1946 United States Senate elections

1946 United States Senate elections
	November 5, 1946
	November 5, 1946
32 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate; 49 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; No election
Majority Leader before election; Alben Barkley; Democratic	Elected Majority Leader ; Wallace White; Republican

The 1946 United States Senate elections were held November 5, 1946, in the middle of Democratic President Harry S. Truman's first term.

The Republicans took control of the Senate by picking up twelve seats, mostly from the Democrats.

The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Truman, whose approval rating had sunk to 32%[1] over the president's controversial handling of a wave of post-war labor strikes, such as a nationwide railroad strike in May, at a time when Americans depended on train service for both commuter and long-distance travel. Just as damaging was Truman's back-and-forth over whether to end unpopular wartime price controls to handle shortages, particularly in foodstuffs. For example, price controls on beef had led to a "hamburger famine", but when Truman, in a surprise move, lifted the controls on October 14 — just weeks before the election — meat prices shot up to record levels.

Republican wave

The president's lack of popular support is widely seen as the reason for the Democrats' congressional defeat, the largest since they were trounced in the 1928 pro-Republican wave that brought Herbert Hoover to power. And for the first time since before the Great Depression, Republicans were seen as the party which could best handle the American economy.

However, the Republicans also benefited from what today would be called "a good map," meaning that of the one-third of Senate seats up for election, the majority were held by Democrats.

Besides the Republicans being able to hold onto all of their seats, this was the party's largest senate gain since 1920.

Gains and losses

In addition to a net Republican gain by appointment before the election, the Republicans picked up twelve seats, eleven of them from Democrats, and one from Wisconsin Progressive Robert M. La Follette Jr.. This gave them a Senate majority for the first time since Hoover's administration.

In addition to capturing open seats in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and New York, the Republicans defeated seven Democratic incumbents:

Delaware: James M. Tunnell
Massachusetts: David I. Walsh
Missouri: Frank P. Briggs, seat was previously held by Truman.
Ohio: James W. Huffman
Pennsylvania: Joseph F. Guffey
Utah: Abe Murdock
Washington: Hugh B. Mitchell

Change in composition

Before the 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 Md. Ran	D₃₇ Idaho (sp) Ran	D₃₆ Fla. Ran	D₃₅ Del. Ran	D₃₄ Ariz. Ran	D₃₃ Ala. (sp) Retired	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉ Mass. Ran	D₄₀ Miss. Ran	D₄₁ Mo. Ran	D₄₂ Mont. Ran	D₄₃ Nev. Ran	D₄₄ N.M. Ran	D₄₅ N.Y. Retired	D₄₆ Ohio (reg) Ohio (sp) Retired	D₄₇ Pa. Ran	D₄₈ R.I. Retired
Majority →									D₄₉ Tenn. Ran
R₃₉ Vt. Ran	P₁ Wis. Ran	D₅₆ Wyo. Ran	D₅₅ W.Va. Ran	D₅₄ Wash. Ran	D₅₃ Va. (sp) Retired	D₅₂ Va. (reg) Ran	D₅₁ Utah Ran	D₅₀ Texas Ran	D₄₉ Tenn. Ran
R₃₈ N.D. (sp) Ran	R₃₇ N.D. (reg) Ran	R₃₆ N.J. Ran	R₃₅ Neb. Ran	R₃₄ Minn. Ran	R₃₃ Mich. Ran	R₃₂ Maine Ran	R₃₁ Ky. (sp) Retired	R₃₀ Ind. Retired	R₂₉ Conn. (reg) Conn. (sp) Retired
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈ Calif. (reg) Calif. (sp) Ran
R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Election results

