The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett, reducing Democrats' majority to 57–43.
This is the earliest round of Senate elections in which a first-elected member is still alive (Bob Packwood, R-OR).
Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned December 16, 1968 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed December 17, 1968.
Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent resigned December 27, 1968 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed December 28, 1968.
After electing Republicans post-Reconstruction, Alabama had historically voted Democratic in local, state, and presidential elections from the 1870s until the 1960s with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. However, in 1948 Alabama did not support the Democratic ticket for the first time in nearly 100 years, voting for Strom Thurmond, who ran a third-party campaign. Democrats lost ground due to the unpopularity of the Civil Rights Act among white voters, who at the time comprised nearly the entire electorate. In 1964, Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the state of Alabama since Ulysses Grant, while the state elected Republicans to its congressional delegation for the first time since the turn of the century. Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act, which boosted his popularity in Southern states.
In 1962, J. Lister Hill ran for re-election to this seat to a fifth term but faced an unusually close race against Republican James D. Martin, who came within 1% of unseating the incumbent. In 1968, Republicans looked to build upon their momentum but faced a challenge when Lieutenant Governor James B. Allen, a staunch conservative, was nominated by the Democratic Party. Republicans also failed to capitalize on the candidacy of liberal Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey due to the third-party candidacy of Governor George Wallace limiting Republican support. Allen defeated Republican Perry Hooper by a wide margin in the general election and faced little opposition in 1978.
Democrat Ernest Gruening had served as one of the state's inaugural senators alongside Democrat Bob Bartlett since 1959. He was re-elected in a landslide victory in 1962. In 1968, he was challenged by former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives, Mike Gravel, who ran on a campaign of youth.[3] Gravel upset Gruening in the Democratic primary with just under 53% of the vote to 47% for Gruening.
Gravel faced former Anchorage Mayor Republican Elmer E. Rasmuson in the general election, while Gruening ran a write-in campaign. Gravel won a three-way race with 45% of the vote to 37% for Rasmuson, with incumbent Gruening scoring 17%.
Two months after the election, on December 11, 1968, the other Alaskan senator, Democrat Bob Bartlett, died. Republican Ted Stevens, who lost the Republican primary to Rasmuson for this seat, was then appointed to that other seat.
Incumbent Democrat Carl Hayden did not run for re-election to an eighth term, with his long-time staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him. Elson beat State Treasurer of Arizona Bob Kennedy in the primary.
Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. senator and Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, and would remain under Republican Party control until 2020. Elson had previously challenged U.S. senator Paul Fannin in 1964, when Goldwater vacated his seat to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson.
J. William Fulbright was first elected in 1944 against token Republican opposition. He ran unopposed in 1950 and won by large margins in 1956 and 1962, but he saw his vote percentage slip in the latter. In the wake of Civil Rights legislation, which many southern whites opposed, Fulbright was re-elected in 1968 but by the smallest margin of his career. He faced Charles T. Bernard and won with just over 59% of the vote. Arkansas would not elect a Republican to this seat until 2010 with John Boozman's election.
California was generally considered to be a Republican stronghold throughout the early 1900s. Until 1959, Republicans controlled most government offices as well as both houses of state government. However, Pat Brown was elected governor in 1958 and ushered in a wave of Democratic success.
Along with California Secretary of StateFrank M. Jordan, incumbent U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel was one of the last Republicans elected from California at the state or U.S. Senate level. Kuchel had been re-elected by a wide margin in 1962, winning every county in the state, and was the Minority Whip for the Republican Party.
However, in 1968 he faced a primary challenge from California Superintendent of Public Instruction Max Rafferty, who ran to the right of moderate Kuchel. In an upset, Rafferty defeated Kuchel in the primary, 50-47%.
In the Democratic primary, former California State Controller Alan Cranston won the primary with 58% of the vote.
Despite Richard Nixon's concurrent win in the presidential election (as well as in the state of California), Cranston defeated Rafferty on election day with just under 52% of the vote, flipping the state's other senate seat to the Democrats. Rafferty took just under 47% of the vote. Cranston would serve until 1993 in the senate.
Incumbent Republican Peter Dominick won election in 1962 over Democratic incumbent John A. Carroll by eight percentage points. In 1968, he increased his margin of victory against Stephen McNichols in what would be his last U.S. Senate victory. He would lose in 1974 to Gary Hart.
Incumbent Abraham Ribicoff was elected in 1962 after the retirement of Prescott Bush by a razor-thin 51–49 margin. He increased his margin of victory in 1968 over Republican Representative Edwin H. May Jr.
Incumbent Democrat George Smathers retired. After supporting Republicans during Reconstruction, Florida supported almost only Democrats down-ballot until the 1940s, when the state voted for Eisenhower. Claude R. Kirk Jr. was elected governor in 1966 as Republicans gained ground in the South due to Democrats shifting leftward and Republicans rightward.
Popular Democrat LeRoy Collins defeated State Attorney General Earl Faircloth in the Democratic primary, while Republican Representative Edward Gurney won the Republican primary. Despite less name recognition in the state, Gurney defeated Collins by 11 points and won all but five counties.
