1938 United States Senate elections

The 1938 United States Senate elections occurred in the middle of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. The Republicans gained eight seats from the Democrats, though this occurred after multiple Democratic gains since the 1932 elections. As a result, despite the Republican gains, the Democrats retained a commanding lead over them with more than two-thirds of the legislative chamber. However, there were around twenty unreliable Democratic votes for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which allowed conservatives to block some of his policies.

A contemporary account cited a number of reasons for the losses suffered by the Democrats. The Recession of 1937 had continued into the first half of 1938 and had arguably weakened public confidence in the administration's New Deal economic policies, along with controversy over the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, Roosevelt's "court-packing" plan. More broadly, Roosevelt had faced opposition from conservative Democrats and the Republicans in Congress since the beginning of his presidency, with Vice President John Nance Garner making a push for Roosevelt to support more conservative policies.

There were, in addition, strains between the more liberal New Deal supporters and the conservative wing of the Democratic party centered in the Southern states, which were exacerbated by an effort led by Roosevelt to target certain conservative senators for defeat in Democratic primaries, including Walter George of Georgia, Millard Tydings of Maryland, Robert Rice Reynolds of North Carolina, and Ellison Smith of South Carolina. While a number of New Deal supporters won primary elections, such as Alben Barkley in Kentucky, who defeated Governor Happy Chandler, James P. Pope of Idaho, a prominent New Deal supporter, lost his bid for re-nomination, as did California's William McAdoo — though McAdoo's Democratic opponent, Sheridan Downey, had campaigned as a liberal New Dealer on many issues who would also do more to improve pension plans.

The National Progressives of America emerged out of the Wisconsin Progressive Party as a national party on April 18, 1938.

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

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

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" |State

! scope="col" |Senator

! scope="col" |Replaced by

! Illinois

| |

! Oregon (special)

| |

! Oregon

| |

! South Dakota (special)

| |

Defeats

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

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" |State

! scope="col" |Senator

! scope="col" |Replaced by

! California

| |

! Connecticut

| |

! Idaho

| |

! Kansas

| |

! New Hampshire

| |

! Ohio

| |

! South Dakota

| |

! Tennessee

| |

! Wisconsin

| |

Death

One Democrat died on June 17, 1938, and his seat remained vacant until the election.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" |State

! scope="col" |Senator

! scope="col" |Replaced by

! New York (special)

| |

Post-election changes

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" |State

! scope="col" |Senator

! scope="col" |Replaced by

! Idaho

| |

! Illinois

| |

! Kentucky

| |

! Vermont

| |

Change in composition

Before the elections

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

| colspan=2 |  

| | D

| width=10% | D

| | D

| | D

| | D

| colspan=9 align=right | Majority →

| rowspan=2 | D

| | D

| | FL

| | D

| | D

| | D

| | D

| | D

| | FL

| | I

| | P

| | R

| | R

| colspan=2 |

| | R

Result of the elections

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

| colspan=2 |  

| | D

| width=10% | D

| | D

| | D

| | D

| colspan=9 align=right | Majority →

| rowspan=2 | D

| | D

| | R

| | R

| | R

| | P

| | I

| | FL

| | D

| | R

| | R

| colspan=2 |

| | R

|- valign=top

! Key:

{| class=wikitable

| align=center | D

| Democratic

| align=center | FL

| Farmer–Labor

| align=center | I

| Independent

| align=center | P

| Progressive

| align=center | R

| Republican

Race summaries

Special elections during the 75th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1938 or before January 3, 1939; ordered by election date.

{| class=wikitable

|- valign=bottom

! rowspan=2 | State

! colspan=3 | Incumbent

! rowspan=2 | Results

! rowspan=2 | Candidates

! Senator

! Party

! Electoral history

! Alabama (Class 3)

| J. Lister Hill

| | Democratic

| 1938

| Interim appointee elected April 26, 1938.

| nowrap |

! New Jersey (Class 1)

| John Milton

| | Democratic

| 1938

| | Interim appointee retired. Winner elected November 8, 1938. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! New York (Class 1)

| Royal S. Copeland

| | Democratic

| 1922 1928 1934

| | Incumbent died June 17, 1938. Winner elected November 8, 1938. Democratic hold.

| nowrap |

! Oregon (Class 3)

| Alfred E. Reames

| | Democratic

| 1938

| | Interim appointee retired. Winner elected November 8, 1938. Republican gain. Winner did not run for the next term, however; see below.