		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 N.M. Re-elected	D₃₇ Miss. Re-elected	D₃₆ Md. Hold	D₃₅ Fla. Elected[lower-alpha 1]	D₃₄ Ariz. Re-elected	D₃₃ Ala. (sp) Hold	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉ R.I. Hold	D₄₀ Tenn. Re-elected	D₄₁ Texas Re-elected	D₄₂ Va. (reg) Re-elected	D₄₃ Va. (sp) Hold	D₄₄ W.Va. Re-elected	D₄₅ Wyo. Re-elected	R₅₁ Wis. Gain	R₅₀ Wash. Gain	R₄₉ Vt. Elected[lower-alpha 1]
Majority →									R₄₉ Vt. Elected[lower-alpha 1]
R₃₉ Mont. Gain	R₄₀ Neb. Re-elected	R₄₁ Nev. Gain	R₄₂ N.J. Re-elected	R₄₃ N.Y. Gain	R₄₄ N.D. (reg) Re-elected	R₄₅ N.D. (sp) Elected[lower-alpha 1]	R₄₆ Ohio (reg) Gain Ohio (sp) Gain	R₄₇ Pa. Gain	R₄₈ Utah Gain
R₃₈ Mo. Gain	R₃₇ Minn. Hold	R₃₆ Mich. Re-elected	R₃₅ Mass. Gain	R₃₄ Maine Re-elected	R₃₃ Ky. (sp) Hold	R₃₂ Ind. Hold	R₃₁ Idaho (sp) Gain	R₃₀ Del. Gain	R₂₉ Conn. (reg) Conn. (sp) Hold
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈ Calif. (reg) Calif. (sp) Elected[lower-alpha 1]
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

Race summaries

Special elections during the 79th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1946; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama (Class 2)	George R. Swift	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Democratic hold.	Y John Sparkman (Democratic) Unopposed
California (Class 1)	William Knowland	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1946. Winner also elected to next term, see below.	Y William Knowland (Republican) 55.8% Will Rogers Jr. (Democratic) 15.9% Frederic C. Smedley 3.2% George H. McLain (Democratic) 3.12%[2]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Thomas C. Hart	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican hold. Winner also elected to next term, see below.	Y Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 55.8% Joseph M. Tone (Democratic) 40.5% Frederic C. Smedley 3.2%[3]
Idaho (Class 2)	Charles C. Gossett	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican gain.	Y Henry Dworshak (Republican) 58.6% George E. Donart (Democratic) 41.4%
Kentucky (Class 2)	William A. Stanfill	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican hold.	Y John Sherman Cooper (Republican) 53.3% John Y. Brown Sr. (Democratic) 46.5%
North Dakota (Class 3)	Milton Young	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1946.	Y Milton Young (Republican) 55.5% William Lanier (Democratic) 27.4% Gerald Nye (Independent) 15.2%
Ohio (Class 1)	James W. Huffman	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Republican gain. Winner was not elected to the next term, see below.	Y Kingsley A. Taft (Republican) 56.2% Henry P. Webber (Democratic) 43.8%[4]
Virginia (Class 2)	Thomas G. Burch	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1946. Democratic hold.	Y Absalom Willis Robertson (Democratic) 68.2% Robert H. Woods (Republican) 29.0%

