ▌Herbert H. Lehman (Democratic) 47.6%
North Dakota	William Langer	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y William Langer (Republican) 53.3% ▌Arthur E. Thompson (Independent) 23.5% ▌Abner B. Larson (Democratic) 23.2%
Ohio	James W. Huffman	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain. Winner was not elected to finish the term; see above.	▌ Y John W. Bricker (Republican) 57.0% ▌James W. Huffman (Democratic) 42.4%^[7]
Pennsylvania	Joseph F. Guffey	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Edward Martin (Republican) 59.3% ▌Joseph F. Guffey (Democratic) 39.8%
Rhode Island	Peter G. Gerry	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y J. Howard McGrath (Democratic) 55.1% ▌W. Gurnee Dwyer (Republican) 44.9%
Tennessee	Kenneth McKellar	Democratic	1916 1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Kenneth McKellar (Democratic) 66.6% ▌William B. Ladd (Republican) 26.2%
Texas	Tom Connally	Democratic	1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Tom Connally (Democratic) 88.5% ▌Murray C. Sells (Republican) 11.5%
Utah	Abe Murdock	Democratic	1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Arthur V. Watkins (Republican) 51.2% ▌Abe Murdock (Democratic) 48.8%
Vermont	Ralph Flanders	Republican	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	▌ Y Ralph Flanders (Republican) 74.6% ▌Charles P. McDevitt (Democratic) 25.4%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1933 (special) 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) 64.9% ▌Lester S. Parsons (Republican) 30.5%
Washington	Hugh Mitchell	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 25, 1946. Winner appointed December 26, 1946, to finish term.	▌ Y Harry P. Cain (Republican) 54.3% ▌Hugh Mitchell (Democratic) 45.2%
West Virginia	Harley M. Kilgore	Democratic	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Harley M. Kilgore (Democratic) 50.3% ▌Thomas Sweeney (Republican) 49.7%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	Progressive	1925 (special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination as a Republican. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Joseph McCarthy (Republican) 61.3% ▌Howard J. McMurray (Democratic) 37.4% ▌Edwin Knappe (Socialist) 1.2%
Wyoming	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.2% ▌Harry B. Henderson (Republican) 43.8%

Closest races

Ten races had a margin of victory under 10%:

State	Party of winner	Margin
Maryland	Democratic	0.4%
West Virginia	Democratic	0.6%
Utah	Republican (flip)	2.4%
New Mexico	Democratic	3.0%
New York	Republican (flip)	5.0%
Missouri	Republican (flip)	5.6%^[d]
Kentucky	Republican	6.8%
Montana	Republican (flip)	8.1%
Washington	Republican (flip)	9.1%
California	Republican	9.9%

Alabama (special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Alabama^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sparkman	163,217	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Arizona

 

Senator Ernest McFarland

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Arizona

See also: List of United States senators from Arizona

Incumbent Democrat Ernest McFarland ran for re-election to a second term, easily defeating Republican Ward S. Powers in the general election.

1946 United States Senate election in Arizona^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ernest McFarland (incumbent)	80,415	69.18%
	Republican	Ward S. Powers	35,022	30.13%
	Communist	Morris Graham	802	0.69%
Majority			45,393	39.05%
Turnout			116,239
	Democratic hold

California

See also: List of United States senators from California

California (special)

Main article: 1946 United States Senate special election in California

Results

1946 U.S. Senate special election in California^[4][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Write-in	William F. Knowland (inc.)	425,273	74.31%
	Write-in	Will Rogers Jr.	90,723	15.85%
	Write-in	George H. McLain	17,883	3.13%
	Write-in	Ellis E. Patterson	3,889	0.68%
	Write-in	Douglas Corrigan	2,464	0.43%
	Write-in	Vic Paulsen	1,616	0.28%
	Write-in	Moody Staten	1,494	0.26%
	Write-in	Hartley F. Peart	1,383	0.24%
	Write-in	George C. Highley	1,268	0.22%
	Write-in	James Moran	918	0.16%
	Write-in	Ben Rinaldo	765	0.13%
	Write-in	Aubrey D. Lewis	519	0.09%
	Write-in	Frank Merriam	507	0.09%
	Write-in	All others	23,619	4.13%
Total votes			572,321	100.00%

