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Republican holds Republican pickups Democratic holds Democratic pickups
The U.S. Senate election, 1958 was an election 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 ruling party lost seats, but in this year it was on a huge scale, perhaps due to high unemployment. 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 Democratic party took thirteen Republican seats, as well as winning both 1959 Senate elections in the new state of Alaska. Senate elections in 1959 in the new state of Hawaii were split between the two parties, yielding an aggregate gain of 16 seats for the Democrats and giving a party balance of 65-35.
Democrats gained three open seats in California, Indiana, and New Jersey, and defeated ten Republican incumbents:
West Virginia's delegation thus changed from two Republicans to two Democrats in the same election night.
Notable freshmen were future Democratic presidential contenders Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) and Ed Muskie (D-ME), as well as future Democratic Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), who as of 2008 is the longest-serving Senator in the history of the Senate.
[edit] Senate contests in 1958
| State |
Incumbent |
Party |
Status |
Opposing Candidates |
| Alaska1 |
None |
|
Democratic victory, 83.8 - 15.0 |
Bob Bartlett (Democrat)
R. E. Robertson (Republican)
|
| Alaska2 |
None |
|
Democratic victory, 52.6 - 47.4 |
Ernest Gruening (Democrat)
Mike Stepovich (Republican)
|
| Arizona |
Barry Goldwater |
Republican |
Re-elected, 56.1 - 43.9 |
Ernest W. McFarland (Democrat)
|
| California |
William F. Knowland |
Republican |
Retired: Democratic victory, 57.0 - 42.9 |
Clair Engle (Democrat)
Goodwin J. Knight (Republican)
|
| Connecticut |
William A. Purtell |
Republican |
Defeated, 57.5 - 42.5 |
Thomas J. Dodd (Democrat)
|
| Delaware |
John J. Williams |
Republican |
Re-elected, 53.3 - 46.7 |
Elbert N. Carvel (Democrat)
|
| Florida |
Spessard Holland |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 71.2 - 28.8 |
Leland Hyzer (Republican)
|
| Indiana |
William E. Jenner |
Republican |
Retired: Democratic victory, 56.5 - 42.4 |
Vance Hartke (Democrat)
Harold W. Handley (Republican)
|
| Maine |
Frederick G. Payne |
Republican |
Defeated, 60.8 - 39.2 |
Edmund S. Muskie (Democrat)
|
| Maryland |
James Glenn Beall |
Republican |
Re-elected, 51.0 - 49.0 |
Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. (Democrat)
|
| Massachusetts |
John F. Kennedy |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 73.2 - 26.2 |
Vincent J. Celeste (Republican)
|
| Michigan |
Charles E. Potter |
Republican |
Defeated, 53.6 - 46.1 |
Philip A. Hart (Democrat)
|
| Minnesota |
Edward John Thye |
Republican |
Defeated, 52.9 - 46.6 |
Eugene McCarthy (Democrat)
|
| Mississippi |
John C. Stennis |
Democrat |
Re-elected, unopposed |
|
| Missouri |
Stuart Symington |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 66.5 - 33.6 |
Hazel Palmer (Republican)
|
| Montana |
Mike Mansfield |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 76.2 - 23.8 |
Lou W. Welch (Republican)
|
| Nebraska |
Roman L. Hruska |
Republican |
Re-elected, 55.6 - 44.4 |
Frank B. Morrison (Democrat)
|
| Nevada |
George W. Malone |
Republican |
Defeated, 57.7 - 42.3 |
Howard W. Cannon (Democrat)
|
| New Jersey |
H. Alexander Smith |
Republican |
Retired: Democratic victory, 51.4 - 46.9 |
Harrison A. Williams, Jr. (Democrat)
Robert W. Kean (Republican)
|
| New Mexico |
Dennis Chavez |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 62.7 - 37.3 |
Forrest S. Atchley (Republican)
|
| New York |
Irving M. Ives |
Republican |
Retired: Republican victory, 50.8 - 48.4 |
Kenneth B. Keating (Republican)
Frank S. Hogan (Democrat)
|
| North Carolina3 |
Benjamin Everett Jordan |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 70.0 - 30.0 |
Richard C. Clarke, Jr. (Republican)
|
| North Dakota |
William Langer |
Republican |
Re-elected, 57.2 - 41.5 |
Raymond Vensdel (Democrat)
|
| Ohio |
John W. Bricker |
Republican |
Defeated, 52.5 - 47.5 |
Stephen M. Young (Democrat)
|
| Pennsylvania |
Edward Martin |
Republican |
Retired: Republican victory, 51.2 - 48.4 |
Hugh Scott (Republican)
George M. Leader (Democrat)
|
| Rhode Island |
John O. Pastore |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 64.5 - 35.5 |
Bayard Ewing (Republican)
|
| Tennessee |
Albert Gore, Sr. |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 79.0 - 19.0 |
Hobart F. Atkins (Republican)
|
| Texas |
Ralph Yarborough |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 74.6 - 23.6 |
Roy Whittenburg (Republican)
|
| Utah |
Arthur V. Watkins |
Republican |
Defeated, 38.7 - 34.8 - 26.4 |
Frank E. Moss (Democrat)
J. Bracken Lee (Independent)
|
| Vermont |
Ralph E. Flanders |
Republican |
Retired: Republican victory, 52.2 - 47.8 |
Winston L. Prouty (Republican)
Frederick J. Fayette (Democrat)
|
| Virginia |
Harry F. Byrd |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 69.3 - 26.3 |
Louise Wensel (Independent)
|
| Washington |
Henry M. Jackson |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 67.3 - 31.4 |
William B. Bantz (Republican)
|
| West Virginia |
Chapman Revercomb |
Republican |
Defeated, 59.2 - 40.8 |
Robert C. Byrd (Democrat)
|
| West Virginia4 |
John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. |
Republican |
Defeated, 59.3 - 40.7 |
Jennings Randolph (Democrat)
|
| Wisconsin |
William Proxmire |
Democrat |
Re-elected, 57.1 - 42.7 |
Roland J. Steinle (Republican)
|
| Wyoming |
Frank A. Barrett |
Republican |
Defeated, 50.8 - 49.2 |
Gale McGee (Democrat)
|
1 special election held due to Alaska's admission as a state.
2 special election held due to Alaska's admission as a state.
3 special election held due to death of William Kerr Scott (D-NC)
4 special election held due to death of Matthew M. Neely (D-WV)
[edit] Senate composition before and after elections
| 85th Congress Senate Composition |
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86th Congress Senate Composition |
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Note that there are 24 columns at left (pre-Alaska and Hawaii) and 25 at right
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[edit] See also
