Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
U.S. Senate election, 1950
The U.S. Senate election, 1950 was an election for the United States Senate which
occurred in the middle of Harry Truman's second term as President. With the Democratic administration's popularity declining during the Cold War, the Republican opposition made a net gain of five seats, nearly taking control of the chamber.
The Republicans defeated incumbents Scott W. Lucas (D-IL) (current Majority Leader), Millard E. Tydings (D-MA), Francis J. Myers (D-PA), and Elbert B. Thomas (D-UT), as well as taking open seats in Idaho and California. The Democrats only defeated one incumbent, Forrest C. Donnell (R-MO).
During the interim, Republicans and Democrats would exchange seats in Michigan and Connecticut due to deaths and appointments, but this would not affect party balance.
A notable freshman was future President Richard M. Nixon, who would be elected Vice President two years later.
Senate contests in 1950
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
| Alabama | Lister Hill | Democrat | Re-elected, 76.5 - 23.5 | John G. Crommelin, Jr. (Republican) |
| Arizona | Carl Hayden | Democrat | Re-elected, 62.8 - 37.2 | Bruce Brockett (Republican) |
| Arkansas | J. William Fulbright | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| California | Sheridan Downey | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 59.2 - 40.8 | Richard M. Nixon (Republican) Helen Gahagan Douglas (Democrat) |
| Colorado | Eugene D. Millikin | Republican | Re-elected, 53.3 - 46.8 | John A. Carroll (Democrat) |
| Connecticut1 | William Benton | Democrat | Re-elected, 49.2 - 49.1 | Prescott S. Bush (Republican) |
| Connecticut | Brien McMahon | Democrat | Re-elected, 51.7 - 46.6 | Joseph E. Talbot (Republican) |
| Florida | Claude Pepper | Democrat | Defeated in primary: Democrat victory, 76.2 - 23.7 | George A. Smathers (Democrat) John P. Booth (Republican) |
| Georgia | Walter F. George | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| Idaho | Glen H. Taylor | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 61.7 - 38.3 | Herman Welker (Republican) D. Worth Clark (Democrat) |
| Idaho2 | Henry C. Dworshak | Republican | Re-elected, 51.9 - 48.1 | Claude J. Burtenshaw (Democrat) |
| Illinois | Scott W. Lucas | Democrat | Defeated, 53.9 - 45.8 | Everett M. Dirksen (Republican) |
| Indiana | Homer E. Capehart | Republican | Re-elected, 52.8 - 46.4 | Alex M. Campbell (Democrat) |
| Iowa | Bourke B. Hickenlooper | Republican | Re-elected, 54.8 - 44.7 | Albert J. Loveland (Democrat) |
| Kansas | Frank Carlson | Republican | Re-elected, 54.3 - 43.8 | Paul Aiken (Democrat) |
| Kentucky | Earle C. Clements | Democrat | Re-elected, 54.2 - 45.1 | Charles I. Dawson (Republican) |
| Louisiana | Russell B. Long | Democrat | Re-elected, 87.7 - 12.3 | Charles S. Gerth (Republican) |
| Maryland | Millard E. Tydings | Democrat | Defeated, 53.0 - 46.0 | John M. Butler (Republican) |
| Missouri | Forrest C. Donnell | Republican | Defeated, 53.6 - 46.4 | Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (Democrat) |
| Nevada | Patrick A. McCarran | Democrat | Re-elected, 58.0 - 42.0 | George E. Marshall (Republican) |
| New Hampshire | Charles W. Tobey | Republican | Re-elected, 55.7 - 38.0 - 6.3 | Emmet J. Kelley (Democrat) Wesley Powell (Independent) |
| New York | Herbert H. Lehman | Democrat | Re-elected, 50.3 - 45.3 | Joe R. Hanley (Republican) |
| North Carolina3 | Frank Porter Graham | Democrat | Defeated in primary: Democrat victory, 67.0 - 32.6 | Willis Smith (Democrat) E. L. Gavin (Republican) |
| North Carolina | Clyde R. Hoey | Democrat | Re-elected, 68.7 - 31.3 | Halsey B. Leavitt (Republican) |
| North Dakota | Milton R. Young | Republican | Re-elected, 67.6 - 32.4 | Harry O'Brien (Democrat) |
| Ohio | Robert A. Taft | Republican | Re-elected, 57.5 - 42.5 | Joseph T. Ferguson (Democrat) |
| Oklahoma | Elmer Thomas | Democrat | Retired: Democrat victory, 54.8 - 45.2 | A. S. Mike Monroney (Democrat) W. H. Bill Alexander (Republican) |
| Oregon | Wayne Morse | Republican | Re-elected, 74.8 - 23.2 | Howard Latourette (Democrat) |
| Pennsylvania | Francis J. Myers | Democrat | Defeated, 51.3 - 47.7 | James H. Duff (Republican) |
| Rhode Island4 | Edward L. Leahy | Democrat | Retired: Democrat victory, 61.6 - 38.4 | John O. Pastore (Democrat) Austin T. Levy (Republican) |
| South Carolina | Olin B. Johnston | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| South Dakota | Chandler Gurney | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 63.9 - 36.1 | Francis Case (Republican) John A. Engel (Democrat) |
| Utah | Elbert D. Thomas | Democrat | Defeated, 53.9 - 45.8 | Wallace F. Bennett (Republican) |
| Vermont | George D. Aiken | Republican | Re-elected, 78.0 - 22.0 | James E. Bigelow (Democrat) |
| Washington | Warren G. Magnuson | Democrat | Re-elected, 53.4 - 46.0 | Walter Williams (Republican) |
| Wisconsin | Alexander Wiley | Republican | Re-elected, 53.3 - 46.2 | Thomas E. Fairchild (Democrat) |
1 special election held due to death of Raymond E. Baldwin (R-CT)
2 special election held due to death of Bert H. Miller (D-ID).
3 special election held due to death of Joseph Melville Broughton (D-NC)
4 special election held due to death of James H. McGrath (D-RI)
See also
Senate composition before and after elections
| 81st Congress Senate Composition | 82nd Congress Senate Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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