The 1986 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 4, in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats, and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. This remains the most recent midterm election cycle in which the sitting president's party suffered net losses while still flipping a Senate seat.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3, with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber unchanged.
The 1936 United States Senate elections coincided with the reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 32 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. The Great Depression continued and voters backed progressive candidates favoring Roosevelt's New Deal in races across the country. The Democrats gained 5 net seats during the election, and in combination with Democratic and Farmer–Labor interim appointments and the defection of George W. Norris from the Republican Party to become independent, the Republicans were reduced to 16 seats. Democrats gained a further two seats due to mid-term vacancies. The Democrats' 77 seats and their 62-seat majority remain their largest in history.
The 1932 United States Senate elections coincided with Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory over incumbent Herbert Hoover in the presidential election. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies.
The 1924 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the election of Republican President Calvin Coolidge to a full term. The 32 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. The strong economy and Coolidge's popularity helped Republican candidates increase their majority by three. Republicans would gain another seat through mid-term vacancies bringing their seat share to 56-39-1.
Alva Blanchard Adams Sr. was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Pueblo, Colorado. He served nine years as a United States senator from Colorado, serving by appointment from 1923 to 1924, then serving again from 1933 until his death in 1941. He was the first U.S. senator from Colorado who was born in Colorado. He is the namesake of the Alva B. Adams Tunnel under Rocky Mountain National Park.
The 1912–13 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They were the last U.S. Senate elections before the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, establishing direct elections for all Senate seats. Senators had been primarily chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1912 and 1913, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. Some states elected their senators directly even before passage of Seventeenth Amendment. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.
Charles Winfield Waterman was a Colorado attorney and politician. He is most notable for his service as a United States senator from Colorado.
The 1938 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Democratic Senator Alva B. Adams ran for re-election to a second term. Adams faced Denver attorney Archibald A. Lee, the Republican nominee, in the general election. Despite the nationwide Republican landslide, including Republicans' landslide victory in the gubernatorial election that year, Adams's popularity translated into an easy re-election campaign. Adams ended up defeating Lee with 58% of the vote. However, Adams did not end up fully serving his second term; he died on December 1, 1941.
The 1944 United States Senate special election in Colorado took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Republican senator Eugene Millikin, who was first appointed to fill Alva B. Adams's seat in 1941 and re-elected at the ensuing special election in 1942, ran for re-election to his first full term. In the general election, he faced wealthy Denver attorney Barney L. Whatley. Millikin benefited from the strong Republican performance in Colorado—Thomas E. Dewey and Governor John C. Vivian both won their respective elections by decisive margins—and cruised to a landslide victory over Whatley.
The 1942 United States Senate special election in Colorado took place on November 3, 1942. Democratic senator Alva B. Adams died in office on December 1, 1941, and Republican Governor Ralph L. Carr appointed Denver oilman Eugene Millikin to fill the vacancy. Millikin ran for election for the remainder of Adams's term. He was opposed in the general election by James A. Marsh, the former chairman of the state Democratic Party. Aided in part by the nationwide Republican landslide, Millikin easily defeated Marsh to serve out the remainder of the term.
The 1920 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2, 1920. Incumbent Democratic Senator Charles S. Thomas initially declined to run for re-election, and State Supreme Court Justice Tully Scott won the Democratic nomination to succeed him, facing off against former Leadville Mayor Samuel D. Nicholson, the Republican nominee. However, in October 1920, Thomas announced that he would run for re-election as the nominee of the National Party. However, Thomas's decision did not ultimately affect the outcome of the election. Aided by Republican presidential nominee Warren G. Harding's strong performance in the state, as well as Republican Governor Oliver Henry Shoup's landslide re-election, Nicholson defeated Tully and Thomas in a landslide. Out of four candidates, Thomas placed fourth, winning just 3% of the vote and finishing behind Farmer–Labor nominee G. F. Stevens.
The 1924 United States Senate special election in Colorado took place on November 4, 1924, to fill the remainder of the term for which Samuel D. Nicholson was elected in 1920. Nicholson died in office on March 24, 1923, and Democratic Governor William Ellery Sweet appointed Alva B. Adams, a prominent Pueblo attorney, to fill the vacancy. Adams, however, declined to be a candidate in the special election, instead challenging incumbent Republican Senator Lawrence C. Phipps in the regular election the same year.
The 1930 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 4, 1930. Republican Senator Lawrence C. Phipps declined to run for re-election, resulting in an open race to replace him. Edward P. Costigan, one of the founding members of the Progressive Party in Colorado and a former member of the United States Tariff Commission, won the Democratic nomination and faced attorney George H. Shaw, the Republican nominee, in the general election. Aided by the nationwide Democratic landslide, Costigan handily defeated Shaw, becoming the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Colorado since 1914.
The 1954 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 2, 1954. Interim Democratic Senator Alton A. Lennon, who had been appointed to fill the vacant seat left by the death of Willis Smith, ran for re-election. Lennon lost the Democratic primary to former Governor W. Kerr Scott, who easily won the general election over Republican Paul C. West.
The 1938 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938. Republican nominee Ralph Lawrence Carr defeated Democratic incumbent Teller Ammons with 59.50% of the vote.
The 1932 United States Senate elections in Colorado took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles W. Waterman announced that he would not seek re-election to a second term. Attorney Karl C. Schuyler won the Republican nomination to succeed Waterman and faced former Senator Alva B. Adams, the Democratic nominee, in the general election.
