United States Senate elections, 1934

November 6, 1934^[1]

32 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate
49 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Joseph Robinson	Charles McNary
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader's seat	Arkansas	Oregon
Seats before	60	35
Seats won	69	25
Seat change	9	10
Seats up	14	17
Races won	23	7

	Third party	Fourth party

Party	Farmer–Labor	Progressive
Seats before	1	0
Seats won	1	1
Seat change		1
Seats up	1	0
Races won	1	1

Results including special elections
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     Progressive gain      Progressive hold
     Farmer–Labor gain      Farmer–Labor hold

Majority Leader before election

Joseph Robinson
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Joseph Robinson
Democratic

The United States Senate elections of 1934 occurred in the middle of Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term. In the middle of the Great Depression, voters strongly backed Roosevelt's New Deal and his allies in the Senate. The Democrats picked up a net of nine seats, giving them a supermajority (which required 64 seats, two-thirds of the total 96 seats in 1934).^[2]

Milestones

This marked the first time since the Civil War where an incumbent president's party gained Senate seats during a midterm election, later being followed by John F. Kennedy in 1962, Richard Nixon in 1970, and George W. Bush in 2002.

Gains and losses

The Democrats took nine Republican seats, including an open seat in Maryland and the seats of eight incumbents.

Losing incumbents

Connecticut: Frederic C. Walcott (R) lost to Francis T. Maloney (D)
Indiana: Arthur Raymond Robinson (R) lost to Sherman Minton (D)
Missouri: Roscoe C. Patterson (R) lost to Harry S. Truman (D)
New Jersey: Hamilton F. Kean (R) lost to A. Harry Moore (D)
Ohio: Simeon D. Fess (R) lost to Vic Donahey (D)
Pennsylvania: David A. Reed (R) lost to Joseph F. Guffey (D)
Rhode Island: Felix Hebert (R) lost to Peter G. Gerry (D)
West Virginia: Henry D. Hatfield (R) lost to Rush D. Holt (D)

Retirement

Maryland: George L. P. Radcliffe (D) picked up the seat when Phillips Lee Goldsborough (R) retired.

Party change

Wisconsin: Republicans suffered an additional loss when Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (R) joined the Progressive Party.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

Going into the November 1934 elections.

D₅₈ Ran	D₅₇ Ran	D₅₆ Ran	D₅₅ Ran	D₅₄ Ran	D₅₃ Ran	D₅₂ Ran	D₅₁ Ran	D₅₀ 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	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₅	D₄₇ Ran	D₄₈ Ran
Majority →									D₄₉ Ran
D₅₉ Retired	D₆₀ Retired	FL₁ Ran	R₃₅ Retired	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₀ Ran	R₂₉ Ran
R₁₉ Ran	R₂₀ Ran	R₂₁ Ran	R₂₂ Ran	R₂₃ Ran	R₂₄ Ran	R₂₅ Ran	R₂₆ Ran	R₂₇ Ran	R₂₈ Ran
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Result of the general elections

D₅₈ Hold	D₅₇ Re-elected	D₅₆ Re-elected	D₅₅ Re-elected	D₅₄ Re-elected	D₅₃ Re-elected	D₅₂ Re-elected	D₅₁ Re-elected	D₅₀ Re-elected
		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	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₅	D₄₇ Re-elected	D₄₈ Re-elected
Majority →									D₄₉ Re-elected
D₅₉ Hold	D₆₀ Hold	D₆₁ Gain	D₆₂ Gain	D₆₃ Gain	D₆₄ Gain	D₆₅ Gain	D₆₆ Gain	D₆₇ Gain	D₆₈ Gain
R₁₉ Re-elected	R₂₀ Re-elected	R₂₁ Re-elected	R₂₂ Re-elected	R₂₃ Re-elected	R₂₄ Re-elected	R₂₅ Re-elected	P₁ Re-elected new party	FL₁ Re-elected	D₆₉ Gain
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Beginning of the next Congress

		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	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₅	D₄₇	D₄₈
Majority →									D₄₉
D₅₈	D₅₇	D₅₆	D₅₅	D₅₄	D₅₃	D₅₂	D₅₁	D₅₀
D₅₉	D₆₀	D₆₁	D₆₂	D₆₃	D₆₄	D₆₅	D₆₆	D₆₇	D₆₈
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	P₁	FL₁	V₁ D ineligible
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Key:

