36 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party
Minority party
Leader
Wallace White
Alben Barkley
Party
Republican
Democratic
Leader since
February 25, 1944
July 22, 1937
Leader's seat
Maine
Kentucky
Seats before
39
56
Seats won
51
45
Seat change
12
11
Popular vote
15,489,926
12,062,433
Percentage
54.0%
42.0%
Seats up
11
24
Races won
23
13
Third party
Party
Progressive
Seats before
1
Seats won
0
Seat change
1
Seats up
1
Races won
0
Results of the elections: Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold No electionRectangular inset (N. Dak. and Va.): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election
Alben Barkley
Democratic
Elected Majority Leader
Wallace White
Republican
The 1946 United States Senate elections were held November 5, 1946, in the middle of Democratic President Harry S. Truman's first term after Roosevelt's passing. The 32 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, and four special elections were held to fill vacancies. The Republicans took control of the Senate by picking up twelve seats, mostly from the Democrats. This was the first time since 1932 that the Republicans had held the Senate, recovering from a low of 16 seats following the 1936 Senate elections.
The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Truman, whose approval rating had sunk to 32%[1] over the president's controversial handling of a wave of post-war labor strikes, such as a nationwide railroad strike in May, at a time when Americans depended on train service for both commuter and long-distance travel. Just as damaging was Truman's back-and-forth over whether to end unpopular wartime price controls to handle shortages, particularly in foodstuffs. For example, price controls on beef had led to a "hamburger famine," but when Truman, in a surprise move, lifted the controls on October 14—just weeks before the election—meat prices shot up to record levels.[citation needed]
This is only one of two occasions in U.S. history that 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in a midterm election (the other being in 1958), and also one of five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in any election, with the other occasions being in 1920, 1932, 1958, and 1980.
The president's lack of popular support is widely seen as the reason for the Democrats' congressional defeat, the largest since they were trounced in the 1928 pro-Republican wave that brought Herbert Hoover to power.[2][3] And for the first time since before the Great Depression, Republicans were seen as the party which could best handle the American economy.
However, the Republicans also benefited from what today would be called "a good map," meaning that of the one-third of Senate seats up for election, the majority were held by Democrats. Besides the Republicans being able to hold onto all of their seats, this was the party's largest senate gain since 1920.
^Leuchtenburg, William E. (November 2006). "New Faces of 1946: An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents". Smithsonian (magazine). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 2 of 5. Retrieved May 12, 2009. "On October 14, scarcely more than three weeks before midterm elections, Truman bit the bullet. Even when his approval rating dropped to 32 percent, he had told reporters that controls were indispensable. On this night, however, speaking to the largest radio audience since the end of the war, Truman lashed out at "the few men in Congress who, in the service of selfish interests, have been determined for some time to wreck price controls no matter what the cost might be to our people." Then he stunned the nation by announcing that he was lifting controls on meat. With the lid off, prices skyrocketed. The New York Daily News headlined: PRICES SOAR, BUYERS SORE/STEERS JUMP OVER THE MOON. Brickbats flew at the president. "Brother," said Ohio's Clarence J. Brown, chair of the Republican Congressional Committee, "the tide is sweepin' our way.""
^Arthur Krock (November 10, 1946). "Dominant Cause Seen for Republican Sweep". New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^"Three Republicans Who Will Lead the Next Congress". New York Times. November 10, 1946. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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