1942 United States Senate elections

1942 United States Senate special election in Colorado
<img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flag_of_Colorado.svg/50px-Flag_of_Colorado.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="33" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="1800" data-file-height="1200">
	<img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/1942_Colorado_senate_election_results_map_by_county.svg/250px-1942_Colorado_senate_election_results_map_by_county.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="182" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="810" data-file-height="589"> Results by county ; Millikin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Marsh: 40–50% 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Eugene Millikin; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Eugene Millikin; Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Colorado
<img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Flag_of_Colorado_%281911%E2%80%931964%29.svg/50px-Flag_of_Colorado_%281911%E2%80%931964%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="33" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="800">
	<img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/1942_United_States_Senate_election_in_Colorado_results_map_by_county.svg/250px-1942_United_States_Senate_election_in_Colorado_results_map_by_county.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="182" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="810" data-file-height="589"> Results by county ; Johnson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; Carr: 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election; Edwin C. Johnson; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Edwin C. Johnson; Democratic

1942 United States Senate elections
← 1941 (MS, SC, TX)
34 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 electionRectangular inset (Colorado): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election; Alben Barkley; Democratic	Elected Majority Leader ; Alben Barkley; Democratic

The 1942 United States Senate elections were held November 3, 1942, midway through Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term as president. The 32 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and two special elections were held to fill vacancies.

Although this election took place during World War II, the opposition Republican party made major gains, taking eight seats from the Democrats and one from an independent. The Democrats nonetheless retained a significant majority, though the smallest since Roosevelt was first elected in 1932. However, for the first time since 1932, Democrats did not have a supermajority.

The New York Times ascribed the results to "voters' dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war, both at home and abroad" but not evidence of a lack of enthusiasm for the war effort. It found that a candidate's stance as isolationist or interventionist before Pearl Harbor had little impact on his success at the polls.^[3] The paper's editorial board welcomed a return to normal political alignments after the unbalanced majorities of the previous decade.^[4] The election not only changed the numbers of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, but also accomplished an ideological shift, as several longtime enthusiastic supporters of the New Deal were replaced by Republicans of the most conservative sort.^[5]

The Republicans gained enough seats to end the Democrats' supermajority control.^[6] Democrats later gained a seat in New Jersey through an appointment, bringing their seat total up to 58.

Results summary

↓
57	1	38
Democratic	P	Republican

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

Parties		Democratic	Republican	Progressive	Other	Total
Parties						Total
Last elections (1940)		66	28	1	1	96
Before these elections		65	29	1	1	96
Not up		41	20	1	0	62
Up		24	9	0	1	34
	Class 2 (1936→1942)	23	8	0	1	32
	Special: Class 1	1	0	—	—	1
	Special: Class 3	0	1	—	—	1

Incumbent retired		1	0	—	—	1
	Held by same party	1	0	—	—	1
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	—	0
	Result	1	0	0	0	1
Incumbent ran		22	8	—	1	31
	Won re-election^[a]	13	8	—	0	21
	Lost re-election	5 Democrats replaced by 5 Republicans 1 Independent replaced by 1 Republican				6
	Lost renomination but held by same party	2	0	—	0	2
	Lost renomination and party lost	2 Democrats replaced by 2 Republicans		—	—	2
	Result	15	16	0	0	31

Appointee ran for either, but not both, special and regular election		1	1	—	0	2
	Appointee's party won both elections	0	1	—	0	1
	Appointee's party lost both elections	1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	0	1
	Result	0	2	0	0	2

Total elected		16	18	0	0	34
Net change		8	9		1	9

Nationwide vote		6,497,048	6,869,448	—	565,783	13,932,279
	Share	46.63%	49.31%	—	4.06%	100%
Result		57	38	1	0	96

Source:^[2]

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

One Republican retired instead of seeking election to finish the unexpired term and two Democrats retired instead of seeking election to a full term.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Arkansas	Lloyd Spencer	John L. McClellan
Minnesota (special)	Joseph H. Ball	Arthur E. Nelson
West Virginia	Joseph Rosier	Chapman Revercomb