| nowrap |

! South Dakota (Class 3)

| Herbert E. Hitchcock

| | Democratic

| 1936

| | Interim appointee retired. Winner elected November 8, 1938. Republican gain. Winner did not run for the next term, however; see below.

| nowrap |

! Tennessee (Class 2)

| George L. Berry

| | Democratic

| 1937

| | Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term. Winner elected November 8, 1938. Democratic hold. Winner delayed his term until January 16, 1939, to finish his term as district attorney.

| nowrap |

Races leading to the 76th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1939; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

{| class=wikitable

|- valign=bottom

! rowspan=2 | State

! colspan=3 | Incumbent

! rowspan=2 | Results

! rowspan=2 | Candidates

|- valign=bottom

! Senator

! Party

! Electoral history

! Alabama

| J. Lister Hill

| | Democratic

| 1938 1938

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Arizona

| Carl Hayden

| | Democratic

| 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Arkansas

| Hattie Caraway

| | Democratic

| 1931 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! California

| William Gibbs McAdoo

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent then resigned and Thomas M. Storke (D) was appointed to finish the term.

| nowrap |

! Colorado

| Alva B. Adams

| | Democratic

| 1923 1924 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Connecticut

| Augustine Lonergan

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! Florida

| Claude Pepper

| | Democratic

| 1936

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Georgia

| Walter F. George

| | Democratic

| 1922 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Idaho

| James P. Pope

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.

| nowrap |

! Illinois

| William H. Dieterich

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.

| nowrap |

! Indiana

| Frederick Van Nuys

| | Democratic

| 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Iowa

| Guy Gillette

| | Democratic

| 1936

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Kansas

| George McGill

| | Democratic

| 1930 1932

| | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! Kentucky

| Alben W. Barkley

| | Democratic

| 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Louisiana

| John H. Overton

| | Democratic

| 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Maryland

| Millard Tydings

| | Democratic

| 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Missouri

| Bennett Champ Clark

| | Democratic

| 1932 1933

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Nevada

| Pat McCarran

| | Democratic

| 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! New Hampshire

| Fred H. Brown

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! New York

| Robert F. Wagner

| | Democratic

| 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! North Carolina

| Robert R. Reynolds

| | Democratic

| 1932 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! North Dakota

| Gerald Nye

| | Republican

| 1925 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Ohio

| Robert J. Bulkley

| | Democratic

| 1930 1932

| | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! Oklahoma

| Elmer Thomas

| | Democratic

| 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Oregon

| Alfred E. Reames

| | Democratic

| 1938

| | Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! Pennsylvania

| James J. Davis

| | Republican

| 1930 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! South Carolina

| Ellison D. Smith

| | Democratic

| 1909 1914 1920 1926 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! South Dakota

| Herbert E. Hitchcock

| | Democratic

| 1936

| | Interim appointee lost nomination to next term. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

! Utah

| Elbert D. Thomas

| | Democratic

| 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Vermont

| Ernest W. Gibson

| | Republican

| 1933 1934

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Washington

| Homer Bone

| | Democratic

| 1932

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

! Wisconsin

| F. Ryan Duffy

| | Democratic

| 1932

| | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.

| nowrap |

Closest races

Thirteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! State

! Party of winner

! Margin

! Indiana

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 0.3%

! Iowa

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 0.3%

! Connecticut

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 2.9%

! Illinois

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 3.0%

! South Dakota

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 5.0%

! Ohio

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 7.2%

! New Jersey

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 7.3%

! North Dakota

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 7.5%

! New Hampshire

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 8.4%

! New York

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 9.5%

! California

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 9.7%

! Idaho

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Democratic

| 9.8%

! Oregon

| data-sort-value=-0.5 | Republican (flip)

| 9.8%

There is no tipping point state.

Alabama

There were 2 elections due to the August 19, 1937, resignation of two-term Democrat Hugo Black. Democrat Dixie Bibb Graves was appointed August 20, 1937 (by her husband, the governor) to finish Black's term.

Alabama (special)

After congressman J. Lister Hill won the January 4, 1938, Democratic primary, Graves resigned and Hill was appointed to continue the term until the April 26, 1938, special election, which he won unopposed.

Hill was then easily re-elected in November to the next term.

Alabama (regular)

Arizona

Incumbent Democrat Carl Hayden was re-elected to a third term, defeating Republican nominee Burt H. Clingan, chairman of the Arizona Industrial Commission, in the general election.

In contrast to previous elections, Hayden was easily reelected, receiving only token opposition from a relatively unknown Republican challenger.