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,[1] 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 Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman, and politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933. A member of the Republican Party, he held office during the onset of the Great Depression. Prior to serving as president, Hoover led the Commission for Relief in Belgium, served as the director of the U.S. Food Administration, and served as the 3rd U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.
In Louisiana, Democratic Senator-elect Huey Long chose not to take his Senate seat until January 25, 1932 so he could remain as Governor of Louisiana. The Republicans therefore retained the plurality of seats at the beginning of the next Congress. With Vice President Charles Curtis (R) able to cast tie-breaking votes, the Republicans would have majority control with their 48 of the 96 seats. That slim control was further weakened in the last months of the next Congress with several mid-term seat changes.
Huey Pierce Long Jr., nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and was a member of the United States Senate from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. As the political leader of Louisiana, he commanded wide networks of supporters and was willing to take forceful action. He established the long-term political prominence of the Long family.
Charles Curtis was an American attorney and politician, who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933.
Henrik Shipstead was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1947, from the state of Minnesota in the 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, and 79th Congresses. He served first as a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party from 1923 to 1941 and then as a Republican from 1941 to 1947.
The first modern Farmer–Labor Party in the United States emerged in Minnesota in 1918. Economic dislocation caused by American entry into World War I put agricultural prices and workers' wages into imbalance with rapidly escalating retail prices during the war years, and farmers and workers sought to make common cause in the political sphere to redress their grievances.
Daniel Frederic Steck, was the only Iowa Democrat in the United States Senate between the American Civil War and the Great Depression. He was sworn in as Senator only after an extraordinary election challenge, in which his apparent defeat at the polls by a Progressive Party ally running as a Republican was reversed by a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate over seventeen months later.
Colorado is a state of the Western United States encompassing most of the southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. It is the 8th most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The estimated population of Colorado was 5,695,564 on July 1, 2018, an increase of 13.25% since the 2010 United States Census.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.
Incumbent disqualified from nomination for supporting Herbert Hoover. Incumbent lost general election as an independent. New senator elected. Democratic hold.
Frank L. Greene (R) had died December 17, 1930, and Partrdige was appointed December 23, 1930 to continue the term. Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator electedMarch 31, 1931. Republican hold.
The Seventy-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to March 4, 1931, during the first two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Decennial Census of the United States in 1910. Both chambers had a Republican majority. This congress saw the most special elections of any congress with 27 in all.
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The 1986 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term. 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 and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. The party not controlling the presidency gained seats, as usually occurs in mid-term elections.
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 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate that coincided with Democratic 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 Democrats, and the balance of the chamber remained the same.
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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 1962 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate which was held in the middle of President John F. Kennedy's term. His Democratic Party made a net gain of three seats from the Republicans, increasing their control of the Senate.
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 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 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 1932 coincided with Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt's crushing defeat of incumbent Herbert Hoover in the presidential election. With the Hoover administration widely blamed for the Great Depression, Republicans lost twelve seats and control of the chamber.
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 1922 were elections that occurred in the middle of Republican President Warren G. Harding's term. With the Republicans divided between conservative and progressive factions, the Democrats gained six net seats from the Republicans while the Farmer-Labor party gained one. The Republicans retained their Senate majority.
Although the 17th Amendment was not passed until 1913, some states elected their Senators directly before its passage. 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.
