1938 United States Senate elections

1938 United States Senate elections

← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →

35 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate
49 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Alben Barkley Charles McNary
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since July 22, 1937 March 4, 1933
Leader's seat Kentucky Oregon
Seats before 77 15
Seats after 69 23
Seat change Decrease 8 Increase 8
Seats up 32 3
Races won 24 11

  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Farmer–Labor Progressive
Seats before 2 1
Seats after 2 1
Seat change Steady Steady
Seats up 0 0
Races won 0 0

  Fifth party
 
Party Independent
Seats before 1
Seats after 1
Seat change Steady
Seats up 0
Races won 0

1938 United States Senate special election in New Jersey1938 United States Senate special election in Tennessee1938 United States Senate special election in New York1938 United States Senate election in Alabama1938 United States Senate election in Arizona1938 United States Senate election in Arkansas1938 United States Senate election in California1938 United States Senate election in Colorado1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut1938 United States Senate election in Florida1938 United States Senate election in Georgia1938 United States Senate election in Idaho1938 United States Senate election in Illinois1938 United States Senate election in Indiana1938 United States Senate election in Iowa1938 United States Senate election in Kansas1938 United States Senate election in Kentucky1938 United States Senate election in Louisiana1938 United States Senate election in Maryland1938 United States Senate election in Missouri1938 United States Senate election in Nevada1938 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1938 United States Senate election in New York1938 United States Senate election in North Carolina1938 United States Senate election in North Dakota1938 United States Senate election in Ohio1938 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1938 United States Senate election in Oregon1938 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1938 United States Senate election in South Carolina1938 United States Senate election in South Dakota1938 United States Senate election in Utah1938 United States Senate election in Vermont1938 United States Senate election in Washington1938 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
Results of the elections:
     Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     No election

Majority Leader before election

Alben Barkley
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Alben Barkley
Democratic

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 election, leading to the Democrats retaining a commanding lead over the Republicans with more than two-thirds of the legislative chamber.

A contemporary account[1] 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).

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 President 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.[2]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had faced opposition from conservative Democrats and the Republicans in Congress since the beginning of his presidency. Josiah Bailey, Edward R. Burke, Harry F. Byrd, James F. Byrnes, Walter F. George, Peter G. Gerry, Carter Glass, Pat Harrison, Rush Holt Sr., Kenneth McKellar, and Ellison D. Smith were the conservative Democratic senators that opposed Roosevelt's policies although Harrison, Burke, Byrnes, and McKellar had initially supported the First New Deal. Vice President John Nance Garner pushed for Roosevelt to support more conservative policies. The Republicans gained eight seats in the Senate while the Democrats maintained their majority. However, there were around twenty unreliable Democratic votes for Roosevelt which allowed conservatives to block some of his policies.[3]

  1. ^ 1939 Britannica Book of the Year, "Democratic Party". pp. 205–206.
  2. ^ LIFE. Time Inc. 1994. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-88682-602-4. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  3. ^ Murphy, Paul (1974). Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present. G. P. Putnam's Sons.