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. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, and the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., retired. Democrats made a net gain of one seat in the elections. A special election in 1983 was then held after the winner of Washington's 1982 election died at the beginning of the term.
The 1978 United States Senate elections in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties. The Democrats at first lost a net of two seats to the Republicans, and then one more in a special election. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58-41 majority.
The 1964 United States Senate elections 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 2019, this is the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which would have hypothetically allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, convict and expel certain officials, or invoke cloture without any votes from Republicans. The Senate election coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 1960 United States Senate elections coincided with the election of John F. Kennedy as president. The Republicans gained one seat at the expense of the Democrats. The Democrats nonetheless retained a commanding lead in the Senate with 64 seats to 36. As Majority Leader Lyndon B. 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. As is common in midterm elections, the party in the White House lost seats, but losses this year were more than usual, perhaps due to the high unemployment of the Recession of 1958. The Eisenhower Administration's position on right-to-work issues galvanized labor unions which supported Democrats. The launch of Sputnik may also have been a factor.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although the Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained back two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber remained unchanged.
The 1950 United States Senate elections occurred in the middle of Harry S. Truman's second term as President. As with most 20th-century second-term mid-terms, the party out of the Presidency made significant gains. The Republican opposition made a net gain of five seats, taking advantage of the Democratic administration's declining popularity during the Cold War and the aftermath of the Recession of 1949. The Democrats held a narrow 49 to 47 seat majority after the election. This became the first time since 1932 that the Senate Majority Leader lost his seat and the only instance where the majority leader lost his seat while his party retained the majority.
The 1948 United States Senate elections were elections which coincided with the election of Democratic President Harry S. Truman for a full term. Truman had campaigned against an "obstructionist" Congress that had blocked many of his initiatives, and in addition the U.S. economy recovered from the postwar recession of 1946–47 by election day. Thus Truman was rewarded with a Democratic gain of nine seats in the Senate, enough to give them control of the chamber.
The 1946 United States Senate elections were held November 5, 1946, in the middle of Democratic President Harry S. Truman's first term.
The United States Senate elections of 1944 coincided with the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his fourth term as President. The Democrats' large majority remained the same, but they lost one seat to the Republicans in a special election.
The United States Senate elections of 1940 coincided with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his third term as President.
The United States Senate elections of 1936 coincided with the reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 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, the most lopsided Senate since Reconstruction.
The United States Senate elections of 1930 occurred in the middle of Republican President Herbert Hoover's term. With the Great Depression beginning to take hold, Republican incumbents became unpopular, and Democrats picked up a net of eight seats, erasing the Republican gains from the previous election cycle. Republicans retained control of the U.S. Senate since Vice President Charles Curtis cast the tie-breaking vote. This was the first of four consecutive Senate elections in the Depression in which Democrats made enormous gains, achieving a cumulative pick-up of 34 seats.
The United States Senate elections of 1928 were elections that coincided with the presidential election of Republican Herbert Hoover. The strong economy helped the Republicans to gain seven seats from the Democrats.
The United States Senate elections of 1926 were elections for the United States Senate that occurred in the middle of Republican President Calvin Coolidge's second term. The Republican majority was reduced by six seats.
The United States Senate elections of 1924 were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the election of Republican President Calvin Coolidge to a full term. The strong economy and Coolidge's popularity helped Republican candidates increase their majority by four, although several interim appointments had worsened their numbers since the 1922 election; as a result, the party achieved a net gain of only one seat since the previous voting cycle.
The United States Senate elections of 1858 and 1859 were elections which had the Republican Party gain five additional seats in the United States Senate, but the Democrats retained their majority. That majority would erode in 1860 with the secession of the southern states leading up to the Civil War. In Illinois, incumbent Stephen A. Douglas (D) and challenger Abraham Lincoln (R) held a series of seven debates, known as the "Lincoln–Douglas debates."
The United States Senate elections of 1896 and 1897 were elections in which the Democratic Party lost seven seats in the United States Senate, mostly to smaller third parties.
The United States Senate elections of 1860 and 1861 were elections corresponding with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The nascent Republican Party increased their Senate seats in the general elections, and after southern Democrats withdrew to join the Confederacy, Republicans gained control of the United States Senate. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.
The 1923 United States Senate special election in Minnesota took place on July 16, 1923. The election was held to fill, for the remainder of the unexpired term, the seat in the United States Senate left vacant by Republican U.S. Senator Knute Nelson, who died in office on April 28, 1923. State Senator Magnus Johnson of the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota defeated Governor J. A. O. Preus of the Republican Party of Minnesota, and State Senator James A. Carley of the Minnesota Democratic Party, which, together with Henrik Shipstead's victory in 1922, brought both of Minnesota's seats in the United States Senate into the hands of the Farmer-Labor Party for the first time in history.