Defeats

Eight Democrats and one Independent sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election. One Democrat sought election to finish the unexpired term but lost in the primary election and one Democrat sought election to finish the unexpired term but lost in the general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Delaware	James H. Hughes	C. Douglass Buck
Iowa	Clyde L. Herring	George A. Wilson
Michigan	Prentiss M. Brown	Homer S. Ferguson
Mississippi	Wall Doxey	James Eastland
Nebraska	George W. Norris	Kenneth S. Wherry
Nevada	Berkeley L. Bunker	James G. Scrugham
New Jersey	William H. Smathers	Albert W. Hawkes
Oklahoma	Joshua B. Lee	Edward H. Moore
South Dakota	William J. Bulow	Harlan J. Bushfield
West Virginia (special)	Joseph Rosier	Hugh Ike Shott
Wyoming	Harry Schwartz	Edward V. Robertson

Post election changes

State	Senator	Replaced by
New Jersey	William Warren Barbour	Arthur Walsh
Indiana	Frederick Van Nuys	Samuel D. Jackson
Oregon	Charles L. McNary	Guy Cordon
Massachusetts	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Sinclair Weeks

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1942.

		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 Ala. Ran	D₄₃ Ark. Retired	D₄₄ Colo. (reg) Ran	D₄₅ Del. Ran	D₄₆ Ga. Ran	D₄₇ Iowa Ran	D₄₈ Ky. Ran
Majority →									D₄₉ La. Ran
D₅₈ R.I. Ran	D₅₇ Okla. Ran	D₅₆ N.C. Ran	D₅₅ N.M. Ran	D₅₄ N.J. Ran	D₅₃ Nev. (sp) Ran	D₅₂ Mont. Ran	D₅₁ Miss. Ran	D₅₀ Mich. Ran	D₄₉ La. Ran
D₅₉ S.C. Ran	D₆₀ S.D. Ran	D₆₁ Tenn. Ran	D₆₂ Texas Ran	D₆₃ Va. Ran	D₆₄ W.Va. (sp) Ran W.Va. (reg) Retired	D₆₅ Wyo. Ran	P₁	I₁ Neb. Ran	R₂₉ Ore. Ran
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁ Colo. (sp) Ran	R₂₂ Idaho Ran	R₂₃ Ill. Ran	R₂₄ Kan. Ran	R₂₅ Maine Ran	R₂₆ Mass. Ran	R₂₇ Minn. (sp) Retired Minn. (reg) Ran	R₂₈ N.H. 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	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂ Ala. Re-elected	D₄₃ Ark. Hold	D₄₄ Colo. (reg) Re-elected	D₄₅ Ga. Re-elected	D₄₆ Ky. Re-elected	D₄₇ La. Re-elected	D₄₈ Miss. Hold
Majority →									D₄₉ Mont. Re-elected
P₁	D₅₇ Va. Re-elected	D₅₆ Tenn. Re-elected	D₅₅ Texas Re-elected	D₅₄ S.C. Re-elected	D₅₃ R.I. Re-elected	D₅₂ N.C. Re-elected	D₅₁ N.M. Re-elected	D₅₀ Nev. (sp) Hold	D₄₉ Mont. Re-elected
R₃₈ Wyo. Gain	R₃₇ W.Va. (sp) Gain^[b] W.Va. (reg) Gain	R₃₆ S.D. Gain	R₃₅ Okla. Gain	R₃₄ N.J. Gain	R₃₃ Neb. Gain	R₃₂ Mich. Gain	R₃₁ Iowa Gain	R₃₀ Del. Gain	R₂₉ Ore. Re-elected
R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁ Colo. (sp) Elected^[c]	R₂₂ Idaho Re-elected	R₂₃ Ill. Re-elected	R₂₄ Kan. Re-elected	R₂₅ Maine Re-elected	R₂₆ Mass. Re-elected	R₂₇ Minn. (sp) Hold Minn. (reg) Elected^[c]	R₂₈ N.H. Re-elected
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
I_#	Independent