Races leading to the 80th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1947; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Arizona	Ernest McFarland	Democratic	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Ernest McFarland (Democratic) 69.2% Ward S. Powers (Republican) 30.1%
California	William Knowland	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner also elected to finish term, see above.	Y William Knowland (Republican) 54.1% Will Rogers Jr. (Democratic) 44.2% Douglas Corrigan (Prohibition) 1.62%[2]
Connecticut	Thomas C. Hart	Republican	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Winner also elected to finish term, see above.	Y Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 55.8% Wilbur Lucius Cross (Democratic) 41.0% Frederic C. Smedley 3.3%[3]
Delaware	James M. Tunnell	Democratic	1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y John J. Williams (Republican) 55.2% James M. Tunnell (Democratic) 44.9%
Florida	Spessard Holland	Democratic	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	Y Spessard Holland (Democratic) 78.7% J. Harry Schad (Republican) 21.4%
Indiana	Raymond E. Willis	Republican	1940	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	Y William E. Jenner (Republican) 52.4% M. Clifford Townsend (Democratic) 46.8%
Maine	Owen Brewster	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Owen Brewster (Republican) 63.6% Peter M. MacDonald (Democratic) 36.5%
Maryland	George L. P. Radcliffe	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Y Herbert O'Conor (Democratic) 50.2% D. John Markey (Republican) 49.8%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	1918 1924 (Lost) 1926 (Special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (Republican) 59.6% David I. Walsh (Democratic) 39.7%
Michigan	Arthur Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (Special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Arthur Vandenberg (Republican) 67.1% James H. Lee (Democratic) 32.0%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Republican	1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican hold.	Y Edward John Thye (Republican) 58.9% Theodore Jorgenson (Democratic) 39.8%
Mississippi	Theodore G. Bilbo	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic) Unopposed[5]
Missouri	Frank P. Briggs	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y James P. Kem (Republican) 52.7% Frank P. Briggs (Democratic) 47.1%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Zales Ecton (Republican) 53.5% Leif Erickson (Democratic) 45.4%
Nebraska	Hugh A. Butler	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Hugh A. Butler (Republican) 70.8% John E. Mekota (Democratic) 29.2%
Nevada	Edward P. Carville	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y George W. Malone (Republican) 55.2% Berkeley L. Bunker (Democratic) 44.8%
New Jersey	Howard Alexander Smith	Republican	1944 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Howard Alexander Smith (Republican) 58.5% George E. Brunner (Democratic) 40.1%
New Mexico	Dennis Chávez	Democratic	1935 (Appointed) 1936 (Special) 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Dennis Chávez (Democratic) 51.5% Patrick J. Hurley (Republican) 48.5%
New York	James M. Mead	Democratic	1940	Incumbent retired to run for New York Governor. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Irving Ives (Republican) 52.6% Herbert H. Lehman (Democratic) 47.6%
North Dakota	William Langer	Republican	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William Langer (Republican) 53.3% Arthur E. Thompson (Independent) 23.5% Abner B. Larson (Democratic) 23.2%
Ohio	James W. Huffman	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain. Winner was not elected to finish the term, see above.	Y John W. Bricker (Republican) 57.0% James W. Huffman (Democratic) 42.4%[4]
Pennsylvania	Joseph F. Guffey	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Edward Martin (Republican) 59.3% Joseph F. Guffey (Democratic) 39.8%
Rhode Island	Peter G. Gerry	Democratic	1934 1940	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Y J. Howard McGrath (Democratic) 55.1% W. Gurnee Dwyer (Republican) 44.9%
Tennessee	Kenneth McKellar	Democratic	1916 1922 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Kenneth McKellar (Democratic) 66.6% William B. Ladd (Republican) 26.2%
Texas	Tom Connally	Democratic	1928 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Tom Connally (Democratic) 88.5% Murray C. Sells (Republican) 11.5%
Utah	Orrice Abram Murdock Jr.	Democratic	1940	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Arthur Vivian Watkins (Republican) 51.2% Orrice Abram Murdock Jr. (Democratic) 48.8%
Vermont	Ralph Flanders	Republican	1946 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	Y Ralph Flanders (Republican) 74.6% Charles P. McDevitt (Democratic) 25.4%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1933 (Special) 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) 64.9% Lester S. Parsons (Republican) 30.5%
Washington	Hugh B. Mitchell	Democratic	1945 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 25, 1946. Winner appointed December 26, 1946 to finish term.	Y Harry P. Cain (Republican) 54.3% Hugh B. Mitchell (Democratic) 45.2%
West Virginia	Harley M. Kilgore	Democratic	1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Harley M. Kilgore (Democratic) 50.3% Thomas Sweeney (Republican) 49.7%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	Progressive	1925 (Special) 1928 1934 1940	Incumbent lost renomination as a Republican. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Joseph McCarthy (Republican) 61.3% Howard J. McMurray (Democratic) 37.4% Edwin Knappe (Socialist) 1.2%
Wyoming	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1934 1940	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.2% Harry B. Henderson (Republican) 43.8%

Alabama (Special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Alabama[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sparkman	163,217	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Arizona

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ernest McFarland ran for re-election to a second term, easily defeating his Republican challenger Ward S. Powers in the general election.

1946 United States Senate election in Arizona[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ernest McFarland	80,415	69.18%
	Republican	Ward S. Powers	35,022	30.13%
	Communist	Morris Graham	802	0.69%
Majority			45,393	39.05%
Turnout			116,239
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

California

1946 United States Senate election in California[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Knowland (incumbent)	1,428,067	54.10%
	Democratic	Will Rogers Jr.	1,167,161	44.22%
	Prohibition	Douglas Corrigan	42,683	1.62%
	Write-In	Herbert Steiner	156	0.01%
	None	Scattering	1,398	0.05%
Majority			260,906	9.88%
Turnout			2,639,465
	Republican hold

Connecticut

Senator Raymond E. Baldwin

There were 2 elections for the same seat due to the January 16, 1945 death of Democrat Francis T. Maloney. Republican Thomas C. Hart was appointed February 15, 1945 to continue the term, pending a special election. Republican Governor of Connecticut Raymond E. Baldwin won both elections, but resigned only three years after the election to become a state judge.

