United States Senate elections, 1944

November 7, 1944

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

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Alben Barkley	Wallace White
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader's seat	Kentucky	Maine
Seats before	58	37
Seats won	58	37
Seat change
Popular vote	17,590,770	16,127,651
Percentage	50.3%	46.1%
Swing	3.6%	3.1%
Seats up	21	11
Races won	21	11

	Third party

Party	Progressive
Seats before	1
Seats won	1
Seat change
Popular vote	73,089
Percentage	0.2%
Swing	0.2%
Seats up	0
Races won	0

Results including special elections
Democratic gain Democratic hold
Republican hold Republican gain

Majority Leader before election

Alben Barkley
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Alben Barkley
Democratic

The United States Senate elections of 1944 coincided with the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his fourth term as President. The Democrats' large majority remained the same, but they lost one seat to the Republicans in a special election.

Incumbents defeated

Democrats defeated three Republican incumbents: John A. Danaher (Connecticut), Gerald P. Nye (North Dakota), and James J. Davis (Pennsylvania).

Republicans defeated one Democratic incumbent: Guy M. Gillette (IA).

Retirements

Republicans took open seats in Indiana, Missouri, and New Jersey (where a Democrat had been appointed to a Republican vacancy).

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1944.

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	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
Majority →									D₄₉ Ran
D₅₈ Retired	D₅₇ Retired	D₅₆ Retired	D₅₅ Ran	D₅₄ Ran	D₅₃ Ran	D₅₂ Ran	D₅₁ Ran	D₅₀ Ran
P₁	R₃₇ Ran	R₃₆ Ran	R₃₅ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₀ Ran	R₂₉ Ran
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	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

D₃₉ Re-elected	D₄₀ Re-elected	D₄₁ Re-elected	D₄₂ Re-elected	D₄₃ Re-elected	D₄₄ Re-elected	D₄₅ Re-elected	D₄₆ Re-elected	D₄₇ Re-elected	D₄₈ 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 Re-elected	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
Majority →									D₄₉ Re-elected
D₅₈ Gain	D₅₇ Gain	D₅₆ Gain	D₅₅ Hold	D₅₄ Hold	D₅₃ Hold	D₅₂ Hold	D₅₁ Hold	D₅₀ Re-elected
P₁	R₃₇ Gain	R₃₆ Gain	R₃₅ Gain	R₃₄ Hold	R₃₃ Re-elected	R₃₂ Re-elected	R₃₁ Re-elected	R₃₀ Re-elected	R₂₉ Re-elected
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇ Re-elected	R₂₈ Re-elected
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Result of the special elections

		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	D₄₆	D₄₇	D₄₈
Majority →									D₄₉
P₁	D₅₇	D₅₆	D₅₅	D₅₄	D₅₃	D₅₂	D₅₁	D₅₀
R₃₈ Gain	R₃₇ Gain, same as general	R₃₆ Hold	R₃₅ Appointee elected	R₃₄	R₃₃	R₃₂	R₃₁	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
P_#	Progressive
R_#	Republican
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 78th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1944 or before January 3, 1945; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Indiana Class 3	Samuel D. Jackson	Democratic	1944 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 7, 1944. Republican gain. Winner did not run for the next term, see below.	√ William E. Jenner (Republican) 52.1% Henry F. Schricker (Democratic) ?
Massachusetts Class 2	Sinclair Weeks	Republican	1944 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 7, 1944. Republican hold.	√ Leverett Saltonstall (Republican) 64.3% John H. Corcoran (Democratic) 34.9%
New Jersey Class 1	Arthur Walsh	Democratic	1943 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 7, 1944. Republican gain.	√ H. Alexander Smith (Republican) 50.4% Elmer H. Wene (Democratic) 48.8%
Oregon Class 2	Guy Cordon	Republican	1944 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 7, 1944.	√ Guy Cordon (Republican) 57.5% Willis Mahoney (Democratic) 42.5%

