1934 United States Senate elections

California election
← 1928 1940 →
U.S. senator before election; Hiram Johnson; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Hiram Johnson; Republican

Arizona election
← 1928 1940 →
U.S. senator before election; Henry F. Ashurst; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Henry F. Ashurst; Democratic

1934 United States Senate elections
36 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate; 49 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican hold; Progressive gain; Farmer–Labor hold; No election
Majority Leader before election; Joseph Robinson; Democratic	Elected Majority Leader ; Joseph Robinson; Democratic

The 1934 United States Senate elections were held in the middle of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term. The 32 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. During the Great Depression, voters strongly backed Roosevelt's New Deal and his allies in the Senate, with Democrats picking up a net of nine seats, giving them a supermajority (which required 64 seats, two-thirds of the total 96 seats in 1934).^[1] This marked the first time that an incumbent president's party gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election, followed by 1998 and 2002.^[2] This was also the first time in American history that the opposition party failed to flip any Senate seats, something that only occurred once since, in 2022.

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Three Democrats and one Republican retired instead of seeking re-election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Maryland	Phillips Lee Goldsborough	George L. P. Radcliffe
Nebraska (special)	William Henry Thompson	Richard C. Hunter
Nebraska	William Henry Thompson	Edward R. Burke
Washington	Clarence Dill	Lewis B. Schwellenbach

Defeats

Eight Republicans and two Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Connecticut	Frederic C. Walcott	Francis T. Maloney
Indiana	Arthur Raymond Robinson	Sherman Minton
Mississippi	Hubert D. Stephens	Theodore G. Bilbo
Missouri	Roscoe C. Patterson	Harry S. Truman
Montana (special)	John E. Erickson	James E. Murray
New Jersey	Hamilton Fish Kean	A. Harry Moore
Ohio	Simeon D. Fess	A. Victor Donahey
Pennsylvannia	David A. Reed	Joseph F. Guffey
Rhode Island	Felix Hebert	Peter G. Gerry
West Virginia	Henry D. Hatfield	Rush Holt Sr.

Party Switches

One Republican won re-election as a Progressive.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	Robert M. La Follette Jr.

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1934.

		D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉
D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈
D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄ Ariz. Ran	D₄₅ Fla. Ran	D₄₆ Mass. Ran	D₄₇ Miss. Ran	D₄₈ Mont. (reg) Ran
Majority →									D₄₉ Mont. (sp) Ran
D₅₈ Va. Ran	D₅₇ Utah Ran	D₅₆ Texas Ran	D₅₅ Tenn. (sp) Ran	D₅₄ Tenn. (reg) Ran	D₅₃ N.Y. Ran	D₅₂ N.M. (sp) Ran	D₅₁ Nev. Ran	D₅₀ Neb. (reg) Neb. (sp) Retired	D₄₉ Mont. (sp) Ran
D₅₉ Wash. Retired	D₆₀ Wyo. (reg) Wyo. (sp) Ran	FL₁ Minn. Ran	R₃₅ Wis. Ran	R₃₄ W.Va. Ran	R₃₃ Vt. (reg) Ran	R₃₂ R.I. Ran	R₃₁ Pa. Ran	R₃₀ Ohio Ran	R₂₉ N.Dak. Ran
R₁₉ Calif. Ran	R₂₀ Conn. Ran	R₂₁ Del. Ran	R₂₂ Ind. Ran	R₂₃ Maine Ran	R₂₄ Md. Ran	R₂₅ Mich. Ran	R₂₆ Mo. Ran	R₂₇ N.J. Ran	R₂₈ N.M. (reg) Ran
R₁₈ Vt. (sp) Ran	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Elections result