Race summaries

Special elections during the 77th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1942 or before January 3, 1943; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Colorado Class 3	Eugene Millikin	Republican	1941 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 3, 1942.	▌ Y Eugene Millikin (Republican) 56.1% ▌James A. Marsh (Democratic) 42.1%
Minnesota Class 2	Joseph H. Ball	Republican	1940 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 3, 1942. Republican hold. Winner did not run for the next term, see below.	▌ Y Arthur E. Nelson (Republican) 56.1% ▌Al Hansen (Farmer–Labor) 26.7% ▌John E. O'Rourke (Democratic) 17.2%
Nevada Class 1	Berkeley L. Bunker	Democratic	1940 (Appointed)	Appointee lost nomination to finish term. New senator elected November 3, 1942 and qualified December 7, 1942.^[7]^[8] Democratic hold.	▌ Y James G. Scrugham (Democratic) 58.7% ▌Cecil W. Creel (Republican) 41.3%
West Virginia Class 2	Joseph Rosier	Democratic	1941 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election to finish term. New senator elected November 3, 1942 and qualified November 17, 1942.^[9] Neither candidate ran in the contemporaneous election for the next term, see below. Republican gain.	▌ Y Hugh Ike Shott (Republican) 52.3% ▌Joseph Rosier (Democratic) 47.7%

Races leading to the 78th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1943; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John H. Bankhead II	Democratic	1930 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y John H. Bankhead II (Democratic) Unopposed
Arkansas	Lloyd Spencer	Democratic	1941 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y John L. McClellan (Democratic) Unopposed
Colorado	Edwin C. Johnson	Democratic	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Edwin C. Johnson (Democratic) 50.2% ▌Ralph Lawrence Carr (Republican) 49.2%
Delaware	James H. Hughes	Democratic	1936	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y C. Douglass Buck (Republican) 54.2% ▌E. Ennalls Berl (Democratic) 44.9%
Georgia	Richard Russell Jr.	Democratic	1932 (special) 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Richard Russell Jr. (Democratic) Unopposed
Idaho	John Thomas	Republican	1939 (Appointed) 1940 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y John Thomas (Republican) 51.5% ▌Glen H. Taylor (Democratic) 48.5%
Illinois	C. Wayland Brooks	Republican	1940 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y C. Wayland Brooks (Republican) 53.2% ▌Raymond S. McKeough (Democratic) 46.4%
Iowa	Clyde L. Herring	Democratic	1936	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y George A. Wilson (Republican) 58.0% ▌Clyde L. Herring (Democratic) 41.7%
Kansas	Arthur Capper	Republican	1918 1924 1930 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Arthur Capper (Republican) 57.1% ▌George McGill (Democratic) 40.3%
Kentucky	Happy Chandler	Democratic	1939 (Appointed) 1940 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Happy Chandler (Democratic) 55.3% ▌Richard J. Colbert (Republican) 44.7%
Louisiana	Allen J. Ellender	Democratic	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Allen J. Ellender (Democratic) Unopposed
Maine	Wallace H. White	Republican	1930 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Wallace H. White (Republican) 66.7% ▌Fulton J. Redman (Democratic) 33.3%
Massachusetts	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Republican	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (Republican) 52.4% ▌Joseph E. Casey (Democratic) 46.6%