Races leading to the 79th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1945; 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	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Lister Hill (Democratic) 81.8% John A. Posey (Republican) 17.0%
Arizona	Carl Hayden	Democratic	1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Carl Hayden (Democratic) 69.4% Fred W. Fickett (Republican) 30.6%
Arkansas	Hattie W. Caraway	Democratic	1931 (Appointed) 1932 (Special) 1932 1938	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ J. William Fulbright (Democratic) 85.1% Victor M. Wade (Republican) 14.9%
California	Sheridan Downey	Democratic	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Sheridan Downey (Democratic) 52.3% Frederick F. Houser (Republican) 47.7%
Colorado	Eugene D. Millikin	Republican	1941 (Appointed) 1942	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Eugene D. Millikin (Republican) 56.1% Barney L. Whatley (Democratic) 43.0%
Connecticut	John A. Danaher	Republican	1938	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Brien McMahon (Democratic) 51.7% John A. Danaher (Republican) 47.3%
Florida	Claude Pepper	Democratic	1936 (Special) 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Claude Pepper (Democratic) 71.3% Miles H. Draper (Republican) 28.7%
Georgia	Walter F. George	Democratic	1922 (Special) 1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Walter F. George (Democratic) Unopposed
Idaho	D. Worth Clark	Democratic	1938	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Glen H. Taylor (Democratic) 51.1% C. A. Bottolfsen (Republican) 48.9%
Illinois	Scott W. Lucas	Democratic	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Scott W. Lucas (Democratic) 52.6% Richard J. Lyons (Republican) 47.1%
Indiana	Samuel D. Jackson	Democratic	1944 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain. Winner did not run to finish the term, see above.	√ Homer E. Capehart (Republican) 50.2% Henry F. Schricker (Democratic) 48.9%
Iowa	Guy M. Gillette	Democratic	1936 (Special) 1938	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Bourke B. Hickenlooper (Republican) 51.3% Guy M. Gillette (Democratic) 48.4%
Kansas	Clyde M. Reed	Republican	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Clyde M. Reed (Republican) 57.8% Thurman Hill (Democratic) 40.7%
Kentucky	Alben W. Barkley	Democratic	1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Alben W. Barkley (Democratic) 54.8% James Park (Republican) 44.9%
Louisiana	John H. Overton	Democratic	1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John H. Overton (Democratic) Unopposed
Maryland	Millard E. Tydings	Democratic	1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Millard E. Tydings (Democratic) 61.7% Blanchard Randall, Jr. (Republican) 38.3%
Missouri	Bennett Champ Clark	Democratic	1932 1933 (Appointed) 1938	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Forrest C. Donnell (Republican) 50.0% Roy McKittrick (Democratic) 49.9%
Nevada	Patrick A. McCarran	Democratic	1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Patrick A. McCarran (Democratic) 58.4% George W. Malone (Republican) 41.6%
New Hampshire	Charles W. Tobey	Republican	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Charles W. Tobey (Republican) 50.9% Joseph J. Betley (Democratic) 49.1%
New York	Robert F. Wagner	Democratic	1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert F. Wagner (Democratic) 53.1% Thomas J. Curran (Republican) 46.7%
North Carolina	Robert R. Reynolds	Democratic	1932 1932 (Special) 1938	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Clyde R. Hoey (Democratic) 70.3% A. I. Ferree (Republican) 29.8%
North Dakota	Gerald P. Nye	Republican	1925 (Appointed) 1926 (Special) 1932 1938	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ John Moses (Democratic) 45.2% Gerald P. Nye (Republican) 33.0% Lynn U. Stambaugh (Independent) 21.2%
Ohio	Robert A. Taft	Republican	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert A. Taft (Republican) 50.3% William G. Pickrel (Democratic) 49.7%
Oklahoma	Elmer Thomas	Democratic	1926 1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Elmer Thomas (Democratic) 55.7% William J. Otjen (Republican) 44.0%
Oregon	Rufus C. Holman	Republican	1938	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Wayne Morse (Republican) 60.7% Edgar W. Smith (Democratic) 39.3%
Pennsylvania	James J. Davis	Republican	1930 (Special) 1932 1938	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Francis J. Myers (Democratic) 50.0% James J. Davis (Republican) 49.4%
South Carolina	Ellison D. Smith	Democratic	1909 1914 1920 1926 1932 1938	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent died November 17, 1944. Different senator appointed just to finish the term.	√ Olin D. Johnston (Democratic) 93.0% James B. Gaston (Republican) 3.7% Osceola E. McKaine (Progressive Democratic) 3.2%
South Dakota	Chandler Gurney	Republican	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Chandler Gurney (Republican) 63.9% George M. Bradshaw (Democratic) 36.1%
Utah	Elbert D. Thomas	Democratic	1932 1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Elbert D. Thomas (Democratic) 59.9% Adam S. Bennion (Republican) 40.1%
Vermont	George D. Aiken	Republican	1940 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ George D. Aiken (Republican) 65.8% Harry W. Witters (Democratic) 34.2%
Washington	Homer Bone	Democratic	1932 1938	Incumbent retired to become Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent resigned November 13, 1944 and winner was appointed December 14, 1944 to the finish term.	√ Warren G. Magnuson (Democratic) 55.1% Harry P. Cain (Republican) 44.4% Ray C. Roberts (Socialist) 0.2% Josephine B. Sulston (Prohibition) 0.2%
Wisconsin	Alexander Wiley	Republican	1938	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Alexander Wiley (Republican) 50.5% Howard J. McMurray (Democratic) 42.8% Harry Sauthoff (Progressive) 5.8%

