Contents

1920 United States Senate elections

1920 United States Senate elections

← 1918 November 2, 1920 1922 →
1921 (NM) →
34 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Henry Cabot Lodge[a] Oscar Underwood Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1919 April 27, 1920 Leader's seat Massachusetts Alabama Seats before 49 47 Seats after 59 37 Seat change 10 10 Seats up 15 19 Races won 25 9
Results of the elections:      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Henry Cabot Lodge[a] Republican Elected Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge[a] Republican

The 1920 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the presidential electionofWarren G. Harding. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. Democrat Woodrow Wilson's unpopularity allowed Republicans to win races across the country, winning ten seats from the Democrats and providing them with an overwhelming 59-to-37 majority. The Republican landslide was so vast that Democrats lost over half of the seats that were contested this year and failed to win a single race outside the South.

Since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, these elections were the closest when the winning party in almost every Senate election mirrored the winning party for their state in the presidential election, with Kentucky being the only Senate race to not mirror their presidential result. No other Senate election cycle in a presidential year would come close to repeating this feat until 2016, in which the result of every Senate race mirrored the corresponding state's result in the presidential election. Coincidentally, that election cycle involved the same class of Senate seats, Class 3.^[1]

This is one of only five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed party in an election, with the other occasions being in 1932, 1946, 1958, and 1980.

As of 2024, the 59 seats held after this election cycle remains the highest number of seats that the Republican Party has held as the result of an election cycle. This number rose to 60, the highest number of seats the Republicans have ever held, after Democrat senator Josiah O. Wolcott of Delaware accepted an offer from Republican governor William D. Denney to become Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, allowing Denney to name Republican T. Coleman du Pont to replace Wolcott, a seat du Pont held until the next election, in which both a special election was held for the remainder of the term and a regular election was held as the seat was normally up then, both of which du Pont lost narrowly to Democrat Thomas F. Bayard Jr. In addition, the 22-seat majority is the largest majority that the Republicans have achieved in any election since.

Gains, losses, and holds[edit]

Retirements[edit]

Two Republicans and three Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election. One Democrat retired instead of seeking election to finish the unexpired term.

Defeats[edit]

Ten Democrats and one Republican sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

Post election changes[edit]

Change in composition[edit]

Before the elections[edit]

Elections result[edit]

Race summary[edit]

Special elections during the 66th Congress[edit]

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1920 or before March 4, 1921; ordered by election date.

Elections leading to the 67th Congress[edit]

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1921; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

Closest races[edit]

Nine races had a margin of victory under 10%:

The tipping point state is Colorado with a margin of 15.2%.

Alabama[edit]

Alabama (regular)[edit]

Alabama election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Oscar Underwood L. H. Reynolds Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 154,664 77,337 Percentage 66.10% 33.05%

County Results Underwood:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Reynolds:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Oscar Underwood Democratic Elected U.S. senator Oscar Underwood Democratic

Alabama (special)[edit]

Alabama special election

← 1918 1924 →

Nominee J. Thomas Heflin C. P. Lunsford Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 160,680 68,460 Percentage 69.27% 29.51%

County Results Heflin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Lunsford:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election B. B. Comer Democratic Elected U.S. senator J. Thomas Heflin Democratic

Arizona[edit]

1920 United States Senate election in Arizona

← 1914 November 2, 1920 1926 →

Nominee Ralph H. Cameron Marcus A. Smith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 35,893 29,169 Percentage 55.17% 44.83%

County results Cameron:      50–60%      60–70% Smith:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Marcus A. Smith Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ralph H. Cameron Republican

Arkansas[edit]

Arkansas election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Thaddeus H. Caraway Charles F. Cole Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 126,477 65,381 Percentage 65.92% 34.08%

County results Caraway:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cole:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election William F. Kirby Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thaddeus H. Caraway Democratic

California[edit]

California election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Samuel M. Shortridge James Duval Phelan James S. Edwards Party Republican Democratic Prohibition Popular vote 447,835 371,580 57,768 Percentage 49.01% 40.67% 6.32%

County results Shortridge:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90% Phelan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election James Duval Phelan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Samuel Morgan Shortridge Republican

Colorado[edit]

1920 United States Senate election in Colorado

← 1914 November 2, 1920 1924 (special) →

Nominee Samuel D. Nicholson Tully Scott Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 157,577 112,890 Percentage 54.52% 39.31%

Results by county Nicholson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Scott:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election Charles S. Thomas Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Samuel D. Nicholson Republican

Connecticut[edit]

Connecticut election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Frank B. Brandegee Augustine Lonergan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 216,792 131,824 Percentage 59.36% 36.10%

U.S. senator before election Frank B. Brandegee Republican Elected U.S. Senator Frank B. Brandegee Republican

Florida[edit]

Florida election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Duncan U. Fletcher John Moses Cheney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 98,957 37,065 Percentage 69.50% 26.03%

U.S. senator before election Duncan U. Fletcher Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Duncan U. Fletcher Democratic

Georgia[edit]

Georgia election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Thomas E. Watson Harry S. Edwards Party Democratic Independent Popular vote 124,630 6,700 Percentage 94.50% 5.10%

U.S. senator before election M. Hoke Smith Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thomas E. Watson Democratic

Idaho[edit]

Idaho election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Frank R. Gooding John F. Nugent Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 75,985 64,513 Percentage 54.08% 45.92%

U.S. senator before election John F. Nugent Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Frank R. Gooding Republican

Illinois[edit]

1920 United States Senate election in Illinois

← 1914 November 2, 1920 1926 →

Nominee William B. McKinley Peter A. Waller Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,381,384 554,372 Percentage 66.83% 26.82%

Results by county McKinley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Waller:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Lawrence Yates Sherman Republican Elected U.S. senator William B. McKinley Republican

Indiana[edit]

1920 United States Senate election in Indiana

← 1916 (special) November 2, 1920 1926 →

Nominee James E. Watson Thomas Taggart Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 681,851 514,191 Percentage 54.57% 41.15%

County results Watson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Taggart:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election James E. Watson Republican Elected U.S. Senator James E. Watson Republican

Iowa[edit]

Iowa election

← 1914 1926 →

Nominee Albert B. Cummins Claude R. Porter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 528,499 322,015 Percentage 61.42% 37.42%

U.S. senator before election Albert B. Cummins Republican Elected U.S. Senator Albert B. Cummins Republican