Michigan	Prentiss M. Brown	Democratic	1936 1936 (Appointed)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Homer S. Ferguson (Republican) 49.6% ▌Prentiss M. Brown (Democratic) 47.2%
Minnesota	Joseph H. Ball	Republican	1940 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner did not run to finish the term, see above.	▌ Y Joseph H. Ball (Republican) 47.0% ▌Elmer A. Benson (Farmer–Labor) 28.2% ▌Martin A. Nelson (Independent) 14.4% ▌Ed Murphy (Democratic) 10.4%
Mississippi	Wall Doxey	Democratic	1941 (special)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y James Eastland (Democratic) Unopposed
Montana	James E. Murray	Democratic	1934 (special) 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y James E. Murray (Democratic) 49.1% ▌Wellington D. Rankin (Republican) 48.4%
Nebraska	George W. Norris	Independent	1913^[d] 1918 1924 1930 1936	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Kenneth S. Wherry (Republican) 49.0% ▌George W. Norris (Independent) 28.6% ▌Foster May (Democratic) 22.0%
New Hampshire	Styles Bridges	Republican	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Styles Bridges (Republican) 54.6% ▌Francis P. Murphy (Democratic) 45.4%
New Jersey	William H. Smathers	Democratic	1936	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Albert W. Hawkes (Republican) 53.1% ▌William H. Smathers (Democratic) 45.8%
New Mexico	Carl Hatch	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1934 (special) 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Carl Hatch (Democratic) 59.2% ▌J. Benson Newell (Republican) 40.8%
North Carolina	Josiah Bailey	Democratic	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Josiah Bailey (Democratic) 65.9% ▌Sam J. Morris (Republican) 34.1%
Oklahoma	Joshua B. Lee	Democratic	1936	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Edward H. Moore (Republican) 54.8% ▌Joshua B. Lee (Democratic) 44.8%
Oregon	Charles L. McNary	Republican	1917 (Appointed) 1918 (Not elected) 1918 (Appointed) 1918 1924 1930 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Charles L. McNary (Republican) 77.1% ▌Walter W. Whitbeck (Democratic) 22.9%
Rhode Island	Theodore F. Green	Democratic	1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Theodore F. Green (Democratic) 58.0% ▌Ira Lloyd Letts (Republican) 42.0%
South Carolina	Burnet R. Maybank	Democratic	1941 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Burnet R. Maybank (Democratic) Unopposed
South Dakota	William J. Bulow	Democratic	1930 1936	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Harlan J. Bushfield (Republican) 58.7% ▌Tom Berry (Democratic) 41.3%
Tennessee	Tom Stewart	Democratic	1938 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Tom Stewart (Democratic) 70.5% ▌F. Todd Meacham (Republican) 21.5%
Texas	W. Lee O'Daniel	Democratic	1941 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y W. Lee O'Daniel (Democratic) 94.9%
Virginia	Carter Glass	Democratic	1920 (Appointed) 1920 (special) 1924 1930 1936	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Carter Glass (Democratic) 91.1% ▌Lawrence S. Wilkes (Socialist) 6.5%
West Virginia	Joseph Rosier	Democratic	1941 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain. Winner did not run to finish the term, see above.	▌ Y Chapman Revercomb (Republican) 55.4% ▌Matthew M. Neely (Democratic) 44.6%
Wyoming	Harry Schwartz	Democratic	1936	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y Edward V. Robertson (Republican) 54.6% ▌Harry Schwartz (Democratic) 45.4%

