66 seats 28 seats 8 9 46.7% 49.2% Start date November 3, 1942 | 58 37 6,329,426 6,661,196 0.8% 1.4% | |
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Winner Alben W Barkley | ||
The United States Senate elections of 1942 were held November 3, 1942, midway through Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term as President. Although this election took place during World War II, the opposition Republican party made major gains, taking eight seats from the Democrats and one from an independent. The Democrats nonetheless retained a significant majority, though the smallest since Roosevelt was first elected in 1932. The New York Times ascribed the results to "voters' dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war, both at home and abroad" but not evidence of a lack of enthusiasm for the war effort. It found that a candidate's stance as isolationist or interventionist before Pearl Harbor had little impact on his success at the polls. The paper's editorial board welcomed a return to normal political alignments after the unbalanced majorities of the previous decade. The election not only changed the numbers of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, but also accomplished an ideological shift, as several longtime enthusiastic supporters of the New Deal were replaced by Republicans of the most conservative sort.
Contents
Gains and losses
Republicans captured open seats in Delaware, South Dakota, and West Virginia.
They also defeated the sole Independent incumbent, George W. Norris of Nebraska, as well as five Democratic incumbents:
Complete list of races
Bold states link to specific election articles.
Special elections during the preceding Congress
In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1942; ordered by election date.