D_#	Democratic
FL_#	Farmer-Labor
P_#	Progressive
R_#	Republican
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 73rd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1934 or before January 3, 1935; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Vermont (Class 3)	Ernest W. Gibson	Republican	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 16, 1934.	√ Ernest W. Gibson (Republican), 58.2% Harry W. Witters (Democratic), 41.8%
Montana (Class 2)	John E. Erickson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 6, 1934. Democratic hold.	√ James E. Murray (Democratic) 59.6% Scott Leavitt (Republican) 39.5%
Nebraska (Class 1)	William H. Thompson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 6, 1934. Democratic hold. Winner was not elected to the next term, see below.	√ Richard C. Hunter (Democratic) 56.45% J.H. Kemp (Republican) 43.55%
New Mexico (Class 2)	Carl A. Hatch	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 6, 1934.	√ Carl A. Hatch (Democratic) 54.5% Richard C. Dillon (Republican) 45.0%
Tennessee (Class 2)	Nathan L. Bachman	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 6, 1934.	√ Nathan L. Bachman (Democratic) 80.1% John R. Neal (Independent) 19.9%

Elections leading to the 74th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1935; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Arizona	Henry F. Ashurst	Democratic	1912 1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Henry F. Ashurst (Democratic) 72.0% J. E. Thompson (Republican) 25.6%
California	Hiram W. Johnson	Republican	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Hiram W. Johnson (Republican) 94.5% George R. Kirkpatrick (Socialist) 5.3%
Connecticut	Frederic C. Walcott	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Francis T. Maloney (Democratic) 51.8% Frederic C. Walcott (Republican) 48.3%
Delaware	John G. Townsend, Jr.	Republican	1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John G. Townsend, Jr. (Republican) 53.3% Wilbur L. Adams (Democratic) 46.2%
Florida	Park Trammell	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Park Trammell (Democratic) Unopposed
Indiana	Arthur Raymond Robinson	Republican	1925 (Appointed) 1926 (Special) 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Sherman Minton (Democratic) 51.5% Arthur Raymond Robinson (Republican) 47.5%
Maine	Frederick Hale	Republican	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frederick Hale (Republican) 50.1% Frederick Harold Dubord (Democratic) 49.7%
Maryland	Phillips Lee Goldsborough	Republican	1928	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ George L. P. Radcliffe (Democratic) 56.1% Joseph I. France (Republican) 42.0%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	1926 (Special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ David I. Walsh (Democratic) 59.4% Robert M. Washburn (Republican) 37.4%
Michigan	Arthur H. Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (Appointed) 1928 (Special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Arthur H. Vandenberg (Republican) 51.3% Frank A. Picard (Democratic) 47.0% John Monarch (Socialist)^[3] 1.7%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Farmer–Labor	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Henrik Shipstead (Farmer–Labor) 49.9% Einar Hoidale (Democratic) 29.2% N. J. Holmberg (Republican) 19.8%
Mississippi	Hubert D. Stephens	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic) Unopposed
Missouri	Roscoe C. Patterson	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Harry S. Truman (Democratic) 59.5% Roscoe C. Patterson (Republican) 39.7% W. C. Meyer (Socialist) 0.7%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Burton K. Wheeler (Democratic) 70.1% George M. Bourquin (Republican) 28.7%
Nebraska	William H. Thompson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Winner was not elected to finish the current term, see above.	√ Edward R. Burke (Democratic) 55.3% Robert G. Simmons (Republican) 42.9%
Nevada	Key Pittman	Democratic	1913 (Special) 1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Key Pittman (Democratic) 64.5% George W. Malone (Republican) 33.4%
New Jersey	Hamilton F. Kean	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ A. Harry Moore (Democratic) 57.9% Hamilton F. Kean (Republican) 40.9%
New Mexico	Bronson M. Cutting	Republican	1927 (Appointed) 1928 (Retired) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bronson M. Cutting (Republican) 50.2% Dennis Chavez (Democratic) 49.4%
New York	Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Royal S. Copeland (Democratic) 55.3% E. Harold Cluett (Republican) 36.9% Norman Thomas (Socialist) 5.3%
North Dakota	Lynn J. Frazier	Republican	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Lynn J. Frazier (Republican) 58.2% Henry Holt (Democratic) 40.2%
Ohio	Simeon D. Fess	Republican	1922 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Vic Donahey (Democratic) 60.0% Simeon D. Fess (Republican) 39.4%
Pennsylvania	David A. Reed	Republican	1922 (Appointed) 1922 (Special) 1922 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Joseph F. Guffey (Democratic) 50.8% David A. Reed (Republican) 46.5%
Rhode Island	Felix Hebert	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Peter G. Gerry (Democratic) 57.1% Felix Hebert (Republican) 42.9%
Tennessee	Kenneth D. McKellar	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kenneth D. McKellar (Democratic) 63.4% Ben W. Hooper (Republican) 35.8%
Texas	Tom Connally	Democratic	1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Tom Connally (Democratic) 96.7%
Utah	William H. King	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	√ William H. King (Democratic) 53.1% Don B. Colton (Republican) 45.4%
Vermont	Warren R. Austin	Republican	1931 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Warren R. Austin (Republican) 51.0% Fred C. Martin (Democratic) 48.4%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1933 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) 76.0% Lawrence C. Page (Republican) 20.9%
Washington	Clarence C. Dill	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Lewis B. Schwellenbach (Democratic) 60.9% Reno Odlin (Republican) 34.0%
West Virginia	Henry D. Hatfield	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Rush D. Holt (Democratic) 55.1% Henry D. Hatfield (Republican) 44.4%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette, Jr.	Republican	1925 (Special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected in new party Progressive gain.	√ Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (Progressive) 47.8% John M. Callahan (Democratic) 24.2% John B. Chapple (Republican) 22.8%
Wyoming	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	√ Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.6% Vincent Carter (Republican) 43.0%

