United States Senate elections, 1950

November 7, 1950^[1]

32^[1] of the 96 seats in the United States Senate
49 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Ernest McFarland	Ken Wherry
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader's seat	Arizona	Nebraska
Seats before	54	42
Seats after	49	47
Seat change	5	5
Popular vote	15,297,854	16,166,439
Percentage	47.2%	49.9%
Swing	9.0%	7.3%
Seats up	20	12
Races won	15	17

Results including special elections
Democratic gains Democratic holds
Republican holds Republican gains

Majority Leader before election

Scott Lucas
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Ernest McFarland
Democratic

The United States Senate elections of 1950 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.

Gains and losses

The Republicans defeated four incumbent Democrats:

Illinois: Democrat Scott W. Lucas (the incumbent Majority Leader), lost to Everett Dirksen (R).
Maryland: Millard Tydings (D) lost to John M. Butler (R).
Pennsylvania: Francis J. Myers (D) lost to James H. Duff (R).
Utah: Elbert B. Thomas (D) lost to Wallace F. Bennett (R).

Ticket to a victory dinner for Richard Nixon at the Wm. Penn Hotel.

Republicans also won two open seats:

Idaho: Glen H. Taylor (D) lost renomination to David Worth Clark, who ended up losing the general election to Herman Welker (R).
California: Sheridan Downey (D) retired, citing ill health and facing a tough renomination fight against Helen Gahagan Douglas, who ended up losing the general election to Richard Nixon (R).

Democrats defeated one incumbent Republican:

Missouri: Forrest C. Donnell (R) lost to Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (D)

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D₃₉ Ran	D₄₀ Ran	D₄₁ Ran	D₄₂ Ran	D₄₃ Ran	D₄₄ Ran	D₄₅ Ran	D₄₆ Ran	D₄₇ Ran	D₄₈ Ran
		D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉
D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈
D₃₈ Ran	D₃₇ Ran	D₃₆ Ran	D₃₅ Ran	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
Majority →									D₄₉ Ran
R₃₉ Ran	R₄₀ Ran	R₄₁ Ran	R₄₂ Retired	D₅₄ Retired	D₅₃ Retired	D₅₂ Ran	D₅₁ Ran	D₅₀ Ran
R₃₈ Ran	R₃₇ Ran	R₃₆ Ran	R₃₅ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₀	R₂₉
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Results of the general elections

D₃₉ Re-elected	D₄₀ Re-elected	D₄₁ Re-elected	D₄₂ Re-elected	D₄₃ Re-elected	D₄₄ Re-elected	D₄₅ Re-elected	D₄₆ Hold	D₄₇ Hold	D₄₈ Hold
		D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉
D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈
D₃₈ Re-elected	D₃₇ Re-elected	D₃₆ Re-elected	D₃₅ Re-elected	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
Majority →									D₄₉ Gain
R₃₉ Re-elected	R₄₀ Re-elected	R₄₁ Hold	R₄₂ Hold	R₄₃ Gain	R₄₄ Gain	R₄₅ Gain	R₄₆ Gain	R₄₇ Gain
R₃₈ Re-elected	R₃₇ Re-elected	R₃₆ Re-elected	R₃₅ Re-elected	R₃₄ Re-elected	R₃₃ Re-elected	R₃₂ Re-elected	R₃₁ Re-elected	R₃₀	R₂₉
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Key:

D_#	Democratic
R_#	Republican

Race summaries

Special elections during the 81st Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1950 or before January 3, 1951; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Connecticut (Class 1)	William Benton	Democratic	1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 7, 1950.	√ William Benton (Democratic) 49.2% Prescott S. Bush (Republican) 49.1%
Idaho (Class 2)	Henry C. Dworshak	Republican	1946 (Special) 1948 (Lost) 1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 7, 1950.	√ Henry C. Dworshak (Republican) 51.9% Claude J. Burtenshaw (Democratic) 48.1%
Kansas (Class 3)	Harry Darby	Republican	1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired November 28, 1950 when successor's election was certified. Successor elected November 7, 1950. Republican hold. Winner was also elected to finish the term, see below.	√ Frank Carlson (Republican) 55.2% Paul Aiken (Democratic) 44.8%
Kentucky (Class 3)	Garrett L. Withers	Democratic	1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee resigned to trigger special election. Successor elected November 7, 1950. Democratic hold. Winner was also elected to finish the term, see below.	√ Earle C. Clements (Democratic) 54.4% Charles I. Dawson (Republican) 45.6%
North Carolina (Class 2)	Frank Porter Graham	Democratic	1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination to finish term. Winner elected November 7, 1950. Democratic hold.	√ Willis Smith (Democratic) 67.0% E. L. Gavin (Republican) 32.6%
Rhode Island (Class 1)	Edward L. Leahy	Democratic	1949 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. Winner elected November 7, 1950. Democratic hold.	√ John O. Pastore (Democratic) 61.6% Austin T. Levy (Republican) 38.4%