		D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉
D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈
D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	D₄₀	D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄ Ariz. Re-elected	D₄₅ Fla. Re-elected	D₄₆ Mass. Re-elected	D₄₇ Miss. Hold	D₄₈ Mont. (reg) Re-elected
Majority →									D₄₉ Mont. (sp) Hold
D₅₈ Va. Re-elected	D₅₇ Utah Re-elected	D₅₆ Texas Re-elected	D₅₅ Tenn. (sp) Elected^[b]	D₅₄ Tenn. (reg) Re-elected	D₅₃ N.Y. Re-elected	D₅₂ N.M. (sp) Elected^[b]	D₅₁ Nev. Re-elected	D₅₀ Neb. (reg) Neb. (sp) Hold	D₄₉ Mont. (sp) Hold
D₅₉ Wash. Hold	D₆₀ Wyo. (reg) Wyo. (sp) Elected^[b]	D₆₁ Conn. Gain	D₆₂ Ind. Gain	D₆₃ Md. Gain	D₆₄ Mo. Gain	D₆₅ N.J. Gain	D₆₆ Ohio Gain	D₆₇ Pa. Gain	D₆₈ R.I. Gain
R₁₉ Del. Re-elected	R₂₀ Maine Re-elected	R₂₁ Mich. Re-elected	R₂₂ N.M. (reg) Re-elected	R₂₃ N.Dak. Re-elected	R₂₄ Vt. (reg) Re-elected	R₂₅ Vt. (sp) Elected^[b]	P₁ Wis. Re-elected new party	FL₁ Minn. Re-elected	D₆₉ W.Va. Gain
R₁₈ Calif. Re-elected	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉
		R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈

Key

D_#	Democratic
FL_#	Farmer–Labor
P_#	Progressive
R_#	Republican

Race summaries

Elections during the 73rd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1934; ordered by election date then by state.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Vermont (Class 3)	Ernest Willard Gibson	Republican	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 16, 1934.	▌Y Ernest Willard Gibson (Republican), 58.2% ▌Harry W. Witters (Democratic), 41.8%
Montana (Class 2)	John E. Erickson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 6, 1934. Democratic hold.	▌Y James E. Murray (Democratic) 59.6% ▌Scott Leavitt (Republican) 39.5%
Nebraska (Class 1)	William Henry Thompson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 6, 1934. Democratic hold. Winner was not elected to the next term, see below.	▌Y Richard C. Hunter (Democratic) 56.45% ▌J. H. Kemp (Republican) 43.55%
New Mexico (Class 2)	Carl Hatch	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 6, 1934.	▌Y Carl Hatch (Democratic) 54.5% ▌Richard C. Dillon (Republican) 45.0%
Tennessee (Class 2)	Nathan L. Bachman	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 6, 1934.	▌Y Nathan L. Bachman (Democratic) 80.1% ▌John Randolph Neal Jr. (Independent) 19.9%
Wyoming (Class 1)	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 6, 1934. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below.	▌Y Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.88% ▌Vincent Carter (Republican) 43.12%