California (regular)

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in California

1946 United States Senate election in California^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Knowland (Incumbent)	1,428,067	54.10%
	Democratic	Will Rogers Jr.	1,167,161	44.22%
	Prohibition	Douglas Corrigan	42,683	1.62%
	Write-In	Herbert Steiner	156	0.01%
	None	Scattering	1,398	0.05%
Majority			260,906	9.88%
Turnout			2,639,465
	Republican hold

Connecticut

 

Senator Raymond E. Baldwin

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut and 1946 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut

There were 2 elections for the same seat due to the January 16, 1945, death of Democrat Francis T. Maloney. Republican Thomas C. Hart was appointed February 15, 1945, to continue the term, pending a special election. Republican Governor of Connecticut Raymond E. Baldwin won both elections, but resigned only three years after the election to become a state judge.

Connecticut (regular)

1946 United States Senate election in Connecticut^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Raymond E. Baldwin	381,328	55.84%
	Democratic	Joseph M. Tone	276,424	40.48%
	Socialist	Frederick C. Smedley	22,012	3.22%
	Socialist Labor	John W. Aiken	3,156	0,46%
Majority			104,904	29.32%
Turnout			682,920
	Republican hold

Connecticut (special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Connecticut^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Raymond E. Baldwin	378,707	55.77%
	Democratic	Wilbur Lucius Cross	278,188	40.97%
	Socialist	Frederic C. Smedly	22,164	3.26%
Majority			100,519	14.80%
Turnout			679,059
	Republican hold

Delaware

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware

1946 United States Senate election in Delaware^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Williams	62,603	55.15%
	Democratic	James M. Tunnell (Incumbent)	50,910	44.85%
Majority			11,693	10.30%
Turnout			113,513
	Republican gain from Democratic

Florida

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Florida

See also: List of United States senators from Florida

1946 United States Senate election in Florida^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Spessard Holland (Incumbent)	156,232	78.65%
	Republican	J. Harry Schad	42,408	21.35%
Majority			113,824	57.30%
Turnout			198,640
	Democratic hold

Idaho (special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Idaho^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Dworshak	105,523	58.57%
	Democratic	George E. Donart	74,629	41.43%
Majority			30,894	17.14%
Turnout			180,152
	Republican gain from Democratic

Indiana

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana

1946 United States Senate election in Indiana^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William E. Jenner	739,809	54.91%
	Democratic	M. Clifford Townsend	584,288	43.36%
	Prohibition	Elmer D. Riggs	21,008	1.56%
	Socialist Labor	John Marion Morris	1,523	0.11%
	Communist	Elmer G. Johnson	806	0.06%
Majority			155,521	15.55%
Turnout			1,347,434
	Republican hold

Kentucky (special)

Main article: 1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky

1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper	327,652	53.27%
	Democratic	John Young Brown	285,829	46.47%
	Socialist	W. E. Sandefur	1,638	0.27%
Majority			41,823	6.80%
Turnout			615,119
	Republican hold

Maine

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine

1946 United States Senate election in Maine^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Owen Brewster (Incumbent)	111,215	63.55%
	Democratic	Peter M. MacDonald	63,799	36.45%
Majority			47,416	27.10%
Turnout			175,014
	Republican hold

Maryland

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1946 United States Senate election in Maryland^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herbert O'Conor	237,232	50.24%
	Republican	D. John Markey	235,000	49.76%
Majority			2,232	0.48%
Turnout			472,232
	Democratic hold

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

← 1940 1952 →

Nominee Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. David I. Walsh Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 989,736 660,200 Percentage 59.55% 39.72%

U.S. senator before election David I. Walsh Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Republican

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. defeated incumbent David I. Walsh.