Talmadge sought another term to the Senate and was easily re-elected. The election was notable for the Georgia Republican Party, as it marked the first U.S. Senate election where it fielded a candidate. Patton lost by over 50% to Talmadge.
Incumbent Democrat Birch Bayh was elected in 1962, defeating incumbent Republican Homer E. Capehart by around 11,000 votes. In 1970, he ran for re-election and faced Republican State Representative William Ruckelshaus in the general election.
Ruckelshaus ran a close race but Bayh was ultimately re-elected by a two-point margin. This would actually be Bayh's largest vote percentage in an election to the U.S. Senate. In 1974, he won a narrow majority of the vote over Republican Richard Lugar though he did increase his margin of victory. He was defeated in his re-election bid in 1980 by future Vice PresidentDan Quayle.
Birch Bayh's son Evan Bayh would also serve in the U.S. Senate from 1999 to 2011.
Incumbent Republican Frank Carlson chose to retire rather than seek re-election. Republican Bob Dole defeated Democrat William Robinson with 60% of the vote and won all but one county in the state. Still, this would be his second-worst U.S. Senate election performance after 1974 in the wake of Watergate.
Though originally voting strongly Democratic like the rest of the South after Reconstruction, Kentucky began electing Republicans in the 1890s but still leaned Democratic. Still, Republicans found success with the elections to U.S. Senate of Thruston Ballard Morton and John Sherman Cooper. Morton decided to retire in 1968, creating an open seat. Republican Marlow Cook narrowly defeated Democrat Katherine Peden by a 51–48 margin.
Incumbent Democrat Daniel Brewster was originally elected in 1962 over Republican Representative Edward Tylor Miller. He won the Democratic primary and faced Republican Representative Charles Mathias in the general election. However, Democrat George P. Mahoney ran in the election under the American Independent Party. Mahoney, who ran against the Civil Rights movement, had previously been the Democratic nominee for governor in 1966 losing to Spiro Agnew. Hyman A. Pressman ran an independent campaign which allowed Republican Agnew to carry the heavily Democratic state with 49.5% of the vote.
Similarly, Mahoney ran a well-funded campaign in 1968 and Brewster was defeated in the general election. Mathias won just 48% of the vote to 39% for Brewster (and 13% for Mahoney), similarly elected to Agnew. Mathias would nonetheless have no trouble being re-elected in 1974 and 1980 (when he won the city of Baltimore). Mathias is the last Republican to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.
Incumbent U.S. Senator Edward V. Long ran for re-election but faced two primary challengers in Lieutenant Governor Thomas Eagleton and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury W. True Davis Jr., who each ran strong campaigns. Eagleton won the primary with 37% of the vote.
In the general election, Eagleton faced Republican Representative Thomas B. Curtis and won a close-fought election with 51% of the vote to 49% for Curtis. Eagleton would be re-elected over Curtis again in 1974.
Incumbent Alan Bible was originally elected in 1954 in a special election over Republican Ernest S. Brown. He narrowly defeated Republican Clarence Clifton Young in 1956 and won by a landslide in 1962. He defeated Republican Edward Fike by a smaller margin of 55–45 in 1968 in what would be his last term.
While Javits did not face any challengers for the Republican nomination, he did face a minor one when seeking the Liberal Party of New York's nomination.
The general election was fought between the Democratic incumbent Sam Ervin and the Republican nominee Robert Somers. Ervin won re-election to a third full term, with over 60% of the vote.
The first round of the Primary Election was held on May 4, 1968.[13] The runoff for the Republican Party candidates took place on June 1.[14]
1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election
Only Young filed as a Republican, and the endorsed Democratic candidate was Herschel Lashkowitz of Fargo, North Dakota, who was serving as the mayor of the city since 1954. Young and Lashkowitz won the primary elections for their respective parties.
Incumbent Democrat Frank J. Lausche ran for re-election but was defeated in the primary by Representative John J. Gilligan, who criticized Lausche's conservative voting record. Republican State Attorney General of Ohio William Saxbe won the Republican primary and defeated Gilligan in the general election by a 51–48 margin. He would not serve out his term after resigning to become United States Attorney general in 1974.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Mike Monroney was running for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican former Governor Henry Bellmon.
Incumbent Democrat Wayne Morse was seeking a fifth term, but narrowly lost re-election to 36-year-old Republican State Representative Bob Packwood race.[17]
Incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican state senatorMarshall Parker in a rematch of the election two years earlier, to win his second (his first full) term.
After a close election loss to Fritz Hollings in 1966, the Republicans felt that Parker might have a chance at defeating Hollings by riding Nixon's coattails in the general election. However, the Republicans did not provide Parker with the financial resources to compete, and he subsequently lost by a bigger margin to Hollings than two years prior.
Incumbent Democrat George McGovern had flirted with presidential aspirations in 1968 but ultimately decided to run for re-election, defeating Republican Archie M. Gubbrud by a comfortable margin.