Elections leading to the 74th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1935; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Arizona	Henry F. Ashurst	Democratic	1912 1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Henry F. Ashurst (Democratic) 72.0% ▌J. E. Thompson (Republican) 25.6%
California	Hiram Johnson	Republican	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Hiram Johnson (Republican) 94.5% ▌George R. Kirkpatrick (Socialist) 5.3%
Connecticut	Frederic C. Walcott	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Francis T. Maloney (Democratic) 51.8% ▌Frederic C. Walcott (Republican) 48.3%
Delaware	John G. Townsend Jr.	Republican	1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John G. Townsend Jr. (Republican) 53.3% ▌Wilbur L. Adams (Democratic) 46.2%
Florida	Park Trammell	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Park Trammell (Democratic) Unopposed
Indiana	Arthur Raymond Robinson	Republican	1925 (Appointed) 1926 (special) 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Sherman Minton (Democratic) 51.5% ▌Arthur Raymond Robinson (Republican) 47.5%
Maine	Frederick Hale	Republican	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Frederick Hale (Republican) 50.1% ▌F. Harold Dubord (Democratic) 49.7%
Maryland	Phillips Lee Goldsborough	Republican	1928	Incumbent retired to run for Governor of Maryland. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y George L. P. Radcliffe (Democratic) 56.1% ▌Joseph I. France (Republican) 42.0%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	1926 (special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y David I. Walsh (Democratic) 59.4% ▌Robert M. Washburn (Republican) 37.4%
Michigan	Arthur Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (Appointed) 1928 (special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Arthur Vandenberg (Republican) 51.3% ▌Frank Albert Picard (Democratic) 47.0% ▌John Monarch (Socialist)^[3] 1.7%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Farmer–Labor	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Henrik Shipstead (Farmer–Labor) 49.9% ▌Einar Hoidale (Democratic) 29.2% ▌N. J. Holmberg (Republican) 19.8%
Mississippi	Hubert D. Stephens	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic) Unopposed
Missouri	Roscoe C. Patterson	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Harry S. Truman (Democratic) 59.5% ▌Roscoe C. Patterson (Republican) 39.7% ▌W. C. Meyer (Socialist) 0.7%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Burton K. Wheeler (Democratic) 70.1% ▌George M. Bourquin (Republican) 28.7%
Nebraska	William H. Thompson	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Winner was not elected to finish the current term; see above.	▌Y Edward R. Burke (Democratic) 55.3% ▌Robert G. Simmons (Republican) 42.9%
Nevada	Key Pittman	Democratic	1913 (special) 1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Key Pittman (Democratic) 64.5% ▌George W. Malone (Republican) 33.4%
New Jersey	Hamilton Fish Kean	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y A. Harry Moore (Democratic) 57.9% ▌Hamilton Fish Kean (Republican) 40.9%
New Mexico	Bronson M. Cutting	Republican	1927 (Appointed) 1928 (Retired) 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bronson M. Cutting (Republican) 50.2% ▌Dennis Chávez (Democratic) 49.4%
New York	Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Royal S. Copeland (Democratic) 55.3% ▌E. Harold Cluett (Republican) 36.9% ▌Norman Thomas (Socialist) 5.3%
North Dakota	Lynn Frazier	Republican	1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Lynn Frazier (Republican) 58.2% ▌Henry Holt (Democratic) 40.2%
Ohio	Simeon D. Fess	Republican	1922 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y A. Victor Donahey (Democratic) 60.0% ▌Simeon D. Fess (Republican) 39.4%
Pennsylvania	David A. Reed	Republican	1922 (Appointed) 1922 (special) 1922 1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Joseph F. Guffey (Democratic) 50.8% ▌David A. Reed (Republican) 46.5%
Rhode Island	Felix Hebert	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Peter G. Gerry (Democratic) 57.1% ▌Felix Hebert (Republican) 42.9%
Tennessee	Kenneth McKellar	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Kenneth McKellar (Democratic) 63.4% ▌Ben W. Hooper (Republican) 35.8%
Texas	Tom Connally	Democratic	1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tom Connally (Democratic) 96.7%
Utah	William H. King	Democratic	1916 1922 1928	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y William H. King (Democratic) 53.1% ▌Don B. Colton (Republican) 45.4%
Vermont	Warren Austin	Republican	1931 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Warren Austin (Republican) 51.0% ▌Fred C. Martin (Democratic) 48.4%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	1933 (Appointed) 1933 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) 76.0% ▌Lawrence C. Page (Republican) 20.9%
Washington	Clarence Dill	Democratic	1922 1928	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Lewis B. Schwellenbach (Democratic) 60.9% ▌Reno Odlin (Republican) 34.0%
West Virginia	Henry D. Hatfield	Republican	1928	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain. Winner was seated late on June 21, 1935 when he turned 30, due to not having satisfied the constitutional requirement to serve.	▌Y Rush Holt Sr. (Democratic) 55.1% ▌Henry D. Hatfield (Republican) 44.4%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	Republican	1925 (special) 1928	Incumbent re-elected as a Progressive. Progressive gain.	▌Y Robert M. La Follette Jr. (Progressive) 47.8% ▌John M. Callahan (Democratic) 24.2% ▌John B. Chapple (Republican) 22.8%
Wyoming	Joseph C. O'Mahoney	Democratic	1933 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner was also elected to finish the current term; see above.	▌Y Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic) 56.6% ▌Vincent Carter (Republican) 43.0%

Closest races

Ten races had a margin of victory under 10%:

State	Party of winner	Margin
Maine	Republican	0.4%
New Mexico	Republican	0.8%
Vermont	Republican	2.6%
Connecticut	Democratic (flip)	3.5%
Indiana	Democratic (flip)	4.0%
Michigan	Republican	4.3%
Pennsylvannia	Democratic (flip)	4.3%
Utah	Democratic	7.7%
Delaware	Republican	7.1%
New Mexico (special)	Democratic	9.5%

Virginia was the tipping point state with a margin of 55.1%.