Closest races

Eleven races had a margin of victory under 10%:

State	Party of winner	Margin
Montana	Democratic	0.7%
Colorado	Democratic	1.0%
Michigan	Republican (flip)	2.4%
Idaho	Republican	3.0%
West Virginia (special)	Republican (flip)	4.6%
Massachusetts	Republican	5.8%
Illinois	Republican	6.8%
New Jersey	Republican (flip)	7.3%
Wyoming	Republican (flip)	9.18%
New Hampshire	Republican	9.22%
Delaware	Republican (flip)	9.3%

There is no tipping point state

Alabama

1942 United States Senate election in Alabama^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John H. Bankhead II (Incumbent)	69,212	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Arkansas

1942 United States Senate election in Arkansas^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John L. McClellan	99,124	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Colorado

There were 2 elections in Colorado.

Colorado (regular)

Colorado regular election (Class 2)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edwin C. Johnson (Incumbent)	174,612	50.23%
	Republican	Ralph Lawrence Carr	170,970	49.19%
	Socialist	Carle Whithead	1,387	0.40%
	Communist	James Allander	627	0.18%
Majority			3,642	1.04%
Turnout			347,596
	Democratic hold

Colorado (special)

Colorado special election (Class 3)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eugene Millikin (Incumbent)	191,517	56.12%
	Democratic	James A. Marsh	143,817	42.14%
	Independent	Lewis Haley Tiley	4,262	1.25%
	Socialist	Edgar P. Sherman	1,664	0.49%
Majority			48,700	13.98%
Turnout			341,260
	Republican hold

Delaware

Delaware election

← 1936

1948 →


Nominee	C. Douglass Buck	E. Ennalls Berl
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	46,210	38,322
Percentage	54.17%	44.92%

County Results
Buck: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

James H. Hughes
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

C. Douglass Buck
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Delaware^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C. Douglass Buck	46,210	54.17%
	Democratic	E. Ennalls Berl	38,322	44.92%
	Prohibition	Thomas J. Sard	776	0.91%
Majority			7,888	9.25%
Turnout			85,308
	Republican gain from Democratic

Georgia

1942 United States Senate election in Georgia^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Russell Jr. (Incumbent)	59,870	96.94%
	Independent	LeVert Dwyer Shivers	1,892	3.06%
Majority			57,978	93.88%
Turnout			61,762
	Democratic hold

Idaho

1942 United States Senate election in Idaho^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Thomas (Incumbent)	73,353	51.53%
	Democratic	Glen H. Taylor	68,989	48.47%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold

Illinois

1942 United States Senate election in Illinois

← 1940 (special)

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Charles W. Brooks	Raymond S. McKeough
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,582,887	1,380,011
Percentage	53.24%	46.41%

Results by county
Brooks: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
McKeough: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Charles W. Brooks
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Charles W. Brooks
Republican

Illinois election^[2]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles W. Brooks (Incumbent)	1,582,887	53.24%
	Democratic	Raymond S. McKeough	1,380,011	46.41%
	Prohibition	Enoch A. Holtwick	10,331	0.35%
	Write-in	Others	32	0.00%
Majority			202,876	6.83%
Turnout			2,973,261
	Republican hold

Iowa

1942 United States Senate election in Iowa

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	George A. Wilson	Clyde Herring
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	410,383	295,194
Percentage	57.98%	41.70%

County results
Wilson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Herring: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Clyde Herring
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

George A. Wilson
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Iowa^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George A. Wilson	410,383	57.97%
	Democratic	Clyde L. Herring (Incumbent)	295,194	41.70%
	Prohibition	M. M. Heptonstall	1,461	0.21%
	Independent Progressive	Ernest J. Seeman	821	0.12%
	None	Scattering	4	0.00%
Majority			115,189	16.27%
Turnout			707,863
	Republican gain from Democratic

Kansas

1942 United States Senate election in Kansas^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Capper (Incumbent)	284,059	57.11%
	Democratic	George McGill	200,437	40.30%
	Prohibition	C. Floyd Hester	12,863	2.59%
Majority			83,622	16.81%
Turnout			497,359
	Republican hold

Kentucky

1942 United States Senate election in Kentucky

← 1940 (special)

November 3, 1942

1946 (special) →


Nominee	Happy Chandler	Richard J. Colbert
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	216,958	175,081
Percentage	55.34%	44.66%

County results
Chandler: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Colbert: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%

U.S. senator before election

Happy Chandler
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Happy Chandler
Democratic

1942 United States Senate election in Kentucky^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Happy Chandler (Incumbent)	216,958	55.34%
	Republican	Richard J. Colbert	175,081	44.66%
Majority			41,877	10.68%
Turnout			392,023
	Democratic hold

Louisiana

1942 United States Senate election in Louisiana^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Allen J. Ellender (Incumbent)	85,488	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Maine

Maine election

← 1936

September 14, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Wallace White	Fulton J. Redman
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	111,520	55,754
Percentage	66.67%	33.33%

U.S. senator before election

Wallace H. White Jr.
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Wallace H. White Jr.
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Maine^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wallace H. White Jr. (Incumbent)	111,520	66.67%
	Democratic	Fulton J. Redman	55,754	33.33%
Majority			65,766	33.34%
Turnout			167,274
	Republican hold

Massachusetts

1942 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1944 (special) →


Nominee	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Joseph E. Casey
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	721,239	641,042
Percentage	52.44%	46.61%

Lodge: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%
Casey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