Connecticut (Regular)

1946 United States Senate election in Connecticut[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Raymond E. Baldwin	381,328	55.84%
	Democratic	Joseph M. Tone	276,424	40.48%
	Socialist	Frederick C. Smedley	22,012	3.22%
	Socialist Labor	John W. Aiken	3,156	0,46%
Majority			104,904	29.32%
Turnout			682,920
	Republican hold

Connecticut (Special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Connecticut[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Raymond E. Baldwin	378,707	55.77%
	Democratic	Wilbur Lucius Cross	278,188	40.97%
	Socialist	Frederic C. Smedly	22,164	3.26%
Majority			100,519	14.80%
Turnout			679,059
	Republican hold

Delaware

1946 United States Senate election in Delaware[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Williams	62,603	55.15%
	Democratic	James M. Tunnell (Incumbent)	50,910	44.85%
Majority			11,693	10.30%
Turnout			113,513
	Republican gain from Democratic

Florida

1946 United States Senate election in Florida[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Spessard Holland (Incumbent)	156,232	78.65%
	Republican	J. Harry Schad	42,408	21.35%
Majority			113,824	57.30%
Turnout			198,640
	Democratic hold

Idaho (Special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Idaho[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Dworshak	105,523	58.57%
	Democratic	George E. Donart (Incumbent)	74,629	41.43%
Majority			30,894	17.14%
Turnout			180,152
	Republican gain from Democratic

Indiana

1946 United States Senate election in Indiana[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William E. Jenner	739,809	54.91%
	Democratic	M. Clifford Townsend	584,288	43.36%
	Prohibition	Elmer D. Riggs	21,008	1.56%
	Socialist Labor	John Marion Morris	1,523	0.11%
	Communist	Elmer G. Johnson	806	0.06%
Majority			155,521	15.55%
Turnout			1,347,434
	Republican hold

Kentucky (Special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Kentucky[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper	327,652	53.27%
	Democratic	John Young Brown	285,829	46.47%
	Socialist	W. E. Sandefur	1,638	0.27%
Majority			41,823	6.80%
Turnout			615,119
	Republican hold

Maine

1946 United States Senate election in Maine[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Owen Brewster (Incumbent)	111,215	63.55%
	Democratic	Peter M. MacDonald	63,799	36.45%
Majority			47,416	27.10%
Turnout			175,014
	Republican hold

Maryland

1946 United States Senate election in Maryland[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herbert O'Conor	237,232	50.24%
	Republican	D. John Markey	235,000	49.76%
Majority			2,232	0.48%
Turnout			472,232
	Democratic hold

Massachusetts

Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. defeated incumbent David I. Walsh.

1946 United States Senate election in Massachusetts[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	989,736	59.55
	Democratic	David I. Walsh (Incumbent)	660,200	39.72
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	9,221	0.56
	Prohibition	Mark R. Shaw	2,898	0.17
Majority			329,536	19.83%
Turnout			1,662,055
	Republican gain from Democratic

Michigan

1946 United States Senate election in Michigan[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Vandenberg (Incumbent)	1,985,570	67.06%
	Democratic	James H. Lee	517,923	32.00%
	Prohibition	Lawrence A. Ruble	8,109	0.50%
	Socialist Labor	Theos A. Grove	4,572	0.28%
	Communist	Hugo Beiswenger	2,546	0.16%
Majority			1,467,647	35.06%
Turnout			1,618,720
	Republican hold

Minnesota

1946 United States Senate election in Minnesota[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward John Thye	517,775	58.92%
	Democratic (DFL)	Theodore Jorgenson	349,520	39.78%
	Revolutionary Workers	Grace Carlson	11,421	1.30%
	Write-In	Henrik Shipstead	15	0.00%
Majority			168,255	19.14%
Turnout			878,731
	Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

Mississippi

1946 United States Senate election in Mississippi[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theodore G. Bilbo (Incumbent)	46,747	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Missouri

1946 United States Senate election in Missouri[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James P. Kem	572,556	52.71%
	Democratic	Frank P. Briggs (Incumbent)	411,544	47.09%
	Prohibition	Jackson	979	0.09%
	Socialist	W. F. Rinck	887	0.08%
	Socialist Labor	Baeff	275	0.03%
Majority			61,012	5.62%
Turnout			1,086,241
	Republican gain from Democratic

