The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since the Reconstruction era.

Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett, reducing Democrats' majority to 57–43.

Results summary + ↓ 58 42 Democratic Republican

Parties Total Democratic Republican Conservative Other Last elections (1966) 64 36 0 0 100 Before these elections 63 37 0 0 100 Not up 40 26 0 0 66 Up 23 11 0 0 34 Incumbent retired 3 3 — — 6 1 2 — — 3 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat2 Democrats replaced by 2 Republicans — — 3 Result 2 4 0 0 6 Incumbent ran 20 8 — — 28 13 7 — — 20 4 Democrats replaced by 4 Republicans — — 4 2 0 — — 2 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican — — 2 Result 16 12 0 0 28 Total elected 18 16 0 0 34 Net gain/loss 5 5 5 Nationwide vote 24,976,660 23,588,832 1,139,402 989,058 50,693,952 Share 49.27% 46.53% 2.25% 1.95% 100% Result 58 42 0 0 100

Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives

Gains, losses, and holds Retirements Three Republicans and three Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

StateSenatorReplaced by Alabama Arizona Florida Iowa Kansas Kentucky

Defeats One Republican and seven Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

StateSenatorReplaced by Alaska California Maryland Missouri Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania

Post-election changes One Democrat died on December 11, 1968, and a Republican was appointed on December 24, 1968.

StateSenatorReplaced by Alaska(Class 2) Illinois(Class 3)

Change in composition

Before the elections After the September 10, 1968 appointment in New York.

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Majority → D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

After the general elections D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Majority → D R R D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Beginning of the next Congress

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Majority → D R R R D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Key: D Democratic R Republican

Race summary Elections leading to the next Congress In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1969; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Alabama Democratic 1938 19381944195019561962 Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. Alaska Democratic 19581962 Incumbent lost renomination, then ran as a write-in candidate but lost re-election.Democratic hold. Arizona Democratic 1926193219381944195019561962 Incumbent retired.Republican gain. Arkansas Democratic 1944195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. California Republican 1953 1954 19561962 Incumbent lost renomination.Democratic gain. Colorado Republican 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Connecticut Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Florida Democratic 195019561962 Incumbent retired.Republican gain. Georgia Democratic 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. Hawaii Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Idaho Democratic 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. Illinois Republican 195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Indiana Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Iowa Republican 1944195019561962 Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. Kansas Republican 1950 195019561962 Incumbent retired.Republican hold. Kentucky Republican 19561962 Incumbent retired.Republican hold.Incumbent resigned December 16, 1968 to give successor preferential seniority.Winner appointed December 17, 1968. Louisiana Democratic 1948 195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Maryland Democratic 1962 Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. Missouri Democratic 1960 1960 1962 Incumbent lost renomination.Democratic hold.Incumbent resigned December 27, 1968 to give successor preferential seniority.Winner appointed December 28, 1968. Nevada Democratic 1954 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. New Hampshire Republican 1954 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. New York Republican 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. North Carolina Democratic 1954 1954 19561962 Incumbent re-elected. North Dakota Republican 1945 1946 195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Ohio Democratic 19561962 Incumbent lost renomination.Republican gain. Oklahoma Democratic 195019561962 Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. Oregon Democratic 1944195019561962 Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. Pennsylvania Democratic 19561962 Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. South Carolina Democratic 1966 Incumbent re-elected. South Dakota Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Utah Republican 195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Vermont Republican 1940 1944195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Washington Democratic 1944 1944195019561962 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected.

Closest races Fifteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

State Party of winner Margin Oregon Republican (flip) 0.4% Iowa Democratic (flip) 0.6% Missouri Democratic 2.2% Ohio Republican (flip) 3.0% Indiana Democratic 3.5% Kentucky Republican 3.8% California Democratic (flip) 4.9% Oklahoma Republican (flip) 5.5% Pennsylvania Republican (flip) 6.1% Illinois Republican 6.4% Alaska Democratic 7.7% Utah Republican 7.9% Connecticut Democratic 8.6% Maryland Republican (flip) 8.7% Nevada Democratic 9.6%

Arkansas was the tipping point state with a margin of 18.3%.