1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	989,736	59.55
	Democratic	David I. Walsh (Incumbent)	660,200	39.72
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	9,221	0.56
	Prohibition	Mark R. Shaw	2,898	0.17
Majority			329,536	19.83%
Turnout			1,662,055
	Republican gain from Democratic

Michigan

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan

1946 United States Senate election in Michigan^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Vandenberg (Incumbent)	1,985,570	67.06%
	Democratic	James H. Lee	517,923	32.00%
	Prohibition	Lawrence A. Ruble	8,109	0.50%
	Socialist Labor	Theos A. Grove	4,572	0.28%
	Communist	Hugo Beiswenger	2,546	0.16%
Majority			1,467,647	35.06%
Turnout			1,618,720
	Republican hold

Minnesota

 

Senator Edward John Thye

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Minnesota

See also: List of United States senators from Minnesota

1946 United States Senate election in Minnesota^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward John Thye	517,775	58.92%
	Democratic (DFL)	Theodore Jorgenson	349,520	39.78%
	Revolutionary Workers	Grace Carlson	11,421	1.30%
	Write-In	Henrik Shipstead (Incumbent)	15	0.00%
Majority			168,255	19.14%
Turnout			878,731
	Republican hold

Mississippi

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi

1946 United States Senate election in Mississippi^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theodore G. Bilbo (Incumbent)	46,747	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Missouri

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri

1946 United States Senate election in Missouri^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James P. Kem	572,556	52.71%
	Democratic	Frank P. Briggs (Incumbent)	411,544	47.09%
	Prohibition	Jackson	979	0.09%
	Socialist	W. F. Rinck	887	0.08%
	Socialist Labor	Baeff	275	0.03%
Majority			61,012	5.62%
Turnout			1,086,241
	Republican gain from Democratic

Montana

 

Senator Zales Ecton

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Montana

See also: List of United States senators from Montana

1946 United States Senate election in Montana^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Zales Ecton	101,901	53.47%
	Democratic	Leif Erickson	86,476	45.38%
	Socialist	Floyd P. Jones	2,189	1.15%
Majority			15,425	8.09%
Turnout			190,566
	Republican gain from Democratic

Nebraska

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Nebraska

See also: List of United States senators from Nebraska

1946 United States Senate election in Nebraska^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hugh Butler (Incumbent)	271,208	70.82%
	Democratic	John E. Mekota	111,751	29.18%
Majority			159,457	41.64%
Turnout			382,958
	Republican hold

Nevada

See also: List of United States senators from Nevada

1946 United States Senate election in Nevada^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Malone	27,801	55.21%
	Democratic	Berkeley L. Bunker	22,553	44.79%
Majority			5,248	10.42%
Turnout			50,354
	Republican gain from Democratic

New Jersey

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey

1946 United States Senate election in New Jersey^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	H. Alexander Smith (Incumbent)	799,808	58.50%
	Democratic	George E. Brunner	548,458	40.12%
	Socialist Labor	John C. Butterworth	7,675	0.56%
	Socialist Workers	George Breitman	4,976	0.36%
	Socialist	Arthur Riley	2,226	0.16%
	Prohibition	George W. Ridout	1,711	0.13%
	Anti-Medical Trust Federation	Frederick W. Collins	1,676	0.12%
	Independent American	Mark M. Jones	625	0.05%
Majority			251,350	18.38%
Turnout			1,367,155
	Republican hold

New Mexico

See also: List of United States senators from New Mexico

1946 United States Senate election in New Mexico^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Chávez (Incumbent)	68,650	51.51%
	Republican	Patrick J. Hurley	64,632	48.49%
Majority			4,018	3.02%
Turnout			133,282
	Democratic hold

New York

New York election

← 1940 1952 →

Nominee Irving Ives Herbert Lehman Party Republican Democratic Alliance Liberal American Labor Popular vote 2,559,365 2,308,112 Percentage 52.58% 47.42%

U.S. senator before election James M. Mead Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Irving M. Ives Republican

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York

The New York state election was held on November 5, 1946.

The Socialist Labor state convention met on April 7 and nominated Eric Hass for the U.S.Senate.^[13] The party filed a petition to nominate candidates under the name "Industrial Government Party."

