1964 United States Senate elections

November 3, 1964
35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mike Mansfield Everett Dirksen Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1961 January 3, 1959 Leader's seat Montana Illinois Seats before 66 34 Seats after 68 32 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 30,786,035[1][lower-alpha 1] 23,171,991[1] Percentage 56.2% 42.3% Seats up 26 9 Races won 28 7
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election Rectangular inset (Tennessee): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected Majority Leader Mike Mansfield Democratic

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. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which would have hypothetically allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. In practice, however, internal divisions effectively prevented the Democrats from doing so. 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. This is the earliest round of Senate elections in which a first-elected member is still alive (Fred Harris, D-OK).

Results summary

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
	Class 1 (1958→1964)	24	9	—	33
	Special: Class 2	2	0	—	2
Incumbent retired		1	1	—	2
	Held by same party	1	1	—	2
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	0
	Result	1	1	0	2
Incumbent ran		25	8	—	33
	Won re-election	23	5	—	28
	Lost re-election	3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	4
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	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[lower-alpha 1]	23,171,991	848,082	54,806,108
	Share	56.17%	42.28%	1.55%	100%
Result		68	32	0	100

Source:^[1]

Gains, losses, and holds

Change in composition

Race summary

Closest races

Fifteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Michigan is the tipping point state with a margin of 29.1%.

Arizona

Arizona election

Nominee Paul Fannin Roy Elson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 241,089 227,712 Percentage 51.43% 48.57%

Red: counties won by Fannin, Blue: counties won by Elson.

U.S. senator before election Barry Goldwater Republican Elected U.S. senator Paul Fannin Republican

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.^[2] 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

California election

Nominee George Murphy Pierre Salinger Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 3,628,552 3,411,915 Percentage 51.54% 48.46%

County Results Murphy:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Salinger:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Pierre Salinger Democratic Elected U.S. Senator George Murphy Republican

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

Connecticut election

Nominee Thomas J. Dodd John Davis Lodge Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 781,008 426,939 Percentage 64.66% 35.34%

County results

U.S. senator before election Thomas J. Dodd Democratic Elected U.S. senator Thomas J. Dodd Democratic

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

Delaware election

Nominee John J. Williams Elbert Carvel Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 103,782 96,850 Percentage 51.71% 48.26%

County Results Williams:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election John J. Williams Republican Elected U.S. Senator John J. Williams Republican

Republican incumbent John J. Williams was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic Governor Elbert N. Carvel.

Florida

Florida election

Nominee Spessard Holland Claude R. Kirk Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 997,585 562,212 Percentage 63.93% 36.03%

County Results Holland:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kirk:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Spessard Holland Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Spessard Holland Democratic

Democratic incumbent Spessard Holland was reelected to a fourth term in a landslide, defeating the Republican candidate, future governor Claude R. Kirk Jr.

Hawaii

1964 United States Senate election in Hawaii

November 3, 1964

Nominee Hiram Fong Thomas Gill Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 110,747 96,789 Percentage 53.0% 46.4%

County results Fong:      50–60% Gill:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election Hiram Fong Republican Elected U.S. Senator Hiram Fong Republican

Republican incumbent Hiram Fong was reelected to a second term, defeating Democratic Congressman Thomas Gill

Indiana

Indiana election

Nominee Vance Hartke D. Russell Bontrager Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,128,505 941,519 Percentage 54.33% 45.33%

County results Hartke:      50–60%      60–70% Bontrager:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Vance Hartke Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Vance Hartke Democratic

Democratic incumbent Vance Hartke was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican State Senator Russell Bontrager.

Maine

Maine election

Nominee Edmund Muskie Clifford McIntire Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 253,511 127,040 Percentage 66.62% 33.38%

County results Muskie:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McIntire:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Edmund Muskie Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie Democratic

Democratic incumbent Edmund Muskie was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican Congressman Clifford McIntire in a landslide.

Maryland

Maryland election

Nominee Joseph Tydings J. Glenn Beall Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 678,649 402,393 Percentage 62.78% 37.22%

County results Tydings:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Beall:      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election J. Glenn Beall Republican Elected U.S. Senator Joseph Tydings Democratic

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

Massachusetts election

Nominee Ted Kennedy Howard J. Whitmore, Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,716,907 587,663 Percentage 74.26% 25.42%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Ted Kennedy Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ted Kennedy Democratic

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.^[6]
• 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.^[7]
• Grace F. Luder - Candidate for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district seat in 1950 and Massachusetts's 14th congressional district seat in 1952.^[8]

Michigan

1964 United States Senate election in Michigan

November 3, 1964

Nominee Philip Hart Elly Peterson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,996,912 1,096,272 Percentage 64.38% 35.35%

County results Hart:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Peterson:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Philip Hart Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Philip Hart Democratic

Democratic incumbent Philip Hart was easily reelected to a second term over Republican challenger Elly M. Peterson.