Alabama

After electing Republicans during Reconstruction, Alabama had historically voted Democratic in local, state, and presidential elections from the 1870s until the 1960s with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. However, in 1948 Alabama did not support the Democratic ticket for the first time in nearly 100 years, voting for Strom Thurmond, who ran a third-party campaign. Democrats lost ground due to the unpopularity of the Civil Rights Act among white voters, who at the time comprised nearly the entire electorate. In 1964, Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the state of Alabama since Ulysses Grant, while the state elected Republicans to its congressional delegation for the first time since the turn of the century. Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act, which boosted his popularity in Southern states.

In 1962, J. Lister Hill ran for re-election to this seat to a fifth term but faced an unusually close race against Republican James D. Martin, who came within 1% of unseating the incumbent. In 1968, Republicans looked to build upon their momentum but faced a challenge when Lieutenant Governor James B. Allen, a staunch conservative, was nominated by the Democratic Party. Republicans also failed to capitalize on the candidacy of liberal Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey due to the third-party candidacy of Governor George Wallace limiting Republican support. Allen defeated Republican Perry Hooper by a wide margin in the general election and faced little opposition in 1978.

Alaska

Democrat Ernest Gruening had served as one of the state's inaugural senators alongside Democrat Bob Bartlett since 1959. He was re-elected in a landslide victory in 1962. In 1968, he was challenged by former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives, Mike Gravel, who ran on a campaign of youth. Gravel upset Gruening in the Democratic primary with just under 53% of the vote to 47% for Gruening.

Gravel faced former Anchorage Mayor Republican Elmer E. Rasmuson in the general election, while Gruening ran a write-in campaign. Gravel won a three-way race with 45% of the vote to 37% for Rasmuson, with incumbent Gruening scoring 17%.

Two months after the election, on December 11, 1968, the other Alaskan senator, Democrat Bob Bartlett, died. Republican Ted Stevens, who lost the Republican primary to Rasmuson for this seat, was then appointed to that other seat.

Arizona

Incumbent Democrat Carl Hayden did not run for re-election to an eighth term, with his long-time staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him. Elson beat State Treasurer of Arizona Bob Kennedy in the primary.

Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. senator and Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, and would remain under Republican Party control until 2020. Elson had previously challenged U.S. senator Paul Fannin in 1964, when Goldwater vacated his seat to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson.

Arkansas

J. William Fulbright was first elected in 1944 against token Republican opposition. He ran unopposed in 1950 and won by large margins in 1956 and 1962, but he saw his vote percentage slip in the latter. In the wake of Civil Rights legislation, which many southern whites opposed, Fulbright was re-elected in 1968 but by the smallest margin of his career. He faced Charles T. Bernard and won with just over 59% of the vote. Arkansas would not elect a Republican to this seat until 2010 with John Boozman's election.

California

California was generally considered to be a Republican stronghold throughout the early 1900s. Until 1959, Republicans controlled most government offices as well as both houses of state government. However, Pat Brown was elected governor in 1958 and ushered in a wave of Democratic success.

Along with California Secretary of State Frank M. Jordan, incumbent U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel was one of the last Republicans elected from California at the state or U.S. Senate level. Kuchel had been re-elected by a wide margin in 1962, winning every county in the state, and was the Minority Whip for the Republican Party.

However, in 1968 he faced a primary challenge from California Superintendent of Public Instruction Max Rafferty, who ran to the right of moderate Kuchel. In an upset, Rafferty defeated Kuchel in the primary, 50-47%.

In the Democratic primary, former California State Controller Alan Cranston won the primary with 58% of the vote.

Despite Richard Nixon's concurrent win in the presidential election (as well as in the state of California), Cranston defeated Rafferty on election day with just under 52% of the vote, flipping the state's other senate seat to the Democrats. Rafferty took just under 47% of the vote. Cranston would serve until 1993 in the senate.

Colorado

Incumbent Republican Peter Dominick won election in 1962 over Democratic incumbent John A. Carroll by eight percentage points. In 1968, he increased his margin of victory against Stephen McNichols in what would be his last U.S. Senate victory. He would lose in 1974 to Gary Hart.

Connecticut

Incumbent Abraham Ribicoff was elected in 1962 after the retirement of Prescott Bush by a razor-thin 51–49 margin. He increased his margin of victory in 1968 over Republican Representative Edwin H. May Jr.

Florida

Incumbent Democrat George Smathers retired. After supporting Republicans during Reconstruction, Florida supported almost only Democrats down-ballot until the 1940s, when the state voted for Eisenhower. Claude R. Kirk Jr. was elected governor in 1966 as Republicans gained ground in the South due to Democrats shifting leftward and Republicans rightward.