The Liberal Party gathered 51,015 signatures and filed a petition to nominate candidates with the Secretary of State on September 2.^[14]

The Republican state convention met on September 4 at Saratoga Springs, New York. They nominated Assembly Majority Leader Irving M. Ives.^[15]

The Democratic state convention met on September 4 at Albany, New York, and nominated Ex-Governor Herbert H. Lehman (in office 1933-1942) for the U.S. Senate.^[16]

The American Labor state convention met on September 3 and endorsed Lehman.^[17] Fielding, Chapman and Abt were withdrawn from the ticket on September 5, and Democrats Corning, Young and Epstein substituted on the ticket.^[18]

The Socialist Workers Party filed a petition to nominate candidates headed by Farrell Dobbs for Governor.

The Industrial Government, Socialist and Socialist Workers tickets were not allowed on the ballot because of "defective nominating petitions." The Court of Appeals upheld the decisions of the lower courts.^[19]

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a landslide.

New York general election^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Irving M. Ives	2,559,365	52.58%	5.92%
	Total	Herbert Lehman	2,308,112	47.42%	5.16%
	Democratic	Herbert Lehman	1,688,887	34.70%
	American Labor	Herbert Lehman	435,846	8.95%
	Liberal	Herbert Lehman	183,379	3.77%
Total votes			4,867,477	36.14%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Obs.:

• "Blank, void and scattering" votes: 178,694

North Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from North Dakota and 1946 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota

North Dakota (special)

 

Senator Milton Young

Main article: 1946 United States Senate special election in North Dakota

Newly-elected Democrat John Moses had died March 3, 1945, and Republican state senator Milton Young was appointed March 12, 1945, to continue the term, pending a special election.

Young was elected June 25, 1946, to finish the term that would end in 1951.

1946 United States Senate special election in North Dakota^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Milton Young (Incumbent)	75,998	55.53
	Democratic	Bill Lanier	37,507	27.41
	Independent	Gerald P. Nye	20,848	15.23
	Independent	E.A. Johansson	2,473	1.81
	Independent	Scattering	26	0.02
Majority			38,491	28.13
Turnout			136,852
	Republican hold

Young would go on to be elected 5 more times, serving until his 1975 retirement.

North Dakota (regular)

 

Senator William Langer

First-term Republican William Langer was re-elected to a second term.

1946 United States Senate election in North Dakota^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Langer (Incumbent)	88,210	53.34
	Independent	Arthur E. Thompson	38,804	23.46
	Democratic	Abner B. Larson	38,368	23.20
Majority			49,406	29.88
Turnout			165,382
	Republican hold

Langer would be re-elected twice more, serving until his 1959 death.

Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio

There were 2 elections to the same seat due to the September 30, 1945, resignation of Republican Harold H. Burton.

Democrat James W. Huffman was appointed to continue the term, pending a special election in which Huffman was not a candidate. Huffman was, however, nominated to the regular election,^[22] which he lost.

Ohio (special)

 

Senator Kingsley A. Taft

Ohio special election^[4][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kingsley A. Taft	1,193,852	56.22%
	Democratic	Henry P. Webber	929,584	43.78%
Majority			264,268	12.44%
Turnout			2,123,436
	Republican gain from Democratic

Ohio (regular)

 

Senator John W. Bricker

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Ohio

Ohio regular election^[4][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John W. Bricker	1,275,774	57.02%
	Democratic	James W. Huffman (Incumbent)	947,610	42.36%
	Socialist Labor	William Farkas	13,885	0.62%
Majority			328,164	14.66%
Turnout			2,237,269
	Republican gain from Democratic

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

← 1940 1952 →

Nominee Edward Martin Joseph F. Guffey Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,853,458 1,245,338 Percentage 59.3% 39.8%

U.S. senator before election Joseph F. Guffey Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Edward Martin Republican

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania

Incumbent Democrat Joseph F. Guffey lost re-election to Republican Edward Martin.

