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 Parish results Johnston: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Jenkins: 50-60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Louisiana |
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The open primary election for the 1978 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on September 16, 1978.
Incumbent Senator J. Bennett Johnston won the election with 59.40% of the vote and was declared elected by a majority, dispelling the need for a general election in November.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | J. Bennett Johnston (incumbent) | 498,773 | 59.4% | |
| Democratic | Woody Jenkins | 340,896 | 40.6% | |
| Total votes | 839,669 | 100% | ||
By virtue of Johnston's majority of the vote in the primary election, he was unopposed in the general election. Under Louisiana state law at the time, it was not required to tabulate votes for unopposed candidates. [2]
John Bennett Johnston Jr. is a retired American attorney, politician, and later lobbyist. A member of the Democratic Party, Johnston represented Louisiana in the U.S. Senate from 1972 to 1997.
The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 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 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.
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. Democrats defeated incumbents in Illinois and Iowa, and won an open seat in Tennessee, while Republicans defeated an incumbent in Kentucky.
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. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties, resulting in a net gain of three seats for the Republicans. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58–41 majority.
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 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. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority.
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 2022, this was 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, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. In practice, however, internal divisions effectively prevented the Democrats from doing so. The Senate election coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
Louis Elwood Jenkins Jr., known as Woody Jenkins, is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge and Central City, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate in 1978, 1980, and 1996.
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.
The 1948 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 2, 1948 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Burnet R. Maybank won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger J. Bates Gerald in the general election to win another six-year term.
The 1984 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a fourth term in the United States Senate. Senator Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Paul Simon, who was a United States Congressman from Illinois's 22nd congressional district. The campaign between Percy and Simon was contentious and brutally fought, and ended up with Simon ousting Percy by fewer than 90,000 votes, which was, at the time, considered an upset. Incidentally, Percy's son-in-law Jay Rockefeller was elected Senator from West Virginia in the same election cycle.
The 1994 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Congressman Tom Andrews won the Democratic primary unopposed, while Congresswoman Olympia Snowe won the Republican primary unopposed. In the general election, Snowe defeated Andrews in a rout to win her first of three terms in the United States Senate, a stark contrast to retiring Senator Mitchell's landslide win six years prior.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Alabama on November 4, 2014. All of Alabama's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives.
The 1990 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on October 6, 1990. In a nonpartisan blanket primary, incumbent Democrat J. Bennett Johnston won reelection to a fourth term, avoiding a runoff on November 6, 1990 by receiving 54% of the vote. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke placed second, as the leading Republican challenger.
The 1956 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Russell B. Long won re-election to a third term.
The 1960 United States Senate election in Louisiana took place on November 8, 1960. Incumbent Democratic Senator Allen J. Ellender won re-election to a fifth term.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 9, 1972.
The primary election for the 1984 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on September 29, 1984.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 1976.
