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Republican holds
Republican pickups
Democratic holds
Democratic pickups
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The U.S. Senate election of 1950 occurred in the middle of Harry 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 Democratic administration's popularity declining during the Cold War, and in the aftermath of a severe recession in 1948, the Republican opposition made a net gain of five seats, nearly taking control of the chamber. The Democrats would hold a narrow 49 to 47 seat majority.
The Republicans defeated incumbents Scott W. Lucas (D-IL) (current Majority Leader), Millard E. Tydings (D-MD), Francis J. Myers (D-PA), and Elbert B. Thomas (D-UT), as well as taking open seats in Idaho and California. The Democrats only defeated one incumbent, Forrest C. Donnell (R-MO).
During the interim, Republicans and Democrats would exchange seats in Michigan and Connecticut due to deaths and appointments, but this would not affect party balance.
A notable freshman was future President Richard M. Nixon, who would be elected Vice President two years later.
Contents |
| State | Incumbent | Party | Result | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Lister Hill | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 76.5 - 23.5 | John G. Crommelin, Jr. (Republican) |
| Arizona | Carl Hayden | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 62.8 - 37.2 | Bruce Brockett (Republican) |
| Arkansas | J. William Fulbright | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, unopposed | |
| California | Sheridan Downey | Democratic | Retired Republican gain, 59.2 - 40.8 |
Richard M. Nixon (Republican) Helen Gahagan Douglas (Democratic) |
| Colorado | Eugene D. Millikin | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 53.3 - 46.8 | John A. Carroll (Democratic) |
| Connecticut | Brien McMahon | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 51.7 - 46.6 | Joseph E. Talbot (Republican) |
| Connecticut Special (Class 1)[1] |
William Benton | Democratic | Incumbent appointee elected to finish term, 49.2 - 49.1 | Prescott S. Bush (Republican) |
| Florida | Claude Pepper | Democratic | Lost renomination Democratic hold, 76.2 - 23.7 |
George A. Smathers (Democratic) John P. Booth (Republican) Stetson Kennedy (Independent) |
| Georgia | Walter F. George | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, unopposed | |
| Idaho | Glen H. Taylor | Democratic | Lost renomination Republican gain, 61.7 - 38.3 |
Herman Welker (Republican) D. Worth Clark (Democratic) |
| Idaho Special (Class 2)[2] |
Henry C. Dworshak | Republican | Incumbent appointee elected to finish term, 51.9 - 48.1 | Claude J. Burtenshaw (Democratic) |
| Illinois | Scott W. Lucas | Democratic | Lost re-election Republican gain, 53.9 - 45.8 |
Everett M. Dirksen (Republican) |
| Indiana | Homer E. Capehart | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 52.8 - 46.4 | Alex M. Campbell (Democratic) |
| Iowa | Bourke B. Hickenlooper | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 54.8 - 44.7 | Albert J. Loveland (Democratic) |
| Kansas | Frank Carlson | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 54.3 - 43.8 | Paul Aiken (Democratic) |
| Kentucky | Earle C. Clements | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 54.2 - 45.1 | Charles I. Dawson (Republican) |
| Louisiana | Russell B. Long | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 87.7 - 12.3 | Charles S. Gerth (Republican) |
| Maryland | Millard E. Tydings | Democratic | Lost re-election Republican gain, 53.0 - 46.0 |
John M. Butler (Republican) |
| Missouri | Forrest C. Donnell | Republican | Lost re-election Democratic gain, 53.6 - 46.4 |
Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (Democratic) |
| Nevada | Patrick A. McCarran | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 58.0 - 42.0 | George E. Marshall (Republican) |
| New Hampshire | Charles W. Tobey | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 55.7 - 38.0 - 6.3 | Emmet J. Kelley (Democratic) Wesley Powell (Independent) |
| New York | Herbert H. Lehman | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 50.3 - 45.3 | Joe R. Hanley (Republican) |
| North Carolina | Clyde R. Hoey | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 68.7 - 31.3 | Halsey B. Leavitt (Republican) |
| North Carolina Special (Class 2)[3] |
Frank Porter Graham | Democratic | Incumbent appointee lost nomination to finish term Democratic hold, 67.0 - 32.6 |
Willis Smith (Democratic) E. L. Gavin (Republican) |
| North Dakota | Milton R. Young | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 67.6 - 32.4 | Harry O'Brien (Democratic) |
| Ohio | Robert A. Taft | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 57.5 - 42.5 | Joseph T. Ferguson (Democratic) |
| Oklahoma | Elmer Thomas | Democratic | Lost renomination Democratic hold, 54.8 - 45.2 |
A. S. Mike Monroney (Democratic) W. H. Bill Alexander (Republican) |
| Oregon | Wayne Morse | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 74.8 - 23.2 | Howard Latourette (Democratic) |
| Pennsylvania | Francis J. Myers | Democratic | Lost re-election Republican gain, 51.3 - 47.7 |
James H. Duff (Republican) |
| Rhode Island Special (Class 1)[4] |
Edward L. Leahy | Democratic | Incumbent appointee retired Democratic hold, 61.6 - 38.4 |
John O. Pastore (Democratic) Austin T. Levy (Republican) |
| South Carolina | Olin B. Johnston | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, unopposed | |
| South Dakota | Chandler Gurney | Republican | Lost renomination Republican hold, 63.9 - 36.1 |
Francis Case (Republican) John A. Engel (Democratic) |
| Utah | Elbert D. Thomas | Democratic | Lost re-election Republican gain, 53.9 - 45.8 |
Wallace F. Bennett (Republican) |
| Vermont | George D. Aiken | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 78.0 - 22.0 | James E. Bigelow (Democratic) |
| Washington | Warren G. Magnuson | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected, 53.4 - 46.0 | Walter Williams (Republican) |
| Wisconsin | Alexander Wiley | Republican | Incumbent re-elected, 53.3 - 46.2 - .4 | Thomas E. Fairchild (Democratic) Edwin Knappe (Socialist) |
| Senate composition in the 81st Congress | Senate composition in the 82nd Congress | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | |||||
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| D | ||||||||||||||||||||
| D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | ||
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |||||
| Color Key: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| D | = Democratic | R | = Republican |
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