General election results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward Martin	1,853,458	59.26%	+11.90%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Guffey (Incumbent)	1,245,338	39.81%	-11.98%
	Prohibition	Dale H. Learn	17,451	0.56%	+0.28%
	Socialist Labor	Frank Knotek	11,613	0.37%	+0.31%
Majority			608,120	19.45%
Turnout			3,127,860
	Republican gain from Democratic

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island

1946 United States Senate election in Rhode Island^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. Howard McGrath	150,748	55.11%
	Republican	W. Gurnee Dwyer	122,780	44.89%
Majority			27,968	10.22%
Turnout			273,528
	Democratic hold

Tennessee

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee

1946 United States Senate election in Tennessee^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kenneth D. McKellar (Incumbent)	145,654	66.60%
	Republican	William B. Ladd	57,238	26.17%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	11,516	5.27%
	Independent	Herman H. Ross	4,303	1.97%
	None	Scattering	3	0.00%
Majority			88,416	40.43%
Turnout			218,714
	Democratic hold

Texas

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Texas

See also: List of United States senators from Texas

1946 United States Senate election in Texas^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Connally (Incumbent)	336,931	88.51%
	Republican	Murray C. Sells	43,750	11.49%
Majority			293,181	77.02%
Turnout			380,681
	Democratic hold

Utah

See also: List of United States senators from Utah

1946 United States Senate election in Utah^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Vivian Watkins	101,142	51.24%
	Democratic	Abe Murdock (incumbent)	96,257	48.76%
Majority			4,885	2.48%
Turnout			197,399
	Republican gain from Democratic

Vermont

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont

Incumbent Republican Ralph Flanders successfully ran for re-election to a full term in the United States Senate, defeating Democratic candidate Charles P. McDevitt.

1946 United States Senate election in Vermont^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Flanders (inc.)	54,729	74.62%
	Democratic	Charles P. McDevitt	18,594	25.35%
	None	Scattering	17	0.02%
Majority			36,135	49.27%
Total votes			73,340
	Republican hold

Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia and 1946 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia

Virginia (regular)

Virginia election

← 1940 1952 →

Nominee Harry F. Byrd Sr. Lester S. Parsons Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 163,960 77,005 Percentage 64.8% 30.5%

County and Independent City Results Byrd:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%      90-100% Parsons:      40-50%      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Harry F. Byrd Sr. Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. Democratic

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Virginia

Incumbent Harry F. Byrd Sr. was re-elected to a fourth term after defeating Republican Lester S. Parsons.

1946 United States Senate election in Virginia^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harry F. Byrd Sr. (Incumbent)	163,960	64.84%	-28.48%
	Republican	Lester S. Parsons	77,005	30.45%	+30.45%
	Independent	Howard Carwile	5,189	2.05%
	Communist	Alice Burke	3,318	1.31%	-1.50%
	Prohibition	Thomas E. Boorde	1,764	0.70%	+0.70%
	Socialist	Clarke T. Robb	1,592	0.63%	+0.63%
	Write-ins		35	0.01%	-0.06%
Majority			86,955	34.39%	-55.14%
Turnout			252,863
	Democratic hold

Virginia (special)

 

Senator Absalom Willis Robertson

Main article: 1946 United States Senate special election in Virginia

Appointed Democrat Thomas G. Burch retired after filling the vacancy caused by the May 28, 1946, death of Democrat Carter Glass. Democrat Absalom Willis Robertson defeated Republican Robert H. Woods and was elected to finish Glass's term.

1946 United States Senate special election in Virginia^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Absalom Willis Robertson	169,680	68.15%	-22.93%
	Republican	Robert H. Woods	72,253	29.02%	+29.02%
	Socialist	Lawrence S. Wilkes	7,024	2.82%	-3.71%
	Write-ins		5	<0.01%
Majority			97,427	39.13%	-45.42%
Turnout			248,962
	Democratic hold

Washington

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Washington

See also: List of United States senators from Washington

1946 United States Senate election in Washington^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harry P. Cain	358,847	54.34%
	Democratic	Hugh B. Mitchell (Incumbent)	298,683	45.23%
	Socialist Labor	Harry Morton	2,297	0.35%
	Socialist Workers	Charles R. Swett	515	0.08%
Majority			60,164	9.11%
Turnout			660,342
	Republican gain from Democratic

West Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from West Virginia

1946 United States Senate election in West Virginia^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harley M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	273,151	50.33%
	Republican	Thomas Sweeney	269,617	49.67%
Majority			3,534	0.66%
Turnout			542,768
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin

1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

← 1940 1952 →

Nominee Joseph McCarthy Howard J. McMurray Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 620,430 378,772 Percentage 61.28% 37.41%

County results

U.S. senator before election Robert La Follette Jr. Republican Elected U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy Republican

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

See also: List of United States senators from Wisconsin

Three-term incumbent Republican Robert La Follette Jr. lost renomination to Joseph McCarthy, who then won the general election.