Arizona

1934 United States Senate election in Arizona^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry F. Ashurst (incumbent)	67,648	72.03%
	Republican	Joseph Edward Thompson	24,075	25.63%
	Socialist	Charles D. Pinkerton	1,591	1.69%
	Communist	Ramon Garcia	606	0.65%
Majority			43,573	46.40%
Turnout			93,920
	Democratic hold

California

1934 United States Senate election in California ^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hiram Johnson (Incumbent)	1,946,572	94.54%
	Socialist	George Ross Kirkpatrick	108,748	5.28%
	Write-In	Pat Chambers	1,025	0.05%
	None	Scattering	2,595	0.13%
Majority			1,837,824	89.26%
Turnout			2,058,940
	Republican hold

Connecticut

1934 United States Senate election in Connecticut^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Francis T. Maloney	265,552	51.75%
	Republican	Frederic C. Walcott (Incumbent)	247,623	48.25%
Majority			17,929	3.50%
Turnout			513,175
	Democratic gain from Republican

Delaware

1934 United States Senate election in Delaware^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John G. Townsend Jr. (Incumbent)	52,829	53.27%
	Democratic	Wilbur L. Adams	45,771	46.16%
	Socialist	Fred W. Whiteside	497	0.50%
	Communist	John T. Wlodkoski	69	0.07%
Majority			7,058	7.11%
Turnout			99,166
	Republican hold

Florida

1934 United States Senate election in Florida^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Park Trammell (Incumbent)	131,780	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Indiana

1934 United States Senate election in Indiana^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sherman Minton	758,801	51.46%
	Republican	Arthur Raymond Robinson (Incumbent)	700,103	47.48%
	Socialist	Forrest Wallace	9,414	0.64%
	Prohibition	Albert Jackman	4,987	0.34%
	Communist	Wenzel Stocker	1,307	0.09%
Majority			58,698	3.98%
Turnout			1,474,612
	Democratic gain from Republican

Maine

1934 United States Senate election in Maine^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frederick Hale (Incumbent)	139,773	50.14%
	Democratic	F. Harold Dubord	138,573	49.71%
	Communist	Hans Nelson	422	0.15%
Majority			1,200	0.43%
Turnout			278,768
	Republican hold

Maryland

Maryland election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	George L. P. Radcliffe	Joseph I. France
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	264,279	197,643
Percentage	56.10%	41.95%

U.S. senator before election

Phillips Lee Goldsborough
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

George L. P. Radcliffe
Democratic

1934 United States Senate election in Maryland^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George L. P. Radcliffe	264,279	56.10%
	Republican	Joseph I. France	197,643	41.95%
	Socialist	Elisabeth Gilman	6,067	1.29%
	American Labor	Ada Smith Lang	1,935	0.41%
	Communist	Samuel Gale	1,188	0.25%
Majority			66,636	14.15%
Turnout			471,112
	Democratic gain from Republican

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	David I. Walsh	Robert M. Washburn
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	852,776	536,692
Percentage	59.39%	37.39%

U.S. senator before election

David I. Walsh
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

David I. Walsh
Democratic

1934 United States Senate election in Massachusetts^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David I. Walsh (incumbent)	852,776	59.39%
	Republican	Robert M. Washburn	536,692	37.38%
	Socialist	Albert Sprague Coolidge	22,092	1.54%
	Prohibition	Barnard Smith	10,363	0.72%
	Socialist Labor	Albert L. Waterman	8,245	0.57%
	Communist	Paul C. Wicks	5,757	0.40%
Majority			316,084	22.01%
Turnout			1,435,932
	Democratic hold