Senator before election

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Republican

Elected Senator

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Republican

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (Incumbent)	721,239	52.44%	+3.91%
	Democratic	Joseph E. Casey	641,042	46.61%	+5.62%
	Socialist	George Lyman Paine	4,802	0.35%	-0.19%
	Socialist Labor	Horace I. Hillis	4,781	0.35%	+0.35%
	Prohibition	George L. Thompson	3,577	0.26%	+0.26%
Majority			80,197	5.83%
Turnout			1,375,441
	Republican hold		Swing

Michigan

1942 United States Senate election in Michigan

← 1936

November 2, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Homer S. Ferguson	Prentiss M. Brown
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	589,652	561,595
Percentage	49.55%	47.20%

County results
Ferguson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Brown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Prentiss M. Brown
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Homer S. Ferguson
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Michigan^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Homer S. Ferguson	589,652	49.55%
	Democratic	Prentiss M. Brown (Incumbent)	561,595	47.19%
	Republican	Gerald L. K. Smith (sticker)	32,173	2.70%
	Prohibition	Leroy M. Powell	6,526	0.55%
	None	Scattering	20	0.00%
Majority			28,057	2.36%
Turnout			1,189,966
	Republican gain from Democratic

Minnesota

There were two elections to the same seat due to the August 31, 1940 death of Farmer–Laborite Ernest Lundeen. Republican Joseph H. Ball was appointed October 14, 1940 to continue the term, pending the special election. Ball was elected to the next term in the regular election, but not to finish the current term in the special election.

Minnesota (special)

1942 United States Senate special election in Minnesota

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1942 →


Nominee	Arthur E. Nelson	Al Hansen	John E. O'Rourke
Party	Republican	Farmer–Labor	Democratic
Popular vote	372,240	177,008	114,086
Percentage	56.12%	26.68%	17.20%

County results
Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Hansen: 40–50% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Joseph H. Ball
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Arthur E. Nelson
Republican

Minnesota special election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur E. Nelson	372,240	56.12%
	Farmer–Labor	Al Hansen	177,008	26.68%
	Democratic	John E. O’Rourke	114,086	17.20%
Majority			195,232	29.44%
Turnout			663,334
	Republican hold

Minnesota (regular)

1942 United States Senate election in Minnesota

← 1942 (special)

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Joseph H. Ball	Elmer A. Benson
Party	Republican	Farmer–Labor
Popular vote	356,297	213,965
Percentage	46.98%	28.21%


Nominee	Martin A. Nelson	Ed Murphy
Party	Independent	Democratic
Popular vote	109,226	78,959
Percentage	14.40%	10.41%

County results
Ball:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Benson:      40–50%      50–60%
Nelson:      30–40%      40–50%

U.S. senator before election

Joseph H. Ball
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Joseph H. Ball
Republican

Minnesota regular election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph H. Ball (Incumbent)	356,297	46.98%
	Farmer–Labor	Elmer A. Benson	213,965	28.21%
	Independent	Martin A. Nelson	109,226	14.40%
	Democratic	Ed Murphy	78,959	10.41%
Majority			142,232	18.77%
Turnout			758,447
	Republican hold

Mississippi

1942 United States Senate election in Mississippi^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Eastland (Incumbent)	51,355	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Montana

1942 United States Senate election in Montana

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	James E. Murray	Wellington D. Rankin
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	83,673	82,461
Percentage	49.07%	48.36%

County results
Murray: 40–50% 50–60%
Rankin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

U.S. senator before election

James E. Murray
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

James E. Murray
Democratic

1942 United States Senate election in Montana^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James E. Murray (Incumbent)	83,673	49.07%	-5.91%
	Republican	Wellington D. Rankin	82,461	48.36%	+21.25%
	Prohibition	Charles R. Miller	2,711	1.59%
	Socialist	E. H. Helterbran	1,669	0.98%
Majority			1,212	0.71%	-27.16%
Turnout			170,514
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nebraska

