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1964 United States Senate elections

1964 United States Senate elections

← 1962 November 3, 1964 1966 →
35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mike Mansfield Everett Dirksen Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1961 January 3, 1959 Leader's seat Montana Illinois Seats before 66 34 Seats after 68 32 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 30,786,035[1][a] 23,171,991[1] Percentage 56.2% 42.3% Seats up 26 9 Races won 28 7
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election Rectangular inset (Tennessee): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected Majority Leader Mike Mansfield Democratic

The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023^[update], this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.

In a close race in Nevada, Democratic incumbent Howard Cannon won re-election over Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt by fewer than 100 votes. Laxalt joined Cannon in the Senate when he won Nevada's other seat in 1974. Patrick V. McNamara (D–Michigan) later died on April 30, 1966, and was replaced on May 11, 1966, by appointee Robert P. Griffin (R), reducing Democrats' majority to 67–33.

Notably, of the 35 seats up for election this year, 26 were held by Democrats, who managed to retain 25 of them. A party defending two-thirds of the seats up for election would not make net gains in the Senate again until 2012. Coincidentally, it would be the same Senate class, class 1. This is the earliest round of Senate elections in which a first-elected member is still alive (Fred Harris, D-OK).

Parties					Total
		Democratic	Republican	Other
Last elections (1962)		67	33	0	100
Before these elections		66	34	0	100
Not up		40	25	0	65
Up		26	9	—	35
	Class 1 (1958→1964)	24	9	—	33
	Special: Class 2	2	0	—	2
Incumbent retired		1	1	—	2
	Held by same party	1	1	—	2
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	0
	Result	1	1	0	2
Incumbent ran		25	8	—	33
	Won re-election	23	5	—	28
	Lost re-election	3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	4
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	1	0	—	1
	Result	27	6	0	33
Total elected		28	7	0	35
Net gain/loss		2	2		2
Nationwide vote		30,786,035[a]	23,171,991	848,082	54,806,108
	Share	56.17%	42.28%	1.55%	100%
Result		68	32	0	100

Source:^[1]

One Republican did not seek re-election and one Democrat did not seek election to finish an unexpired term.

One Democrat sought election to finish the unexpired term but lost in the primary election. One Democrat sought election to a full term but lost in the general election. One Republican sought election to finish the unexpired term and sought election to a full term but lost in both the special election and the regular election. Two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election.

One Democrat died on April 30, 1966, and was replaced on May 11, 1966, by a Republican appointee. Another Democrat died on April 18, 1965, and was replaced by a fellow Democrat. Another Democrat resigned on November 10, 1965, for health reasons and was replaced by a fellow Democrat.

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1964 or before January 3, 1965; ordered by election date, then state.

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1965; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

Fifteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Michigan is the tipping point state with a margin of 29.1%.

1964 United States Senate election in Arizona

← 1958 November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Paul Fannin Roy Elson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 241,089 227,712 Percentage 51.43% 48.57%

County results Fannin:      50–60% Elson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Barry Goldwater Republican Elected U.S. Senator Paul Fannin Republican

Incumbent Barry Goldwater decided not to run for re-election to a third term, instead running for President of the United States as the Republican Party nominee against Lyndon B. Johnson.^[2] Governor of Arizona Paul Fannin ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and defeated Democratic nominee Roy Elson, who was a staff member for U.S. senator Carl Hayden until Hayden's retirement in 1969. Despite a landslide loss throughout the country, and Goldwater only able to obtain 50.45% of the vote in his home state of Arizona, Fannin managed to prevail in the state's Senate election. Goldwater would win the election for the other Senate seat in 1968 when Hayden retired from the post and serving two more terms.

California election

← 1958 1970 →

Nominee George Murphy Pierre Salinger Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 3,628,552 3,411,915 Percentage 51.54% 48.46%

County Results Murphy:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Salinger:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Pierre Salinger Democratic Elected U.S. Senator George Murphy Republican

Democratic incumbent Pierre Salinger, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Senator Clair Engle three months earlier, was defeated in his bid for a full term by Republican candidate George Murphy, a retired actor.

1964 United States Senate election in Connecticut

← 1958 November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Thomas J. Dodd John Davis Lodge Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 781,008 426,939 Percentage 64.66% 35.34%

County results Dodd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Thomas J. Dodd Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd Democratic

Democrat Thomas J. Dodd was re-elected and served a second term. John Davis Lodge, grandson of Henry Cabot Lodge was defeated by almost 30%.

Delaware election

← 1958 1970 →

Nominee John J. Williams Elbert Carvel Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 103,782 96,850 Percentage 51.71% 48.26%

County Results Williams:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election John J. Williams Republican Elected U.S. Senator John J. Williams Republican

Republican incumbent John J. Williams was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic Governor Elbert N. Carvel.

1964 United States Senate election in Florida

← 1958 November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Spessard Holland Claude R. Kirk Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 997,585 562,212 Percentage 63.93% 36.03%

County results Holland:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kirk:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Spessard Holland Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Spessard Holland Democratic

Democratic incumbent Spessard Holland was reelected to a fourth term in a landslide, defeating the Republican candidate, future governor Claude R. Kirk Jr.

1964 United States Senate election in Hawaii

← 1959 November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Hiram Fong Thomas Gill Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 110,747 96,789 Percentage 53.0% 46.4%

County results Fong:      50–60% Gill:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election Hiram Fong Republican Elected U.S. Senator Hiram Fong Republican

Republican incumbent Hiram Fong was reelected to a second term, defeating Democratic Congressman Thomas Gill

Indiana election

← 1958 1970 →

Nominee Vance Hartke D. Russell Bontrager Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,128,505 941,519 Percentage 54.33% 45.33%

County results Hartke:      50–60%      60–70% Bontrager:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Vance Hartke Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Vance Hartke Democratic

Democratic incumbent Vance Hartke was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican State Senator Russell Bontrager.

1964 United States Senate election in Maine

← 1958 November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Edmund Muskie Clifford McIntire Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 253,511 127,040 Percentage 66.62% 33.38%

County results Muskie:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McIntire:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Edmund Muskie Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie Democratic

Democratic incumbent Edmund Muskie was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican Congressman Clifford McIntire in a landslide.

Maryland election

← 1958 1970 →

Nominee Joseph Tydings J. Glenn Beall Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 678,649 402,393 Percentage 62.78% 37.22%

County results Tydings:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Beall:      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election J. Glenn Beall Republican Elected U.S. Senator Joseph Tydings Democratic

Republican incumbent J. Glenn Beall was defeated in his bid for a third term by Democratic candidate Joseph Tydings, the former United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and son of former Senator Millard Tydings.

Beall's own son, J. Glenn Beall Jr., would go on to defeat Tydings six years later.

1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1962 (special) November 3, 1964 1970 →

Nominee Ted Kennedy Howard J. Whitmore Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,716,907 587,663 Percentage 74.26% 25.42%

County Results Municipality Results Kennedy   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Whitmore   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

U.S. senator before election Ted Kennedy Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Democratic