Minnesota

Minnesota election

Nominee Eugene McCarthy Wheelock Whitney Jr. Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 931,363 605,933 Percentage 60.34% 39.26%

County results McCarthy:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Whitney:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Eugene McCarthy Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. senator Eugene McCarthy Democratic (DFL)

Incumbent Democrat Eugene McCarthy defeated Republican challenger Wheelock Whitney Jr. to win a second term.

Mississippi

Senator John C. Stennis

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

1964 United States Senate election in Missouri

November 3, 1964

Nominee Stuart Symington Jean Paul Bradshaw Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,186,666 596,377 Percentage 66.55% 33.45%

County results Symington:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Bradshaw:      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election Stuart Symington Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Stuart Symington Democratic

Democratic incumbent Stuart Symington was reelected to a third term in a landslide, defeating Republican candidate Jean Paul Bradshaw.

Montana

Montana election

Nominee Mike Mansfield Alex Blewett Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 180,643 99,367 Percentage 64.51% 35.49%

County results Mansfield:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Blewett:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected U.S. senator Mike Mansfield Democratic

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

1964 United States Senate election in Nebraska

November 3, 1964

Nominee Roman Hruska Raymond W. Arndt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 345,772 217,605 Percentage 61.37% 38.62%

County results Hruska:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Arndt:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Roman Hruska Republican Elected U.S. Senator Roman Hruska Republican

Republican incumbent Roman Hruska was reelected in a landslide over Democratic challenger Raymond Arndt.

Nevada

Nevada election

Nominee Howard Cannon Paul Laxalt Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 67,336 67,288 Percentage 50.02% 49.98%

County results Cannon:      50–60%      60–70% Laxalt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Howard Cannon Democratic Elected U.S. senator Howard Cannon Democratic

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

New Jersey election

Nominee Harrison A. Williams Bernard M. Shanley Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,677,515 1,011,280 Percentage 61.91% 37.32%

County results Williams:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Shanley:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Harrison A. Williams Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harrison A. Williams Democratic

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

New Mexico (regular)

Main article: 1964 United States Senate election in New Mexico

See also: List of United States senators from New Mexico

New Mexico election

Nominee Joseph Montoya Edwin L. Mechem Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 178,209 147,562 Percentage 54.7% 45.3%

County results Montoya:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Mechem:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Edwin L. Mechem Republican Elected U.S. senator Joseph Montoya Democratic

Incumbent Republican Edwin L. Mechem, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Democrat Dennis Chávez two years earlier, sought election to a full term, but was defeated by Democrat Joseph Montoya.

Montoya was Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico (1947–1951 and 1955–1957) and a four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1957–1964).

General election results^[14][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Montoya	178,209	54.70
	Republican	Edwin L. Mechem (Incumbent)	147,562	45.30
Majority			30,647	9.41
Total votes			325,771	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

New York

New York election

Nominee Robert F. Kennedy Kenneth Keating Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,823,749 3,104,056 Percentage 53.5% 43.4%

County results Kennedy:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Keating:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election Kenneth Keating Republican Elected U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy Democratic

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kenneth Keating ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Robert F. Kennedy, the former United States Attorney General and brother of former President John F. Kennedy and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy.

The Socialist Labor state convention met on March 29, and nominated John Emanuel.^[15] The Republican state convention met on August 31, and re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Kenneth B. Keating.^[16] The Conservative state convention met on August 31 at Saratoga Springs, New York, and nominated Prof. Henry Paolucci.^[17] The Democratic state convention met on September 1, and nominated U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy on the first ballot, with 968 votes against 153 for Congressman Samuel S. Stratton.^[18] The Liberal Party met on September 1, and endorsed the Democratic nominee, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.^[19] The Socialist Workers Party filed a petition to nominate candidates on September 7. Richard Garza was nominated.^[20]

John English, a Nassau County leader who helped John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential election, encouraged Robert Kennedy to oppose Keating. At the time, Samuel S. Stratton, a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 35th congressional district, was considered the most likely Democratic candidate. At first, Kennedy resisted. After President Kennedy's assassination, Robert Kennedy remained as Attorney General for Lyndon B. Johnson. However, Johnson and Kennedy feuded. Kennedy decided to run for the Senate in New York in August, and resigned from the Cabinet on September 3, 1964. While many reform Democrats resisted Kennedy, support from Robert F. Wagner Jr., and party bosses like Charles A. Buckley, of The Bronx, and Peter J. Crotty,^{[lower-alpha 4]} of Buffalo, helped Kennedy win the nomination at the party convention.^[22]

During the campaign, Kennedy was frequently met by large crowds. Keating accused Kennedy of being a carpetbagger from Massachusetts. Kennedy responded to these charges in a televised town meeting by saying, "If the senator of the state of New York is going be selected on who's lived here the longest, then I think people are going vote for my opponent. If it's going be selected on who's got the best New York accent, then I think I'm probably out too. But I think if it's going be selected on the basis of who can make the best United States senator, I think I'm still in the contest."^[23]

The Democratic/Liberal candidate was elected. Campaign help from President Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as the Democratic landslide after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, helped carry Kennedy into office, as Kennedy polled about 1.1 million votes less in New York than Johnson did. The incumbent Keating was defeated.