Complete list of races

Arizona

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1934^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry F. Ashurst	67,648	72.03%
	Republican	Joseph Edward Thompson	24,075	25.63%
	Socialist	Charles D. Pinkerton	1,591	1.69%
	Communist	Ramon Garcia	606	0.65%
Majority			43,573	46.40%
Turnout			93,920
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Massachusetts

United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1934^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	David I. Walsh	852,776	59.39
Republican	Robert M. Washburn	536,692	37.38
Socialist	Albert Sprague Coolidge	22,092	1.54
Prohibition	Barnard Smith	10,363	0.72
Socialist Labor	Albert L. Waterman	8,245	0.57
Communist	Paul C. Wicks	5,757	0.40

Montana

United States Senate election in Montana, 1934^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Burton K. Wheeler (inc.)	142,823	70.14%	+16.94%
	Republican	George M. Bourquin	58,519	28.74%	-18.06%
	Socialist	William F. Held	1,381	0.68%
	Communist	Raymond F. Gray	903	0.44%
Majority			84,304	41.40%	+35.00%
Turnout			203,626
	Democratic hold		Swing

Montana (Special)

United States Senate special election in Montana, 1934^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	James E. Murray	116,965	59.66%	-0.67%
	Republican	Scott Leavitt	77,307	39.43%	+1.56%
	Socialist	John F. Duffy	1,779	0.91%	+0.34%
Majority			39,658	20.23%	-2.22%
Turnout			196,051
	Democratic hold		Swing

New York

In New York, the whole Democratic ticket was elected in the third landslide in a row.

**1934 state election results**
Office	Democratic ticket		Republican ticket		Socialist ticket		Communist ticket		Constitutional ticket		Law Preservation ticket		Socialist Labor ticket
U.S. Senator	Royal S. Copeland	2,046,377	E. Harold Cluett	1,363,440	Norman Thomas	194,952	Max Bedacht	45,396	Henry Breckinridge	24,241	William Sheafe Chase	16,769	Olive M. Johnson	6,622

Pennsylvania

General election results^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Joseph F. Guffey	1,494,010	50.78%	+16.78%
	Republican	David A. Reed (inc.)	1,366,872	46.46%	-17.92%
	Socialist	James H. Maurer	50,444	0.39%	-0.37%
	Prohibition	Edwin J. Fithian	19,985	0.68%	+0.19%
	Communist	Harry M. Wicks	6,170	0.21%	+0.21%
	Socialist Labor	George W. Ohls	4,665	0.16%	+0.12%
	N/A	Other	129	0.00%	N/A
Totals			2,942,275	100.00%

Vermont

United States Senate election in Vermont, 1934^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Warren Austin (inc.)	67,146	51.0
	Democratic	Fred C. Martin	63,632	48.4
	N/A	Other	3	0.0
Total votes			131,552	100

Vermont (Special)

United States Senate special election in Vermont, 1934^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernest W. Gibson, Sr.	28,436	58.2%
	Democratic	Harry W. Witters	20,382	41.7%
	N/A	Other	12	0.1%
Total votes			48,830	100.0%

Virginia

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1934^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (inc.)	109,963	75.96%	+4.65%
	Republican	Lawrence C. Page	30,289	20.92%	-5.75%
	Independent	J. L. Litz	1,503	1.04%
	Socialist	Herman R. Ansell	1,127	0.78%	+0.10%
	Independent	John G. Bowman	1,046	0.72%
	Communist	Alexander Wright	431	0.30%	+0.30%
	Prohibition	Hewman H. Raymond	391	0.27%	-0.15%
	Write-ins		22	0.02%	+0.02%
Majority			79,674	55.03%	+10.39%
Turnout			144,772
	Democratic hold

References

↑ There was a general election September 10, 1934 in Maine, as well as special elections in January and November 1934.
↑ Arthur Krock (November 7, 1934). "Tide Sweeps Nation". New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
↑ http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/monaco-monro.html#monarch
↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3286
↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=268000
1 2 3 4 "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
1 2 "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved June 16, 2015.

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