The 1934 United States Senate elections were held in the middle of Democratic President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's first term. 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). This marked the first time that an incumbent president's party did not lose seats in both houses in a midterm election, followed by

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2002. 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

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Gains and losses

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

s lost ten seats: One seat changed from Republican to Progressive when an incumbent was re-elected to the new party. Democrats took nine seats, including an open seat in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and the seats of eight incumbents.

Losing incumbents

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

: Frederic C. Walcott (R) lost to Francis T. Maloney (D) #

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Arthur Raymond Robinson Arthur Raymond Robinson (March 12, 1881March 17, 1961) was a United States senator from Indiana. Early life Born in Pickerington, Ohio, Robinson attended the common schools, graduated from the Ohio Northern University in 1901 ( B. Comm. Sci ...

(R) lost to

Sherman Minton Sherman "Shay" Minton (October 20, 1890 – April 9, 1965) was an American politician and jurist who served as a U.S. senator from Indiana and later became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; he was a member of the ...

(D) #

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

: Roscoe C. Patterson (R) lost to Harry S. Truman (D) #

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

: Hamilton Fish Kean (R) lost to A. Harry Moore (D) #

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

: Simeon D. Fess (R) lost to Vic Donahey (D) #

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

: David A. Reed (R) lost to Joseph F. Guffey (D) #

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

: Felix Hebert (R) lost to Peter G. Gerry (D) #

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

: Henry D. Hatfield (R) lost to Rush D. Holt Sr. (D)

Retirement

: George L. P. Radcliffe (D) picked up the seat when

Phillips Lee Goldsborough Phillips Lee Goldsborough I (August 6, 1865October 22, 1946), was an American Republican politician and member of the United States Senate representing State of Maryland from 1929 to 1935. He was also the 47th Governor of Maryland from 1912 to ...

(R) retired.

Party change

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

: Republicans suffered an additional loss when Robert M. La Follette Jr. (R) joined the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1934.

Elections result

Race summaries

Elections during the 73rd Congress

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

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.

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

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

North Dakota

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

There were two elections due to a resignation.

Tennessee (Regular)

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

Tennessee (Special)

One-term Democrat Cordell Hull resigned March 3, 1933 to become

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

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

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Vermont (Regular)

Vermont (Special)

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

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)

Wyoming (special)

O'Mahoney would be re-elected

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and serve until his 1952 defeat.

Notes

References

{{1934 United States elections