1964 state election result

Ticket	U.S. Senator
Democratic	Y Robert F. Kennedy	3,539,746
Liberal	Y Robert F Kennedy	284,646
Republican	Kenneth B. Keating	3,104,056
Conservative	Henry Paolucci[lower-alpha 5]	212,216
Socialist Labor	John Emanuel[lower-alpha 6]	7,358
Socialist Workers	Richard Garza[lower-alpha 7]	4,202

(For Total Votes, the Democratic and Liberal votes for Kennedy are combined.)

North Dakota

North Dakota election

Nominee Quentin Burdick Thomas Kleppe Party Democratic–NPL Republican Popular vote 149,264 109,681 Percentage 57.64% 42.36%

U.S. Senate election results map. Blue denotes counties won by Burdick. Red denotes those won by Kleppe.   Burdick 50-60%   Burdick 60-70%   Burdick 70-80%   Kleppe 50-60%   Kleppe 60-70%

U.S. senator before election Quentin Burdick Democratic–NPL Elected U.S. senator Quentin Burdick Democratic–NPL

Incumbent Democratic-NPL Senator Quentin Burdick sought and received re-election to his second term, defeating Republican candidate Thomas S. Kleppe, who later became the United States Secretary of the Interior.^[1]

Only Burdick filed as a Democratic-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Thomas S. Kleppe, who would go on to serve two terms as a Representative for North Dakota's second congressional district from 1967 to 1971. Burdick and Kleppe won the primary elections for their respective parties.

Ohio

1964 United States Senate election in Ohio

November 3, 1964

Nominee Stephen M. Young Robert Taft Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,923,608 1,906,781 Percentage 50.22% 49.78%

County results Young:      50–60%      60–70% Taft:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Stephen M. Young Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Stephen M. Young Democratic

Democratic incumbent Stephen M. Young narrowly won reelection to a second term over Republican Congressman Robert Taft Jr., the son of former Senator Robert A. Taft and grandson of former President William Howard Taft.

Taft would go on to win the seat in the next election, serving one term in the Senate.

Oklahoma (special)

1964 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma

November 3, 1964

Nominee Fred R. Harris Bud Wilkinson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 466,782 445,392 Percentage 51.17% 48.83%

County results Harris:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Wilkinson:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election J. Howard Edmondson Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Fred R. Harris Democratic

This election was to determine who would serve for the final two years of the term to which Robert S. Kerr had been elected in 1960. Kerr had died in January 1963, and outgoing Governor J. Howard Edmondson was appointed to take his place. Edmondson hoped to win the special election, but lost the Democratic primary to former state senator Fred R. Harris, who then won the general election over University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

Nominee Hugh Scott Genevieve Blatt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,429,858 2,359,223 Percentage 50.6% 49.1%

County results Scott:      50-60%      60-70%...     80–90% Blatt:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Hugh Scott Republican Elected U.S. senator Hugh Scott Republican

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Hugh Scott successfully sought re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Genevieve Blatt.

Rhode Island

1964 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

November 3, 1964

Nominee John Pastore Ronald Legueux Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 319,607 66,715 Percentage 82.73% 17.27%

County results Pastore:      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election John Pastore Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Pastore Democratic

Democratic incumbent John Pastore won reelection to a third full term (and fourth overall), defeating Republican candidate Ronald Lagueux by more than 65 percentage points.

Tennessee

Tennessee (regular)

Tennessee regular election

Nominee Albert Gore Sr. Dan Kuykendall Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 570,542 493,475 Percentage 53.62% 46.38%

County results Gore:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kuykendall:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Albert Gore Sr. Democratic Elected U.S. senator Albert Gore Sr. Democratic

Main article: 1964 United States Senate election in Tennessee

Incumbent Democrat Albert Gore Sr. was re-elected to a third term over Republican candidate Dan Kuykendall.

General election results^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Albert Gore Sr. (incumbent)	570,542	53.62
	Republican	Dan Kuykendall	493,475	46.38
Majority			77,067	7.24
Turnout			1,064,017
	Democratic hold

Tennessee (special)

Tennessee special election

November 3, 1964

Nominee Ross Bass Howard Baker Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 568,905 517,330 Percentage 52.14% 47.41%

County results Bass:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Baker:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Herbert S. Walters Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ross Bass Democratic

Main article: 1964 United States Senate special election in Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee

Democratic Congressman Ross Bass won the special election to serve the remaining 26 months of the term to which the late Estes Kefauver had been elected in 1960. He defeated Republican candidate Howard Baker, who would go on to win the seat in the regular election two years later.

General election results^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ross Bass	568,905	52.14
	Republican	Howard Baker	517,330	47.41
	Independent	Melvin Babcock Morgan	4,853	0.44
Majority			51,575	4.73
Turnout			1,091,088
	Democratic hold

Texas

Texas election

Nominee Ralph Yarborough George H. W. Bush Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,463,958 1,134,337 Percentage 56.2% 43.6%

County results Yarbrough:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100% Bush:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Ralph Yarborough Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ralph Yarborough Democratic