35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party
Minority party
Leader
Mike Mansfield
Hugh Scott
Party
Democratic
Republican
Leader since
January 3, 1961
September 24, 1969
Leader's seat
Montana
Pennsylvania
Seats before
57
43
Seats after
54
44
Seat change
3
1
Popular vote
25,435,247[1]
19,373,972[1][a]
Percentage
52.4%
39.9%
Seats up
24
10
Races won
22
11
Third party
Fourth party
Party
Conservative
Independent
Seats before
0
0
Seats after
1
1[2]
Seat change
1
1
Popular vote
2,183,572[1]
516,149[1]
Percentage
4.5%
1.1%
Seats up
0
1
Races won
1
1
Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold Independent gain Conservative gain No election
Majority Leader before election
Mike Mansfield
Democratic
Elected Majority Leader
Mike Mansfield
Democratic
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3, with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
This was the first time that Republicans gained Senate seats while losing House seats, which also occurred in 2018. This also occurred for Democrats in 1914, 1962, and 2022.[3]
This was the most recent election in which a third party won a seat in the Senate until 2006. As of 2024[update], this is also the most recent cycle in which Democrats won Senate elections in Utah and Wyoming, and the most recent in which Republicans won a Senate election in Hawaii.
^ abcdCite error: The named reference Clerk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (VA), was an Independent who caucused with the Democrats. In some circles, he is called an "Independent Democrat", but his actual registration was listed as "Independent". See, e. g., United States Congress. "Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. (id: B001209)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
^Kane, Paul (October 13, 2018). "Stark political divide points to a split decision in midterm elections". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
and 29 Related for: 1970 United States Senate elections information
The 1970UnitedStateselections were held on November 3, and elected the members of the 92nd UnitedStates Congress. The election took place during the...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy defeated his challengers...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Delaware took place on November 2, 1970. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John J. Williams retired. Republican...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Florida was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Spessard Holland decided to retire instead...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Indiana took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Vance Hartke was narrowly re-elected...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Arizona took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Paul Fannin decided to run for reelection...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in California was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Republican Senator George Murphy lost re-election to a second...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Hugh Scott won re-election, defeating...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenate special election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1970 to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Everett Dirksen...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Mississippi was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John C. Stennis won re-election to...
The 2012 UnitedStatesSenateelections were held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate, all Class 1 seats, being contested in regular...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Nevada was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Cannon won re-election to a third...
The 1970UnitedStatesSenateelection in Montana took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent U.S. Senator Mike Mansfield, the sitting Senate majority leader...
Global Information