Michigan

1934 United States Senate election in Michigan^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arthur Vandenberg (Incumbent)	626,017	51.32%
	Democratic	Frank Albert Picard	573,574	47.02%
	Socialist	John Monarch	10,644	0.87%
	Communist	Philip Raymond	5,634	0.46%
	Farmer–Labor	W. Ralph Jones	2,042	0.17%
	Socialist Labor	John Vonica	939	0.08%
	Commonwealth Land	Jay W. Slaughter	735	0.06%
	National	Chester A. Shewalter	147	0.01%
	None	Scattering	2	0.00%
Majority			52,443	4.30%
Turnout			1,219,734
	Republican hold

Minnesota

Minnesota election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	Henrik Shipstead	Einar Hoidale	N. J. Holmberg
Party	Farmer–Labor	Democratic (DFL)	Republican
Popular vote	503,379	294,757	200,083
Percentage	49.87%	29.20%	19.82%

County results

U.S. senator before election

Henrik Shipstead
Farmer–Labor

Elected U.S. Senator

Henrik Shipstead
Farmer–Labor

1934 United States Senate election in Minnesota^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Farmer–Labor	Henrik Shipstead (Incumbent)	503,379	49.87%
	Democratic (DFL)	Einar Hoidale	294,757	29.20%
	Republican	N. J. Holmberg	200,083	19.82%
	Communist	Aldred Tiala	5,620	0.56%
	Socialist	Morris Kaplan	5,618	0.56%
Majority			409,622	20.67%
Turnout			1,009,457
	Farmer–Labor hold

Mississippi

1934 United States Senate election in Mississippi^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theodore G. Bilbo (Incumbent)	51,609	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Missouri

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	Harry S. Truman	Roscoe C. Patterson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	787,110	524,954
Percentage	59.55%	39.71%

County results

U.S. senator before election

Roscoe C. Patterson
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Harry S. Truman
Democratic

1934 Missouri United States Senate election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry S. Truman	787,110	59.54%
	Republican	Roscoe C. Patterson (Incumbent)	524,954	39.71%
	Socialist	W. C. Meyer	9,010	0.68%
	Communist	Frank Brown	418	0.03%
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	384	0.03%
Majority			262,156	19.83%
Turnout			1,321,876
	Democratic gain from Republican

Montana

Montana (regular)

Montana regular election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	Burton K. Wheeler	George Bourquin
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	142,823	58,519
Percentage	70.14%	28.74%

U.S. senator before election

Burton K. Wheeler
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Burton K. Wheeler
Democratic

1934 United States Senate election in Montana^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Burton K. Wheeler (Incumbent)	142,823	70.14%	+16.94%
	Republican	George M. Bourquin	58,519	28.74%	−18.06%
	Socialist	William F. Held	1,381	0.68%
	Communist	Raymond F. Gray	903	0.44%
Majority			84,304	41.40%	+35.00%
Turnout			203,626
	Democratic hold

Montana (special)

Montana special election

← 1930

1936 →


Nominee	James E. Murray	Scott Leavitt
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	116,965	77,307
Percentage	59.66%	39.43%

U.S. senator before election

John E. Erickson
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

James E. Murray
Democratic

1934 United States Senate special election in Montana^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James E. Murray	116,965	59.66%	−0.67%
	Republican	Scott Leavitt	77,307	39.43%	+1.56%
	Socialist	John F. Duffy	1,779	0.91%	+0.34%
Majority			39,658	20.23%	−2.22%
Turnout			196,051
	Democratic hold

Nebraska

Nebraska (regular)

1934 United States Senate election in Nebraska^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward R. Burke	305,958	55.30%
	Republican	Robert G. Simmons	237,126	42.86%
	By Petition	Henry Hoffman	7,670	1.39%
	Write-In	E. D. O’Sullivan	2,501	0.45%
	N/A	Scattering	44	0.01%
Majority			68,832	12.44%
Turnout			553,299
	Democratic hold

Nebraska (special)

1934 United States Senate special election in Nebraska^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard C. Hunter (Incumbent)	281,421	56.45%
	Republican	J. H. Kemp	217,106	43.55%
	N/A	Scattering	24	<0.01%
Majority			64,315	12.90%
Turnout			498,551
	Democratic hold