Races leading to the 82nd Congress

In these general elections, the winner was seated on January 3, 1951; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Lister Hill	Democratic	1938 (Appointed) 1938 (Special) 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Lister Hill (Democratic) 76.5% John G. Crommelin, Jr. (Independent) 23.5%
Arizona	Carl Hayden	Democratic	1926 1932 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Carl Hayden (Democratic) 62.8% Bruce Brockett (Republican) 37.2%
Arkansas	J. William Fulbright	Democratic	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ J. William Fulbright (Democratic) Unopposed
California	Sheridan Downey	Democratic	1938 1944	Incumbent ran, but then retired due to ill health. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned November 30, 1950 due to ill health and the winner was appointed December 1, 1950 to finish the therm.	√ Richard M. Nixon (Republican) 59.2% Helen Gahagan Douglas (Democratic) 40.8%
Colorado	Eugene D. Millikin	Republican	1941 (Appointed) 1942 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Eugene D. Millikin (Republican) 53.3% John A. Carroll (Democratic) 46.8%
Connecticut	Brien McMahon	Democratic	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Brien McMahon (Democratic) 51.7% Joseph E. Talbot (Republican) 46.6%
Florida	Claude Pepper	Democratic	1936 (Special) 1938 1944	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.^[2]	√ George A. Smathers (Democratic) 76.2% John P. Booth (Republican) 23.7%
Georgia	Walter F. George	Democratic	1922 (Special) 1926 1932 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Walter F. George (Democratic) Unopposed
Idaho	Glen H. Taylor	Democratic	1944	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Herman Welker (Republican) 61.7% D. Worth Clark (Democratic) 38.3%
Illinois	Scott W. Lucas	Democratic	1938 1944	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Everett M. Dirksen (Republican) 53.9% Scott W. Lucas (Democratic) 45.8%
Indiana	Homer E. Capehart	Republican	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Homer E. Capehart (Republican) 52.8% Alex Campbell (Democratic) 46.4%
Iowa	Bourke B. Hickenlooper	Republican	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bourke B. Hickenlooper (Republican) 54.8% Albert J. Loveland (Democratic) 44.7%
Kansas	Harry Darby	Republican	1949 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Winner was also elected to finish the current term, see above.	√ Frank Carlson (Republican) 54.3% Paul Aiken (Democratic) 43.8%
Kentucky	Garrett L. Withers	Democratic	1949 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent resigned to trigger special election and winner was also elected to finish the current term, see above.	√ Earle C. Clements (Democratic) 54.2% Charles I. Dawson (Republican) 45.1%
Louisiana	Russell B. Long	Democratic	1948 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Russell B. Long (Democratic) 87.7% Charles S. Gerth (Republican) 12.3%
Maryland	Millard E. Tydings	Democratic	1944	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ John M. Butler (Republican) 53.0% Millard E. Tydings (Democratic) 46.0%
Missouri	Forrest C. Donnell	Republican	1944	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (Democratic) 53.6% Forrest C. Donnell (Republican) 46.4%
Nevada	Patrick A. McCarran	Democratic	1932 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Patrick A. McCarran (Democratic) 58.0% George E. Marshall (Republican) 42.0%
New Hampshire	Charles W. Tobey	Republican	1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Charles W. Tobey (Republican) 55.7% Emmet J. Kelley (Democratic) 38.0% Wesley Powell (Independent) 6.3%
New York	Herbert H. Lehman	Democratic	1926 1932 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Herbert H. Lehman (Democratic) 50.3% Joe R. Hanley (Republican) 45.3%
North Carolina	Clyde R. Hoey	Democratic	1932 1932 (Special) 1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Clyde R. Hoey (Democratic) 68.7% Halsey B. Leavitt (Republican) 31.3%
North Dakota	Milton R. Young	Republican	1945 (Appointed) 1946 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Milton R. Young (Republican) 67.6% Harry O'Brien (Democratic) 32.4%
Ohio	Robert A. Taft	Republican	1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert A. Taft (Republican) 57.5% Joseph T. Ferguson (Democratic) 42.5%
Oklahoma	Elmer Thomas	Democratic	1926 1932 1938 1944	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ A. S. Mike Monroney (Democratic) 54.8% W. H. Bill Alexander (Republican) 45.2%
Oregon	Wayne Morse	Republican	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Wayne Morse (Republican) 74.8% Howard Latourette (Democratic) 23.2%
Pennsylvania	Francis J. Myers	Democratic	1944	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ James H. Duff (Republican) 51.3% Francis J. Myers (Democratic) 47.7%
South Carolina	Olin B. Johnston	Democratic	1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Olin B. Johnston (Democratic) Unopposed
South Dakota	Chandler Gurney	Republican	1938 1944	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Francis Case (Republican) 63.9% John A. Engel (Democratic) 36.1%
Utah	Elbert D. Thomas	Democratic	1932 1938 1944	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Wallace F. Bennett (Republican) 53.9% Elbert D. Thomas (Democratic) 45.8%
Vermont	George D. Aiken	Republican	1940 (Special) 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ George D. Aiken (Republican) 78.0% James E. Bigelow (Democratic) 22.0%
Washington	Warren G. Magnuson	Democratic	1944 (Appointed) 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Warren G. Magnuson (Democratic) 53.4% Walter Williams (Republican) 46.0%
Wisconsin	Alexander Wiley	Republican	1938 1944	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Alexander Wiley (Republican) 53.3% Thomas E. Fairchild (Democratic) 46.2% Edwin Knappe (Socialist) 0.4%

