34 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
January 3, 1941
Leader's seat
Kentucky
Oregon
Seats before
65
29
Seats after
57
38
Seat change
8
9
Popular vote
6,497,048[2]
6,869,448[2]
Percentage
46.6%
49.3%
Seats up
24
9
Races won
16
18
Third party
Fourth party
Party
Progressive
Independent
Seats before
1
1
Seats after
1
0
Seat change
1
Popular vote
—
236,682[2]
Percentage
—
1.7%
Seats up
0
1
Races won
0
0
Results of the elections: Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold No electionRectangular inset (Colorado): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election
Alben Barkley
Democratic
Elected Majority Leader
Alben Barkley
Democratic
The 1942 United States Senate elections were held November 3, 1942, midway through Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term as president. The 32 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and two special elections were held to fill vacancies.
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.[3] The paper's editorial board welcomed a return to normal political alignments after the unbalanced majorities of the previous decade.[4] 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.[5]
The Republicans gained enough seats to end the Democrats' supermajority control.[6] Democrats later gained a seat in New Jersey through an appointment, bringing their seat total up to 58.
^There was a regular election September 14, 1942 in Maine.
^ abcCite error: The named reference Clerk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Lawrence, W.H. (November 5, 1942). "Margin is Narrow" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
^"The New Congress" (PDF). The New York Times. November 5, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
^Malsberger, John W. (2000). From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938-1952. Susquehanna University Press. p. 100. ISBN 9781575910260. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
^Murphy, Paul (1974). Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
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