Nevada

1934 United States Senate election in Nevada^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Key Pittman (Incumbent)	27,581	64.51%
	Republican	George W. Malone	14,273	33.38%
	Independent	John P. Reynolds	901	2.11%
Majority			13,308	31.13%
Turnout			42,755
	Democratic hold

New Jersey

New Jersey election

← 1928

1938 (special) →


Nominee	A. Harry Moore	Hamilton Fish Kean
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	785,971	554,483
Percentage	57.90%	40.85%

County Results
Moore: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Kean: 50-60%

U.S. senator before election

Hamilton Fish Kean
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

A. Harry Moore
Democratic

1934 United States Senate election in New Jersey^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	A. Harry Moore	785,971	57.90%
	Republican	Hamilton Fish Kean (Incumbent)	554,483	40.85%
	Socialist	John S. Martin	9,721	0.72%
	Communist	Rebecca Grecht	2,874	0.21%
	Prohibition	Elwood Hollingshead	2,072	0.15%
	Socialist Labor	John C. Butterworth	1,640	0.12%
	Independent Veteran	William L. Detmering	648	0.05%
Majority			231,488	17.05%
Turnout			1,357,409
	Democratic gain from Republican

New Mexico

New Mexico (regular)

1934 United States Senate election in New Mexico^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bronson M. Cutting (Incumbent)	76,228	50.20%
	Democratic	Dennis Chávez	74,944	49.35%
	Socialist	W. C. Thorp	568	0.37%
	Communist	Alphonso Ray	122	0.08%
Majority			1,284	0.85%
Turnout			151,862
	Republican hold

New Mexico (special)

1934 United States Senate special election in New Mexico^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl Hatch (Incumbent)	81,934	54.76%
	Republican	Richard C. Dillon	66,956	44.75%
	Socialist	T. N. Hotchinson	613	0.41%
	Communist	C. G. Plater	134	0.09%
Majority			14,978	10.01%
Turnout			149,637
	Democratic hold

New York

New York election

← 1928

1938 (special) →


Nominee	Royal S. Copeland	E. Harold Cluett
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	2,046,377	1,363,440
Percentage	55.34%	36.87%


Nominee	Norman Thomas
Party	Socialist
Popular vote	194,952
Percentage	5.27%

U.S. senator before election

Royal S. Copeland
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Royal S. Copeland
Democratic

In New York, the whole Democratic ticket was elected in the third landslide in a row.

1934 United States Senate election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Royal S. Copeland (incumbent)	2,046,377	55.21%	+6.13%
	Republican	E. Harold Cluett	1,363,440	36.87%	−11.02%
	Socialist	Norman Thomas	194,952	5.27%	+2.65%
	Communist	Max Bedacht	45,396	1.23%	+0.95%
	Constitutional	Henry Skillman Breckinridge	24,241	0.66%	N/A
	Prohibition	Michael Bartell	16,769	0.45%	+0.45%
	Socialist Labor	Olive Johnson	6,622	0.18%	+0.05%
Total votes			3,727,797	100.00%

North Dakota

1934 United States Senate election in North Dakota^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lynn Frazier (Incumbent)	151,205	58.24%
	Democratic	Henry Holt	104,477	40.24%
	Farmer–Labor	Alfred S. Dale	3,269	1.26%
	Communist-Workers-Farmers’ Government	Arvo F. Husa	656	0.25%
Majority			46,728	18.00%
Turnout			259,607
	Republican hold

Ohio

1934 United States Senate election in Ohio^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	A. Victor Donahey	1,276,206	59.95%
	Republican	Simeon D. Fess (Incumbent)	839,068	39.41%
	Communist	W. C. Sandberg	13,546	0.64%
	None	Scattering	23	0.00%
Majority			437,138	20.54%
Turnout			2,128,843
	Democratic gain from Republican

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	Joseph F. Guffey	David A. Reed
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	1,494,010	1,366,872
Percentage	50.8%	46.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election

David A. Reed
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Joseph F. Guffey
Democratic