Complete list of races

Arizona

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1944^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl T. Hayden	90,335	69.37%
	Republican	Fred Wildon Fickett, Jr.	39,891	30.63%
Majority			50,444	38.74%
Turnout			130,226
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Massachusetts

Incumbent U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. resigned February 3, 1944 to return to active duty in the U.S. Army during World War II. Republican Sinclair Weeks was appointed February 8, 1944 to continue the term until an election was held. A special election was held on November 7, 1944 with Republican Massachusetts Governor Leverett Saltonstall defeating his challengers. He didn't take office until January 4, 1945, when his term as Governor ended.

General election
	Candidate	Votes	%	±
Republican	Leverett Saltonstall	1,228,754	64.29%	+11.85%
Democratic	John H. Corcoran	667,086	34.90%	-11.71%
Socialist Labor	Bernard G. Kelly	12,296	0.64%	+0.29%
Prohibition	E. Tallmadge Root	3,269	0.17%	-0.09%

New York

The Socialist Labor state convention met on April 2 at the Cornish Arms Hotel, the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street, in New York City. They nominated Eric Hass for the U.S. Senate.^[2] At that time, the party used the name "Industrial Government Party" on the ballot, but was also referred to as the "Industrial Labor Party".

The Liberal Party was organized by a state convention with about 1,100 delegates who met on May 19 and 20 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. They endorsed the incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner for re-election.^[3] The party filed a petition to nominate candidates which was allowed by Secretary of State Curran on August 25.^[4]

The Republican State Committee met on August 8 at Albany, New York. They nominated Secretary of State Thomas J. Curran for the U.S. Senate.^[5]

The Democratic State Committee met on August 8 at the National Democratic Club at 233, Madison Avenue in New York City. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner.^[6]

The American Labor state convention met on August 10. They endorsed the Democratic nominee Wagner.^[7]

The Democratic/American Labor/Liberal ticket was elected and incumbent Wagner was re-elected.

Democratic	Robert F. Wagner	2,485,735
Republican	Thomas J. Curran	2,899,497
American Labor	Robert F. Wagner	483,785
Liberal	Robert F. Wagner	325,056
Industrial Government	Eric Hass	15,244

Pennsylvania

General election results^[8]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Francis J. Myers	1,864,622	49.99%
Republican	James J. Davis (incumbent)	1,840,938	49.35%
Socialist	J. Henry Stump	14,129	0.38%
Prohibition	Charles Palmer	8,599	0.23%
Socialist Labor	Frank Knotek	1,989	0.05%

South Carolina

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1944
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Olin D. Johnston	94,556	93.0	-5.9
	Republican	James B. Gaston	3,807	3.7	N/A
	Progressive Democratic	Osceola E. McKaine	3,214	3.2	+3.2
	Republican (Tolbert)	B.L. Hendrix	141	0.1	N/A
	No party	Write-Ins	18	0.0	0.0
Majority			90,749	89.3	-8.5
Turnout			101,736
	Democratic hold

65+% won by Johnston

Vermont

United States Senate election in Vermont, 1944^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Aiken (inc.)	81,094	61.6%
	Democratic	Harry W. Witters	42,136	34.2%
Total votes			123,230	100.0%

References

↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3299
↑ "2 CANDIDATES NAMED BY SOCIALIST LABOR". The New York Times. April 3, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "NEW PARTY FIXES 400,000-VOTE GOAL FOR ROOSEVELT". The New York Times. May 21, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "LIBERAL PARTY WINS; Curran Overrules Objections by O'Connor to Petitions". The New York Times. August 26, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "CURRAN IS NAMED". The New York Times. August 9, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "DEMOCRATS NAME WAGNER AND DYE". The New York Times. August 9, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "ROOSEVELT NAMED AT ALP CONVENTION; Wagner, Also Renominated". The New York Times. August 11, 1944. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
↑ "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved June 17, 2015.

United States Senate elections

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