The 1944 United States Senate elections coincided with the

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to his fourth term as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. The Democrats retained their large majority, although they lost a net of one seat to the Republicans.

Results summary

''Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.'' Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

One Republican and five Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

Defeats

Four Republicans and five Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1944.

Election results

Race summaries

Special elections during the 78th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1944 or before January 3, 1945; ordered by election date.

Races leading to the 79th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1945; ordered by state. All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

Alabama

Arizona

Three-term Democrat

Carl T. Hayden Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. Representing Arizona in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first United Sta ...

was easily re-elected. Hayden would be re-elected three more times before retiring in 1962.

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

There were 2 elections in Indiana, due to the January 25, 1944, death of Democrat

Frederick Van Nuys Frederick Van Nuys (April 16, 1874 – January 25, 1944) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in Falmouth, he attended the public schools and graduated from Earlham College ( Richmond, Indiana) in 1898 and from Indiana Law School ...

. Democrat Samuel D. Jackson was appointed to continue the term, pending a special election. Republican William E. Jenner won the special election to finish the term, and Republican

Homer E. Capehart Homer Earl Capehart (June 6, 1897 – September 3, 1979) was an American businessman and politician from Indiana. After serving in the United States Army during World War I, he became involved in the manufacture of record players and other produc ...

won the general election to the next term.

Indiana (special)

Indiana (regular)

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts (special)

Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. resigned February 3, 1944, to return to active duty in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Republican

Sinclair Weeks Charles Sinclair Weeks (June 15, 1893February 7, 1972), better known as Sinclair Weeks, served as United States Senator from Massachusetts (1944) and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1953 until 1958, during President Eisenhower's adm ...

was appointed February 8 to continue the term until an election was held. A special election was held on November 7 with

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twent ...

defeating his challengers. He didn't take office until January 4, 1945, when his term as Governor ended.

Missouri

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey (special)

New York

The Socialist Labor state convention met on April 2 at the Cornish Arms Hotel, the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. They nominated Eric Hass for the U.S. Senate. At that time, the party used the name "Industrial Government Party" on the ballot, but was also referred to as the "Industrial Labor Party". The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

was organized by a state convention with about 1,100 delegates who met on May 19 and 20 at the Roosevelt Hotel in

. They endorsed the incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner for re-election. The party filed a petition to nominate candidates which was allowed by Secretary of State Curran on August 25. The

State Committee met on August 8 at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. They nominated Secretary of State Thomas J. Curran for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic State Committee met on August 8 at the National Democratic Club at 233, Madison Avenue in

. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner. The American Labor state convention met on August 10. They endorsed the Democratic nominee Wagner. The Democratic/American Labor/Liberal ticket was elected and incumbent Wagner was re-elected.

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Oregon (special)

Oregon (regular)

Incumbent Republican Rufus C. Holman ran for re-election, but was defeated in the Republican primary by

Wayne Morse Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds. ...

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

South Dakota

Utah

Incumbent Democratic Senator

Elbert D. Thomas Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883February 11, 1953) was a Democratic Party politician from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Biography Thomas ...

won a third term. As of 2022, this is the last time that a Democrat was elected to Utah's class 3 Senate seat.

Vermont