Montana

1946 United States Senate election in Montana[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Zales Ecton	101,901	53.47%
	Democratic	Leif Erickson	86,476	45.38%
	Socialist	Floyd P. Jones	2,189	1.15%
Majority			15,425	8.09%
Turnout			190,566
	Republican gain from Democratic

Nebraska

1946 United States Senate election in Nebraska[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hugh Butler (Incumbent)	271,208	70.82%
	Democratic	John E. Mekota	111,750	29.18%
Majority			159,458	41.64%
Turnout			382,958
	Republican hold

Nevada

1946 United States Senate election in Nevada[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Malone	27,801	55.21%
	Democratic	Berkeley L. Bunker (Incumbent)	22,553	44.79%
Majority			5,248	10.42%
Turnout			50,354
	Republican gain from Democratic

New Jersey

1946 United States Senate election in New Jersey[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Howard Alexander Smith (Incumbent)	799,808	58.50%
	Democratic	George E. Brunner	548,458	40.12%
	Socialist Labor	John C. Butterworth	7,675	0.56%
	Socialist Workers	George Breitman	4,976	0.36%
	Socialist	Arthur Riley	2,226	0.16%
	Prohibition	George W. Ridout	1,711	0.13%
	Anti-Medical Trust Federation	Frederick W. Collins	1,676	0.12%
	Independent American	Mark M. Jones	625	0.05%
Majority			251,350	18.38%
Turnout			1,367,155
	Republican hold

New Mexico

1946 United States Senate election in New Mexico[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Chávez (Incumbent)	68,650	51.51%
	Republican	Patrick J. Hurley	64,632	48.49%
Majority			4,018	3.02%
Turnout			133,282
	Democratic hold

New York

The New York state election was held on November 5, 1946.

The Socialist Labor state convention met on April 7 and nominated Eric Hass for the U.S.Senate.[10] The party filed a petition to nominate candidates under the name "Industrial Government Party."

The Liberal Party gathered 51,015 signatures and filed a petition to nominate candidates with the Secretary of State on September 2.[11]

The Republican state convention met on September 4 at Saratoga Springs, New York. They nominated Assembly Majority Leader Irving M. Ives.[12]

The Democratic state convention met on September 4 at Albany, New York, and nominated Ex-Governor Herbert H. Lehman (in office 1933-1942) for the U.S. Senate.[13]

The American Labor state convention met on September 3 and endorsed Lehman.[14] Fielding, Chapman and Abt were withdrawn from the ticket on September 5, and Democrats Corning, Young and Epstein substituted on the ticket.[15]

The Socialist Workers Party filed a petition to nominate candidates headed by Farrell Dobbs for Governor.

The Industrial Government, Socialist and Socialist Workers tickets were not allowed on the ballot because of "defective nominating petitions." The Court of Appeals upheld the decisions of the lower courts.[16]

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a landslide.

Republican ticket		Democratic ticket		American Labor ticket		Liberal ticket		Communist ticket
Irving M. Ives	2,559,363	Herbert H. Lehman	2,306,112	Herbert H. Lehman		Herbert H. Lehman		(none)

Obs.:

"Blank, void and scattering" votes: 178,694

North Dakota

North Dakota (Regular)

1946 United States Senate election in North Dakota[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Langer (Incumbent)	88,210	53.34%
	Independent	Arthur E. Thompson	38,804	23.46%
	Democratic	Abner B. Larson	38,368	23.20%
Majority			49,406	29.88%
Turnout			165,382
	Republican hold

North Dakota (Special)

Newly-elected Democrat John Moses died March 3, 1945.

Republican Milton Young was appointed March 12, 1945 to continue the term, pending a special election.

Young was elected June 25, 1946 to finish the term that would end in 1951.

Young would go on to be elected 5 more times, serving until his 1975 retirement.

Ohio

1946 United States Senate election in Ohio[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John W. Bricker	1,275,774	57.02%
	Democratic	James W. Huffman	947,610	42.36%
	Socialist Labor	William Farkas	13,885	0.62%
Majority			328,164	14.66%
Turnout			2,237,269
	Republican hold

Ohio (Special)

1946 United States Senate special election in Ohio[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kingsley A. Taft	1,193,852	56.22%
	Democratic	Henry P. Webber	929,584	43.78%
Majority			264,268	12.44%
Turnout			2,123,436
	Republican gain from Democratic

Pennsylvania

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph F. Guffey sought re-election to another term, but was defeated by Republican nominee Edward Martin.