Special elections during the 82nd Congress

There were no elections in 1951 to the 82nd Congress.

Complete list of races

Arizona

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Hayden ran for re-election to a fifth term, defeating Republican nominee Bruce Brockett in the general election. Brockett was formerly the Republican nominee for governor in both 1946 and 1948.

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl T. Hayden, incumbent U.S. Senator	95,544	70.97%
	Democratic	Cecil H. Miller, Arizona Farm Bureau	24,340	18.08%
	Democratic	Robert E. Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate in 1938, 1940	14,752	10.96%
Total votes			134,636	100.00

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1950^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl T. Hayden	116,246	62.80%
	Republican	Bruce Brockett, Republican nominee for governor in 1946, 1948	68,846	37.20%
Majority			47,400	25.60%
Turnout			185,092
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

California

Florida

Democratic incumbent Senator Claude Pepper lost renomination May 2, 1950 to George A. Smathers, who easily won the general election.^[2]

New York

The Socialist Workers state convention met on July 9, and nominated Joseph Hansen for the U.S. Senate.^[5]

The American Labor state convention met on September 6 and nominated W.E.B. DuBois for the U.S. Senate.^[6]

The Republican state convention met on September 7 at Saratoga Springs, New York. They re-nominated nominated Lieutenant Governor Joe R. Hanley for the U.S. Senate.^[7]

The Democratic state convention met on September 7 at Rochester, New York, and re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Herbert H. Lehman^[8]

The Liberal state convention met on September 6 and 7 at the Statler Hotel in New York City, and endorsed Democratic nominee Lehman.^[9]

Although almost the whole Republican state-wide ticket was elected in a landslide, only the Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator, Ex-Governor Herbert H. Lehman, managed to stay in office.

Republican ticket		Democratic ticket		Liberal ticket		American Labor ticket		Socialist Workers ticket		Industrial Government ticket
Joe R. Hanley	2,367,353	Herbert H. Lehman	2,319,719	Herbert H. Lehman	312,594	W. E. B. Du Bois	205,729	Joseph Hansen	13,340	Stephen Emery	7,559

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Vermont

References

"DEWEY'S PLURALITY OFFICIALLY 572,668; Canvassers' Tabulation Shows Lehman Defeated Hanley by Margin of 246,960". The New York Times. December 15, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).
New York Red Book 1951

Notes

1 2 There were also special elections in November 1950.
1 2 "FL US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=268955
↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3298
↑ "TROTSKYISTS PICK TICKET". The New York Times. July 10, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "TRUMAN SHAMMING, MARCANTONIO SAYS; ...Slate for A.L.P. Is Listed". The New York Times. September 7, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "LEADING CANDIDATES ON THE STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S TICKET". The New York Times. September 8, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "Lynch, Nominated, Accuses Dewey of 'Unholy Coalition'; Lehman, Balch, Young, D'Amanda Also in 'Balanced' Ticket". The New York Times. September 8, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "3 DEMOCRATS STIR LIBERAL'S REVOLT; Party Nominates Lehman and Lynch but Rejects Balch, Young and D'Amanda". The New York Times. September 8, 1950. (Subscription required (help)).

United States Senate elections

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