Incumbent Wallace F. Bennett, a Republican, won re-election to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate by a comfortable margin against Democrat Milton Weilemann.
Incumbent Republican George Aiken ran successfully for re-election to another term in the United States Senate. Vermont voted Democratic for the first time since the 1850s for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Vermont also elected Democrat Philip H. Hoff in 1962, and he served until 1969. Hoff ran a write-in campaign in the Democratic primary for this seat but lost to Republican Aiken by a wide margin. Aiken thus ran with both nominations and secured a victory. This would be once staunchly-Republican Vermont's last time to support a Republican for this seat. In 1974, Patrick Leahy would win and become the first Democratic Senator from Vermont.
1 2 3 Reflecting the result of the November 1968 elections, only. Following those elections, upon the death of Alaska Democratic Senator Bob Bartlett and subsequent appointment of Republican Ted Stevens, the partisan balance at the beginning of the 91st United States Congress stood at 57–43 in favor of the Democrats.
1 2 The Liberal Party in New York nominated Jacob Javits, a Republican, but the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives did not tabulate their votes, totaling 458,936, into the national Republican total.[1]
The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 1998, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. This was seen as an even contest between the Republican Party and Democratic Party. While the Democrats had to defend more seats up for election, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains did not materialize. The Republicans picked open seats up in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun, but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato and Lauch Faircloth. The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans.
The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.
The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election cycle took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress. This was the first time since 1980 that any party successfully defended all their own seats, and the first time Democrats did so since 1958.
The 1988 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 8, 1988, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. In spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of 1 seat in the Senate. 7 seats changed parties, with 4 incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one to 55–45.
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 1984 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of President Ronald Reagan in the presidential election. In spite of the lopsided presidential race, Reagan's Republican Party suffered a net loss of two Senate seats to the Democrats, although it retained control of the Senate with a reduced 53–47 majority.
The 1982 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 1982. They were elections for the United States Senate following Republican gains in 1980. The 33 Senate seats of Class 1 were up for election in 1982. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, with Democrats winning seats in New Jersey and New Mexico, and Republicans taking seats in Nevada and the seat of the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., in Virginia. Democrats made a net gain of one seat bringing them to 46 seats, while Republicans stayed at 54 seats for a majority. However, the Democratic gain in New Jersey replaced a Republican that had been appointed earlier in the year. Liberal Republicans senators in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont held onto their seats, keeping the Senate in Republican hands.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955. This was the first time since 1966 that any party successfully defended all their own seats.
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 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. Held on November 2, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with Democrat Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democratic Party. Each party flipped seven Senate seats, although, one of the seats flipped by Democrats was previously held by a Conservative.
The 1974 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. They occurred in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and Gerald Ford's subsequent pardon of Nixon. Economic issues, specifically inflation and stagnation, were also a factor that contributed to Republican losses. As an immediate result of the November 1974 elections, Democrats made a net gain of three seats from the Republicans, as they defeated Republican incumbents in Colorado and Kentucky and picked up open seats in Florida and Vermont, while Republicans won the open seat in Nevada. Following the elections, at the beginning of the 94th U.S. Congress, the Democratic caucus controlled 60 seats, and the Republican caucus controlled 38 seats.
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 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 1962 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. Held on November 6, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They occurred in the middle of President John F. Kennedy's term. His Democratic Party made a net gain of four seats from the Republicans, increasing their control of the Senate to 68–32. However, this was reduced to 67–33 between the election and the next Congress, as on November 18, 1962, Democrat Dennis Chávez, who was not up for election that year, died. He was replaced on November 30, 1962, by Republican appointee Edwin L. Mechem. Additionally, Democrat Strom Thurmond became a Republican in 1964, further reducing Democrats to 66–34. This was the first time since 1932 that Democrats gained seats in this class of Senators.
The 1960 United States Senate elections coincided with the election of John F. Kennedy as president on November 8, 1960. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. A special election was also held on June 28, 1960, for a mid-term vacancy in North Dakota where Democrats flipped a seat to expand their majority to 66–34. As Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson was elected Vice President, Mike Mansfield became the new majority leader.
The 1958 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which occurred in the middle of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term. Thirty-two seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, the new state of Alaska held its first Senate elections for its Class 2 and 3 seats, and two special elections were held to fill vacancies.
The 1954 United States Senate elections was a midterm election in the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. The 32 Senate seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and six special elections were held to fill vacancies. Eisenhower's Republican party lost a net of two seats to the Democratic opposition. This small change was just enough to give Democrats control of the chamber with the help of the Independent who at the start of this Congress in January 1955 agreed to caucus with them; he later officially joined the party in April 1955.
The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. Among the 100 seats, the 33 of Class 1 were contested in regular elections while 2 others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The regular election winners were elected to 6-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election, while Senate Republicans had 9 seats up for election.
References
"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1969, p.19.
Kalk, Bruce H. (2001). The Origins of the Southern Strategy: Two-Party Competition in South. Lexington Books. p.86.
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