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Guffey	1,494,010	50.78%	+16.78%
	Republican	David A. Reed (Incumbent)	1,366,872	46.46%	−17.92%
	Socialist	James H. Maurer	50,444	0.39%	−0.37%
	Prohibition	Edwin J. Fithian	19,985	0.68%	+0.19%
	Communist	Harry M. Wicks	6,170	0.21%	+0.21%
	Socialist Labor	George W. Ohls	4,665	0.16%	+0.12%
	N/A	Other	129	0.00%	N/A
Majority			127,948	4.32%
Turnout			2,942,275
	Democratic gain from Republican

Rhode Island

1934 United States Senate election in Rhode Island^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter G. Gerry	140,700	57.12%
	Republican	Felix Hebert (Incumbent)	105,545	42.85%
	None	Scattering	68	0.03%
Majority			35,155	14.27%
Turnout			246,313
	Democratic gain from Republican

Tennessee

There were two elections due to a resignation.

Tennessee (regular)

Three-term Democrat Kenneth D. McKellar was easily re-elected.

1934 United States Senate election in Tennessee^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kenneth D. McKellar (Incumbent)	195,430	63.39%
	Republican	Ben W. Hooper	110,401	35.81%
	Independent	C. W. Holsington	2,443	0.79%
Majority			85,029	27.58%
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Tennessee (special)

One-term Democrat Cordell Hull resigned March 3, 1933 to become U.S. Secretary of State.

Democrat Nathan L. Bachman was appointed to continue Hull's term, pending a special election which Bachman easily won.

1934 United States Senate special election in Tennessee^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nathan L. Bachman (incumbent)	200,249	80.09%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	49,773	19.91%
Majority			150,476	60.18%
Turnout			250,022
	Democratic hold

Texas

1934 United States Senate election in Texas^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Connally (Incumbent)	439,375	96.69
	Republican	U.S. Goen	12,895	2.84
	Socialist	W. B. Starr	1,828	0.40
	Communist	L. C. Keel	310	0.07
Majority			426,480	93.85
Turnout			454,408
	Democratic hold

Utah

1934 United States Senate election in Utah^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William H. King (Incumbent)	95,931	53.06%
	Republican	Don B. Colton	82,154	45.44%
	Socialist	John O. Waters	1,497	0.83%
	Communist	Cornelia B. Johnson	1,207	0.67%
Majority			13,777	7.92%
Turnout			180,792
	Democratic hold

Vermont

Vermont (regular)

1934 United States Senate election in Vermont^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Warren Austin (Incumbent)	67,146	51.0%
	Democratic	Fred C. Martin	63,632	48.4%
	Socialist	Charles R. Butler	771	0.0%
	N/A	Other	3	0.0%
Total votes			131,552	100

Vermont (special)

1934 United States Senate special election in Vermont^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernest W. Gibson (incumbent)	28,436	58.2%
	Democratic	Harry W. Witters	20,382	41.7%
	N/A	Other	12	0.1%
Total votes			48,830	100.0%

Virginia

1934 United States Senate election in Virginia^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harry F. Byrd Sr. (Incumbent)	109,963	75.96%	+4.65%
	Republican	Lawrence C. Page	30,289	20.92%	−5.75%
	Independent	J. L. Litz	1,503	1.04%
	Socialist	Herman R. Ansell	1,127	0.78%	+0.10%
	Independent	John G. Bowman	1,046	0.72%
	Communist	Alexander Wright	431	0.30%	+0.30%
	Prohibition	Hewman H. Raymond	391	0.27%	−0.15%
	Write-ins		22	0.02%	+0.02%
Majority			79,674	55.03%	+10.39%
Turnout			144,772
	Democratic hold

Washington

1934 United States Senate election in Washington^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lewis B. Schwellenbach	302,606	60.92%
	Republican	Reno Odlin	168,994	34.02%
	Cincinnatus Nonpartisan Movement	William J. Wilkins	11,866	2.39%
	Socialist	John F. McKay	7,192	1.45%
	Communist	George Edward Bradley	3,470	0.70%
	Prohibition	Chester H. Thompson	1,551	0.31%
	Socialist Labor	Edward Kriz	556	0.11%
	Washington State American Liberty League	Glen S. Corkery	453	0.09%
Majority			133,612	26.90%
Turnout			496,688
	Democratic hold

