1944_United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Oregon

1944 United States Senate elections

1944 United States Senate elections

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The 1944 United States Senate elections coincided with the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his fourth term as president. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies.

Quick Facts 35 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

The Democrats retained their large majority, although they lost a net of one seat to the Republicans. Republicans won open seats in Indiana, New Jersey, and Missouri, and defeated an incumbent in Iowa. However, Democrats defeated incumbents in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota. The Democratic majority was further reduced to 56-39-1 throughout mid-term appointments.

Results summary

57 1 38
Democratic P Republican

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

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Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives[1]

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

One Republican retired instead of seeking election to finish the unexpired term, one Democrat retired instead of seeking election to finish the unexpired term, one Democrat retired instead of seeking election to finish the unexpired term and election to a full term and two Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

Defeats

Four Republicans and five Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

Post election changes

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1944.

  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
Ariz.
Ran
D37
Ala.
Ran
D36 D35 D34 D33 D32 D31 D30 D29
D39
Ark.
Ran
D40
Calif.
Ran
D41
Fla.
Ran
D42
Ga.
Ran
D43
Idaho
Ran
D44
Ill.
Ran
D45
Ind. (sp)
Ind. (reg)
Retired
D46
Iowa
Ran
D47
Ky.
Ran
D48
La.
Ran
Majority → D49
Md.
Ran
D58
Wash.
Retired
D57
Utah
Ran
D56
S.C.
Ran
D55
Okla.
Ran
D54
N.C.
Retired
D53
N.Y.
Ran
D52
N.J. (sp)
Ran
D51
Nev.
Ran
D50
Mo.
Ran
P1 R37
Wisc.
Ran
R36
Vt.
Ran
R35
S.D.
Ran
R34
Pa.
Ran
R33
Ore. (sp)
Ran
R32
Ore. (reg)
Ran
R31
Ohio
Ran
R30
N.D.
Ran
R29
N.H.
Ran
R19 R20 R21 R22 R23 R24 R25
Colo.
Ran
R26
Conn.
Ran
R27
Kan.
Ran
R28
Mass. (sp)
Retired
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
Ariz.
Re-elected
D37
Ala.
Re-elected
D36 D35 D34 D33 D32 D31 D30 D29
D39
Ark.
Hold
D40
Calif.
Re-elected
D41
Fla.
Re-elected
D42
Ga.
Re-elected
D43
Idaho
Hold
D44
Ill.
Re-elected
D45
Ky.
Re-elected
D46
La.
Re-elected
D47
Md.
Re-elected
D48
Nev.
Re-elected
Majority → D49
N.Y.
Re-elected
P1 D57
Pa.
Gain
D56
N.D.
Gain
D55
Conn.
Gain
D54
Wash.
Hold
D53
Utah
Re-elected
D52
S.C.
Hold
D51
Okla.
Re-elected
D50
N.C.
Hold
R38
N.J. (sp)
Gain
R37
Mo.
Gain
R36
Iowa
Gain
R35
Ind. (sp)
Ind. (reg)
Gain
R34
Wisc.
Re-elected
R33
Vt.
Re-elected
R32
S.D.
Re-elected
R31
Ore. (sp)
Elected[lower-alpha 2]
R30
Ore. (reg)
Hold
R29
Ohio
Re-elected
R19 R20 R21 R22 R23 R24 R25
Colo.
Re-elected
R26
Kan.
Re-elected
R27
Mass. (sp)
Hold
R28
N.H.
Re-elected
R18 R17 R16 R15 R14 R13 R12 R11 R10 R9
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8
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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.

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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.

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Closest races

Fourteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

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Utah was the tipping point state with a margin of 19.8%.

Alabama

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Arizona

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Three-term Democrat Carl T. Hayden was easily re-elected.

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Hayden would be re-elected three more times before retiring in 1962.

Arkansas

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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California

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Florida

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Georgia

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Idaho

More information Party, Candidate ...

Illinois

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Indiana

There were 2 elections in Indiana, due to the January 25, 1944, death of Democrat Frederick Van Nuys.

Democrat Samuel D. Jackson was appointed to continue the term, pending a special election. Republican William E. Jenner won the special election to finish the term, and Republican Homer E. Capehart won the general election to the next term.

Indiana (special)

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Indiana (regular)

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

Senator John H. Overton
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Maryland

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Massachusetts (special)

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Republican 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 to continue the term until an election was held. A special election was held on November 7 with Republican Massachusetts Governor Leverett Saltonstall defeating his challengers. He didn't take office until January 4, 1945, when his term as Governor ended.

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Missouri

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey (special)

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New York

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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.[3] 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.[4] The party filed a petition to nominate candidates which was allowed by Secretary of State Curran on August 25.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

The American Labor state convention met on August 10. They endorsed the Democratic nominee Wagner.[8]

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

North Carolina

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North Dakota

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Ohio

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Oklahoma

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Oregon

Oregon (special)

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Oregon (regular)

Incumbent Republican Rufus C. Holman ran for re-election, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Wayne Morse.

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Pennsylvania

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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South Carolina

Senator Olin D. Johnston
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South Dakota

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Utah

Incumbent Democratic Senator Elbert D. Thomas won a third term. As of 2024, this is the last time that a Democrat was elected to Utah's class 3 Senate seat.

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Vermont

Senator George Aiken
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Washington

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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Wisconsin

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See also

Notes

  1. National vote totals for the Democratic Party do not include a combined 808,841 votes for the American Labor Party and the Liberal Party of New York, which endorsed and voted for the Democratic candidate, Robert F. Wagner.
  2. Appointee elected
  3. Bone resigned from office on April 1 to take his commission as a federal judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

References

  1. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (March 1, 1945). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 16–17, 25–26, 36, 54.
  2. Kalb, Deborah, ed. (2010). Guide to U.S. Elections. Washington, DC: CQ Press. p. 1436. ISBN 978-1-60426-536-1.
  3. "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2015.

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