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. , 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. 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.
Results summary + ↓ 68 32 Democratic Republican
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 24 9 — 33 2 0 — 2 Incumbent retired 1 1 — 2 1 1 — 2 0 0 — 0 Result 1 1 0 2 Incumbent ran 25 8 — 33 23 5 — 28 3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican — 4 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 23,171,991 848,082 54,806,108 Share 56.17% 42.28% 1.55% 100% Result 68 32 0 100
Source:
Gains, losses, and holds Retirements One Republican did not seek re-election and one Democrat did not seek election to finish an unexpired term.
StateSenatorReplaced by Arizona Tennessee (special)
Defeats 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.
StateSenatorReplaced by California Maryland New Mexico New York Oklahoma
Post-election changes 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.
StateSenatorReplaced by Michigan South Carolina Virginia
Change in composition Before the 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 D D 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
Elections results
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 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
Key D Democratic R Republican
Race summary
Special elections during the 88th Congress In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1964 or before January 3, 1965; ordered by election date, then state.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history New Mexico(Class 1) Republican 1962 Interim appointee lost election.New senator elected.Democratic gain.Winner also elected to the next term, see below. Oklahoma(Class 2) Democratic 1963 Appointee lost nomination to finish term.New senator elected.Democratic hold. Tennessee(Class 2) Democratic 1963 Appointee retired.New senator elected.Democratic hold.
Elections leading to the next Congress 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.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Arizona Republican 19521958 Incumbent retired to run for President of the United States.New senator elected.Republican hold. California Democratic 1964 Interim appointee lost election.New senator elected.Republican gain.Incumbent resigned December 31, 1964, to give successor preferential seniority.Winner seated January 1, 1965. Connecticut Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Delaware Republican 194619521958 Incumbent re-elected. Florida Democratic 1946 194619521958 Incumbent re-elected. Hawaii Republican 1959 Incumbent re-elected. Indiana Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Maine Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Maryland Republican 19521958 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Massachusetts Democratic 1962 Incumbent re-elected. Michigan Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Minnesota DFL 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Mississippi Democratic 1947 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. Missouri Democratic 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. Montana Democratic 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. Nebraska Republican 1954 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Nevada Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. New Jersey Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. New Mexico Republican 1962 Interim appointee lost election.New senator elected.Democratic gain.Winner was also elected to finish the term, see above. New York Republican 1958 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. North Dakota Democratic-NPL 1960 Incumbent re-elected. Ohio Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Pennsylvania Republican 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Rhode Island Democratic 1950 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. Tennessee Democratic 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. Texas Democratic 1957 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Utah Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Vermont Republican 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Virginia Democratic 1933 1933 19341940194619521958 Incumbent re-elected. Washington Democratic 19521958 Incumbent re-elected. West Virginia Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Democratic 1957 1958 Incumbent re-elected. Wyoming Democratic 1958 Incumbent re-elected.
Closest races Fifteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:
State Party of winner Margin Nevada Democratic 0.04% Ohio Democratic 0.4% Pennsylvania Republican 1.5% Oklahoma (special) Democratic 2.4% Arizona Republican 2.8% California Republican (flip) 3.4% Delaware Republican 2.4% Tennessee (special) Democratic 4.7% Hawaii Republican 6.6% Wisconsin Democratic 6.7% Tennessee Democratic 7.2% Vermont Republican 7.0% Wyoming Democratic 8.0% Indiana Democratic 9.0% New Mexico Democratic (flip) 9.4%
Michigan is the tipping point state with a margin of 29.1%.
Arizona
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. 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
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.
Connecticut
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
Republican incumbent John J. Williams was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic Governor Elbert N. Carvel.
Florida
Democratic incumbent Spessard Holland was reelected to a fourth term in a landslide, defeating the Republican candidate, future governor Claude R. Kirk Jr.
Hawaii
Republican incumbent Hiram Fong was reelected to a second term, defeating Democratic Congressman Thomas Gill
Indiana
Democratic incumbent Vance Hartke was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican State Senator Russell Bontrager.
Maine
Democratic incumbent Edmund Muskie was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican Congressman Clifford McIntire in a landslide.
Maryland
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.
Massachusetts
Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy, who had won a special election two years earlier, defeated his challengers to win his second (his first full) Senate term. Much of the campaign-appearance burden on behalf of Ted Kennedy fell on his wife, Joan, because of Ted's serious back injury in a plane crash.
Candidates: Ted Kennedy - Incumbent senator elected in 1962 to the unexpired term of John F. Kennedy. Howard J. Whitmore Jr. - Member of Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953, and mayor of Newton, Massachusetts, from 1954 to 1960. Served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II.Howard J. Whitmore Jr. at ourcampaigns.com Lawrence Gilfedder - Candidate for Lt. Governor in 1948. Ran for Governor in 1952 and 1954. Ran for Senate in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, and 1970.Lawrence Gilfedder at ourcampaigns.com Grace F. Luder - Candidate for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district seat in 1950 and Massachusetts's 14th congressional district seat in 1952.Grace F. Luder at ourcampaigns.com
Michigan
Democratic incumbent Philip Hart was easily reelected to a second term over Republican challenger Elly M. Peterson.
Minnesota
Incumbent Democrat Eugene McCarthy defeated Republican challenger Wheelock Whitney Jr. to win a second term.
Mississippi
Democratic incumbent John C. Stennis was reelected virtually unopposed to a fourth term, even as Republican candidate Barry Goldwater carried Mississippi in the presidential election. Stennis received 97% of the vote in the Democratic primary and faced no Republican challenger in the general election.
Missouri
Democratic incumbent Stuart Symington was reelected to a third term in a landslide, defeating Republican candidate Jean Paul Bradshaw.
Montana
Incumbent Democrat Mike Mansfield, who was first elected to the Senate in 1952 and was re-elected in 1958, ran for re-election. Mansfield won the Democratic primary in a landslide, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Alex Blewett, the Majority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives and the Republican nominee. Though Mansfield's margin was significantly reduced from 1958, he still overwhelmingly defeated Blewett and won his third term in the Senate.
Nebraska
Republican incumbent Roman Hruska was reelected in a landslide over Democratic challenger Raymond Arndt.
Nevada
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Cannon won re-election to a second term by a razor-thin margin of only 48 votes over Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt.
New Jersey
Democratic incumbent Harrison A. Williams was reelected to a second term over Republican candidate Bernard M. Shanley, a former white house staffer during the Eisenhower administration.
New Mexico