}

Wisconsin Republican primary^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph McCarthy	207,935	47.25%
	Republican	Robert M. La Follette Jr. (Incumbent)	202,557	46.03%
	Republican	Perry J. Stearns	29,605	6.73%
Turnout			440,097

1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph McCarthy	620,430	61.15%
	Democratic	Howard J. McMurray	378,772	37.33%
	Socialist	Edwin Knappe	11,750	1.16%
	Socialist Labor	Georgia Cozzini	1,552	0.15%
	None	Scattering	2,090	0.21%
Majority			241,658	23.82%
Turnout			1,014,594
	Republican hold

Wyoming

Main article: 1946 United States Senate election in Wyoming

See also: List of United States senators from Wyoming

1946 United States Senate election in Wyoming^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Incumbent)	45,843	56.21%
	Republican	Harry B. Henderson	35,714	43.79%
Majority			10,129	12.42%
Turnout			81,557
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1946 United States elections
  • 1946 United States gubernatorial elections
  • 1946 United States House of Representatives elections
• 79th United States Congress
• 80th United States Congress

Notes

1. Appointee elected to remainder of term in the North Dakota special election of June 25, 1946.
2. Appointee elected
3. Appointee defeated
4. Missouri was the "tipping point" state.

References

1. Leuchtenburg, William E. (November 2006). "New Faces of 1946: An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents". Smithsonian (magazine). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 2 of 5. Retrieved May 12, 2009. "On October 14, scarcely more than three weeks before midterm elections, Truman bit the bullet. Even when his approval rating dropped to 32 percent, he had told reporters that controls were indispensable. On this night, however, speaking to the largest radio audience since the end of the war, Truman lashed out at "the few men in Congress who, in the service of selfish interests, have been determined for some time to wreck price controls no matter what the cost might be to our people." Then he stunned the nation by announcing that he was lifting controls on meat. With the lid off, prices skyrocketed. The New York Daily News headlined: PRICES SOAR, BUYERS SORE/STEERS JUMP OVER THE MOON. Brickbats flew at the president. "Brother," said Ohio's Clarence J. Brown, chair of the Republican Congressional Committee, "the tide is sweepin' our way.""
2. Arthur Krock (November 10, 1946). "Dominant Cause Seen for Republican Sweep". New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
3. "Three Republicans Who Will Lead the Next Congress". New York Times. November 10, 1946. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
4. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (February 1, 1947). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 1, 7, 12, 38, 43.
5. "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
6. "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
7. "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
8. "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
9. "Our Campaigns - AZ US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
10. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Special". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
11. "Our Campaigns - CT US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
12. "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
13. "Socialist Labor Party Ticket". The New York Times. April 8, 1946.
14. "LIBERALS TO FILE PETITIONS TODAY". The New York Times. September 2, 1946.
15. "ALBANY 'TEAM' KEPT". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.
16. "DEWEY IS ASSAILED; ...MEAD SPURNS ANY RED AID". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.
17. "DEMOCRATIC DEAL IRKS LABOR PARTY". The New York Times. September 4, 1946.
18. "ALP WITHDRAWS 3 FROM STATE TICKET". The New York Times. September 6, 1946.
19. "MINOR PARTIES RULED OFF BALLOT IN STATE". The New York Times. October 26, 1946.
20. "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
21. "Statement of the Findings of the State Board of Canvassers, Primary Election Held June 25 , 1946" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
22. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate - D Primary Race - May 07, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
23. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate- Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
24. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
25. (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
26. "WI US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

• New York: "RECORD FOR DEWEY IN OFFICIAL COUNT; His 687,151 Majority Topped Lehman's 627,388 in 1932; Won in 1942 by 173,254". The New York Times. December 14, 1946.