West Virginia

1934 United States Senate election in West Virginia^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rush Holt Sr.	349,882	55.14%
	Republican	Henry D. Hatfield (Incumbent)	281,756	44.40%
	Prohibition	John Wesley McDonald	2,931	0.46%
Majority			68,126	10.74%
Turnout			634,569
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin

Wisconsin election

← 1928

1940 →


Nominee	Robert M. La Follette Jr.	John M. Callahan	John B. Chapple
Party	Progressive	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	440,513	223,438	210,569
Percentage	47.78%	24.24%	22.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election

Robert M. La Follette Jr.
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Robert M. La Follette Jr.
Progressive

1934 United States Senate election in Wisconsin^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive	Robert M. La Follette Jr. (Incumbent)	440,513	47.78%
	Democratic	John M. Callahan	223,438	24.24%
	Republican	John B. Chapple	210,569	22.84%
	Socialist	James P. Sheehan	44,453	4.82%
	Independent Communist	Fern Dobbins	2,127	0.23%
	Independent Prohibition	Theodore Lee	826	0.09%
	None	Scattering	23	0.00%
Majority			217,075	23.54%
Turnout			921,949
	Progressive gain from Republican

Wyoming

There were two elections to the same seat due to the November 3, 1933 death of Democrat John B. Kendrick. Democrat Joseph C. O'Mahoney was appointed to continue the term, pending a special election. O'Mahoney won both the special election and the regular election to the next term.

Wyoming (regular)

1934 United States Senate election in Wyoming^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (inc.)	53,806	56.62%	+3.13%
	Republican	Vincent Carter	40,819	42.96%	−3.14%
	Socialist	Joseph N. Lunn	401	0.42%	+0.01%
Majority			12,987	13.67%	+6.26%
Turnout			95,026
	Democratic hold

Wyoming (special)

1934 United States Senate special election in Wyoming^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (inc.)	53,859	56.88%	+3.39%
	Republican	Vincent Carter	40,825	43.12%	−2.97%
Majority			13,034	13.77%	+6.36%
Turnout			94,684
	Democratic hold

O'Mahoney would be re-elected twice and serve until his 1952 defeat.

Notes

^ There was a regular election September 10 in Maine and a January 16 special election in Vermont.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Appointee elected

References

^ Arthur Krock (November 7, 1934). "Tide Sweeps Nation". New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^ Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Monacelli to Monro". politicalgraveyard.com.
^ "Our Campaigns - AZ US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1934". www.ourcampaigns.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
^ "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1934". www.ourcampaigns.com.
^ "NY US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Hunt, Lester C. (1935). 1935 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1934. Sheridan, Wyo.: The Mills Company. pp. 49–55.

[Dates-1] There was a regular election September 10 in Maine and a January 16 special election in Vermont.

[Appointee_elected-4] Appointee elected

[2] Arthur Krock (November 7, 1934). "Tide Sweeps Nation". New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2014.

[3] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved December 28, 2011.

[5] Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Monacelli to Monro". politicalgraveyard.com.

[6] "Our Campaigns - AZ US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1934". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[Clerk-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.

[8] "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1934". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[9] "NY US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[VT-10] "General Election Results - U.S. Senator - 1914-2014" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.

[1935_directory-11] Hunt, Lester C. (1935). 1935 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1934. Sheridan, Wyo.: The Mills Company. pp. 49–55.

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v t e (1933 ←) 1934 United States elections (→ 1935)
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware Florida Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Montana (special) Nebraska Nebraska (special) Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New Mexico (special) New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Tennessee (special) Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Wyoming (special)
U.S. House	Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
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State legislatures	Iowa Senate
Mayors	Evansville, IN New Orleans

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Defeats

Party Switches

Change in composition

Before the elections

Elections result

Race summaries

Elections during the 73rd Congress

Elections leading to the 74th Congress

Closest races

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Indiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Montana (regular)

Montana (special)

Nebraska

Nebraska (regular)

Nebraska (special)

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New Mexico (regular)

New Mexico (special)

New York

North Dakota

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Tennessee (regular)

Tennessee (special)

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Vermont (regular)

Vermont (special)

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Wyoming (regular)

Wyoming (special)

See also

Notes

References