1942 United States Senate election in Nebraska

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Kenneth Wherry	George Norris	Foster May
Party	Republican	Independent	Democratic
Popular vote	186,207	108,899	83,763
Percentage	48.97%	28.64%	22.03%

County results
Wherry:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Norris:      30–40%      30–40%
May:      30–40%

U.S. senator before election

George W. Norris
Independent

Elected U.S. Senator

Kenneth Wherry
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in Nebraska^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth S. Wherry	186,207	48.97%
	Independent	George W. Norris (Incumbent)	108,899	28.64%
	Democratic	Foster May	83,768	22.03%
	Independent	Albert F. Ruthven	1,348	0.35%
Majority			77,308	20.33%
Turnout			380,222
	Republican gain from Independent

Nevada (special)

1942 United States Senate special election in Nevada^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James G. Scrugham	23,805	58.72%
	Republican	Cecil W. Creel	16,735	41.28%
Majority			7,070	17.44%
Turnout			40,540
	Democratic hold

New Hampshire

1942 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Styles Bridges	Francis P. Murphy
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	88,601	73,656
Percentage	54.60%	45.40%

County results
Bridges: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Murphy: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Styles Bridges
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Styles Bridges
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in New Hampshire^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Styles Bridges (Incumbent)	88,601	54.61%
	Democratic	Francis P. Murphy	73,656	45.39%
Majority			14,945	9.22%
Turnout			162,257
	Republican hold

New Jersey

1942 United States Senate election in New Jersey

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Albert Hawkes	William Smathers
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	648,855	559,851
Percentage	53.09%	45.81%

County results
Hawkes: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%
Smathers: 50–60% 70–80%

Senator before election

William Smathers
Democratic

Elected Senator

Albert Hawkes
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in New Jersey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Albert W. Hawkes	648,855	53.09%
	Democratic	William H. Smathers (Incumbent)	559,851	45.81%
	Socialist	William L. Becker	6,775	0.55%
	Independent Progressive	Lorenzo Harris	3,224	0.26%
	Prohibition	Elmo L. Bateman	1,438	0.12%
	Socialist Labor	John C. Butterworth	1,310	0.11%
	Socialist Workers	George Breitman	679	0.06%
Majority			89,004	7.28%
Turnout			1,222,132
	Republican gain from Democratic

New Mexico

1942 United States Senate election in New Mexico^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl Hatch (Incumbent)	63,301	59.16%
	Republican	J. Benson Newell	43,704	40.84%
Majority			19,597	18.32%
Turnout			107,005
	Democratic hold

North Carolina

1942 United States Senate election in North Carolina^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josiah Bailey (Incumbent)	230,427	65.91%
	Republican	Sam J. Morris	119,165	34.09%
Majority			111,262	31.82%
Turnout			349,592
	Democratic hold

Oklahoma

1942 United States Senate election in Oklahoma^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward H. Moore	204,163	54.83%
	Democratic	Joshua B. Lee (Incumbent)	166,653	44.76%
	Prohibition	Oliver W. Lawton	1,549	0.42%
Majority			37,510	10.07%
Turnout			372,365
	Republican gain from Democratic

Oregon

1942 United States Senate election in Oregon^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles L. McNary (Incumbent)	214,755	77.06%
	Democratic	Walter W. Whitbeck	63,946	22.94%
Majority			150,809	54.12%
Turnout			278,701
	Republican hold

Rhode Island

1942 United States Senate election in Rhode Island^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theodore F. Green (Incumbent)	138,247	57.97%
	Republican	Ira Lloyd Letts	100,240	42.03%
Majority			38,007	15.94%
Turnout
	Democratic hold

South Carolina

South Carolina general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Burnet R. Maybank (Incumbent)	22,556	>99.9%
	No party	Write-Ins	2	<0.1%
Majority			22,554	>99.9%
Turnout			22,558
	Democratic hold

South Dakota

1942 United States Senate election in South Dakota

← 1936

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Harlan J. Bushfield	Tom Berry
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	106,704	74,945
Percentage	58.74%	41.26%

County results
Bushfield:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Berry:      50–60%      60–70%
No Vote:

U.S. senator before election

William J. Bulow
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Harlan J. Bushfield
Republican

1942 United States Senate election in South Dakota^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harlan J. Bushfield	106,704	58.74%
	Democratic	Tom Berry	74,945	41.26%
Majority			31,759	17.48%
Turnout			181,649
	Republican gain from Democratic

Tennessee

1942 United States Senate election in Tennessee

← 1938

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Tom Stewart	F. Todd Meacham	John Randolph Neal Jr.
Party	Democratic	Republican	Independent
Popular vote	109,881	34,324	15,317
Percentage	68.88%	21.52%	9.60%

Senator before election

Tom Stewart
Democratic

Elected Senator

Tom Stewart
Democratic

1942 United States Senate election in Tennessee^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Stewart (Incumbent)	109,881	68.88%
	Republican	F. Todd Meacham	34,324	21.52%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	15,317	9.60%
Majority			75,557	47.36%
Turnout			159,522
	Democratic hold

Texas

Texas election

← 1941 (special)

November 3, 1942

1948 →


Nominee	Pappy O'Daniel	Dudley Lawson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	260,629	12,064
Percentage	94.90%	4.39%

County results.^[11]

O'Daniel: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%

No vote:

U.S. senator before election

Pappy O'Daniel
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Pappy O'Daniel
Democratic

1942 United States Senate election in Texas^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	W. Lee O'Daniel (Incumbent)	260,629	94.90%
	Republican	Dudley Lawson	12,064	4.39%
	People’s Unity	Charles L. Somerville	1,934	0.70%
Majority			248,565	90.51%
Turnout			274,627
	Democratic hold

Virginia

1942 United States Senate election in Virginia^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carter Glass (Incumbent)	79,421	91.08%	+0.58%
	Socialist	Lawrence S. Wilkes	5,690	6.53%	+6.53%
	Communist	Alice Burke	2,041	2.34%	-1.00%
	Write-ins		48	<0.01%	-0.07%
Majority			73,731	84.55%	-2.40%
Turnout			87,200
	Democratic hold

West Virginia

There were 2 elections to the same seat due to the January 12, 1941 resignation of Democrat Matthew M. Neely who was elected Governor of West Virginia. Democrat Joseph Rosier was appointed January 13, 1941 to continue the term, pending the special election. Primaries for both races were held August 4, 1942.

West Virginia (special)

Interim Democrat Joseph Rosier easily won the primary,^[12] but lost the special election to finish the term that would end in January 1943 to former congressman and 1936 Senate nominee Hugh Ike Shott.

West Virginia special election, November 3, 1942^[2]^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hugh Ike Shott	227,469	52.27%
	Democratic	Joseph Rosier (Incumbent)	207,678	47.73%
Majority			19,791	4.54%
Turnout			435,147	22.88%
	Republican gain from Democratic

West Virginia (regular)

Neither Shott nor Rosier were candidates in the regular election. Instead, governor (and former senator) Neely ran to reclaim his seat, having regretted leaving the Senate.

Neely won the Democratic primary^[14] but lost the regular election.

West Virginia regular election^[2]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chapman Revercomb	256,816	55.36%
	Democratic	Matthew M. Neely	207,045	44.64%
Majority			49,771	10.72%
Turnout			463,861	24.39%
	Republican gain from Democratic

At the end of the term, Revercomb would lose re-election to Neely in 1948. He then won a special election to the other seat in 1956.

Wyoming

1942 United States Senate election in Wyoming^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward V. Robertson	41,486	54.59%
	Democratic	Henry H. Schwartz (Incumbent)	34,503	45.41%
Majority			6,983	9.18%
Turnout			75,989
	Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

References

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[d]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

1942 United States Senate elections

Results summary

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Defeats

Post election changes

Change in composition

Before the elections

Election results

Race summaries

Special elections during the 77th Congress

Races leading to the 78th Congress

Closest races

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Colorado (regular)

Colorado (special)

Delaware

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Minnesota (special)

Minnesota (regular)

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada (special)

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia (special)

West Virginia (regular)

Wyoming

See also

Notes

References