General election results[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Edward Martin	1,853,458	59.26%	+11.90%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Guffey (inc.)	1,245,338	39.81%	-11.98%
	Prohibition	Dale H. Learn	17,451	0.56%	+0.28%
	Socialist Labor	Frank Knotek	11,613	0.37%	+0.31%
Majority			608,120	19.45%
Turnout			3,127,860
	Republican gain from Democratic

Rhode Island

1946 United States Senate election in Rhode Island[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. Howard McGrath	150,748	55.11%
	Republican	W. Gurnee Dwyer	122,780	44.89%
Majority			27,968	10.22%
Turnout			273,528
	Democratic hold

Tennessee

1946 United States Senate election in Tennessee[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kenneth D. McKellar (Incumbent)	145,654	66.60%
	Republican	William B. Ladd	57,238	26.17%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	11,516	5.27%
	Independent	Herman H. Ross	4,303	1.97%
	None	Scattering	3	0.00%
Majority			88,416	40.43%
Turnout			218,714
	Democratic hold

Texas

1946 United States Senate election in Texas[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Connally (Incumbent)	336,931	88.51%
	Republican	Murray C. Sells	43,750	11.49%
Majority			293,181	77.02%
Turnout			380,681
	Democratic hold

Utah

1946 United States Senate election in Utah[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Vivian Watkins	101,142	51.24%
	Democratic	Abe Murdock (incumbent)	96,257	48.76%
Majority			4,885	2.48%
Turnout			197,399
	Republican gain from Democratic

Vermont

Incumbent Republican Ralph Flanders successfully ran for re-election to a full term in the United States Senate, defeating Democratic candidate Charles P. McDevitt.

1946 United States Senate election in Vermont[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Flanders (inc.)	54,729	74.62%
	Democratic	Charles P. McDevitt	18,594	25.35%
	None	Scattering	17	0.02%
Majority			36,135	49.27%
Total votes			73,340
	Republican hold

Virginia

Virginia (Regular)

Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr.

Incumbent Harry F. Byrd Sr. was re-elected to a third term after defeating Republican Lester S. Parsons.

1946 United States Senate election in Virginia[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Harry F. Byrd Sr. (Incumbent)	163,960	64.84%	-28.48%
	Republican	Lester S. Parsons	77,005	30.45%	+30.45%
	Independent	Howard Carwile	5,189	2.05%
	Communist	Alice Burke	3,318	1.31%	-1.50%
	Prohibition	Thomas E. Boorde	1,764	0.70%	+0.70%
	Socialist	Clarke T. Robb	1,592	0.63%	+0.63%
	Write-ins		35	0.01%	-0.06%
Majority			86,955	34.39%	-55.14%
Turnout			252,863
	Democratic hold

Virginia (Special)

Senator Absalom Willis Robertson

Appointed Democrat Thomas G. Burch retired after filling the vacancy caused by the May 28, 1946 death of Democrat Carter Glass. Democrat Absalom Willis Robertson defeated Republican Robert H. Woods and was elected to finish Glass's term.

1946 United States Senate special election in Virginia[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Absalom Willis Robertson	169,680	68.15%	-22.93%
	Republican	Robert H. Woods	72,253	29.02%	+29.02%
	Socialist	Lawrence S. Wilkes	7,024	2.82%	-3.71%
	Write-ins		5	<0.01%
Majority			97,427	39.13%	-45.42%
Turnout			248,962
	Democratic hold

Washington

1946 United States Senate election in Washington[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harry P. Cain	358,847	54.34%
	Democratic	Hugh B. Mitchell (Incumbent)	298,683	45.23%
	Socialist Labor	Harry Morton	2,297	0.35%
	Socialist Workers	Charles R. Swett	515	0.08%
Majority			60,164	9.11%
Turnout			660,342
	Republican gain from Democratic

West Virginia

1946 United States Senate election in West Virginia[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harley M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	273,151	50.33%
	Republican	Thomas Sweeney	269,617	49.67%
Majority			3,534	0.66%
Turnout			542,768
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin

1946 United States Senate election in Wisconsin[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph McCarthy	620,430	61.15%
	Democratic	Howard J. McMurray	378,772	37.33%
	Socialist	Edwin Knappe	11,750	1.16%
	Independent Socialist Labor	Georgia Cozzini	1,552	0.15%
	None	Scattering	2,090	0.21%
Majority			241,658	23.82%
Turnout			1,014,594
	Republican hold

Wyoming

1946 United States Senate election in Wyoming[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Incumbent)	45,843	56.21%
	Republican	Harry B. Henderson	35,714	43.79%
Majority			10,129	12.42%
Turnout			81,557
	Democratic hold

Notes

Appointee elected

References

Leuchtenburg, William E. (November 2006). "New Faces of 1946: An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents". Smithsonian (magazine). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 2 of 5. Retrieved May 12, 2009. "On October 14, scarcely more than three weeks before midterm elections, Truman bit the bullet. Even when his approval rating dropped to 32 percent, he had told reporters that controls were indispensable. On this night, however, speaking to the largest radio audience since the end of the war, Truman lashed out at "the few men in Congress who, in the service of selfish interests, have been determined for some time to wreck price controls no matter what the cost might be to our people." Then he stunned the nation by announcing that he was lifting controls on meat. With the lid off, prices skyrocketed. The New York Daily News headlined: PRICES SOAR, BUYERS SORE/STEERS JUMP OVER THE MOON. Brickbats flew at the president. "Brother," said Ohio's Clarence J. Brown, chair of the Republican Congressional Committee, "the tide is sweepin' our way.""
"Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
"Our Campaigns - AZ US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Our Campaigns - CT US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
"Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
"Socialist Labor Party Ticket". The New York Times. April 8, 1946.
"LIBERALS TO FILE PETITIONS TODAY". The New York Times. September 2, 1946.
"ALBANY 'TEAM' KEPT". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.
"DEWEY IS ASSAILED; ...MEAD SPURNS ANY RED AID". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.
"DEMOCRATIC DEAL IRKS LABOR PARTY". The New York Times. September 4, 1946.
"ALP WITHDRAWS 3 FROM STATE TICKET". The New York Times. September 6, 1946.
"MINOR PARTIES RULED OFF BALLOT IN STATE". The New York Times. October 26, 1946.
"General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved June 16, 2015.

New York: "RECORD FOR DEWEY IN OFFICIAL COUNT; His 687,151 Majority Topped Lehman's 627,388 in 1932; Won in 1942 by 173,254". The New York Times. December 14, 1946.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Appointee_elected-2] Appointee elected

[1] Leuchtenburg, William E. (November 2006). "New Faces of 1946: An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents". Smithsonian (magazine). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 2 of 5. Retrieved May 12, 2009. "On October 14, scarcely more than three weeks before midterm elections, Truman bit the bullet. Even when his approval rating dropped to 32 percent, he had told reporters that controls were indispensable. On this night, however, speaking to the largest radio audience since the end of the war, Truman lashed out at "the few men in Congress who, in the service of selfish interests, have been determined for some time to wreck price controls no matter what the cost might be to our people." Then he stunned the nation by announcing that he was lifting controls on meat. With the lid off, prices skyrocketed. The New York Daily News headlined: PRICES SOAR, BUYERS SORE/STEERS JUMP OVER THE MOON. Brickbats flew at the president. "Brother," said Ohio's Clarence J. Brown, chair of the Republican Congressional Committee, "the tide is sweepin' our way.""

[California-3] "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[Connecticut-4] "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[Ohio-5] "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[Mississippi-6] "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[Clerk-7] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved June 16, 2019.

[8] "Our Campaigns - AZ US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[9] "Our Campaigns - CT US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[10] "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

[11] "Socialist Labor Party Ticket". The New York Times. April 8, 1946.

[12] "LIBERALS TO FILE PETITIONS TODAY". The New York Times. September 2, 1946.

[13] "ALBANY 'TEAM' KEPT". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.

[14] "DEWEY IS ASSAILED; ...MEAD SPURNS ANY RED AID". The New York Times. September 5, 1946.

[15] "DEMOCRATIC DEAL IRKS LABOR PARTY". The New York Times. September 4, 1946.

[16] "ALP WITHDRAWS 3 FROM STATE TICKET". The New York Times. September 6, 1946.

[17] "MINOR PARTIES RULED OFF BALLOT IN STATE". The New York Times. October 26, 1946.

[results-18] "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved June 16, 2015.

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