The 1936 United States Senate elections coincided with the reelection of President

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 ...

. The Great Depression continued and voters backed progressive candidates favoring Roosevelt's New Deal in races across the country. The Democrats gained 5 net seats during the election, and in combination with Democratic and Farmer–Labor interim appointments and the defection of George W. Norris from the Republican Party to become

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, the Republicans were reduced to 16 seats, the most lopsided Senate since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. This was the last of four consecutive elections where Republicans suffered losses due to the ongoing effects of the Great Depression. This was also the last Senate election until 2012 in which a Democratic candidate who won two terms also made net gains in the Senate on both occasions (although Franklin Roosevelt won a third and fourth term, he lost Senate seats on both occasions). This is the last time any party held 3/4ths of all Senate seats.

Gains and Losses

The Republicans took one open seat in Massachusetts, while the Democrats took open seats in Michigan and New Hampshire and defeated incumbents Daniel O. Hastings (R-DE), Lester J. Dickinson (R-IA), W. Warren Barbour (R-NJ), Jesse H. Metcalf (R-RI), and Robert D. Carey (R-WY). * Republicans gained one Democratic open seat: #

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

* Democrats gained one Republican open seat: #

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

(incumbent died, leaving seat vacant) * Democrats held an open seat: #

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

# Oklahoma * Farmer–Laborers held an open seat: #

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

* Republicans held an open seat: #

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

* Republican incumbents lost five elections #

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

* One Republican was re-elected, but changed party to become an Independent: #

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the April 1936 special election.

Result of the elections

Beginning of the next Congress

Race summaries

Elections during the 74th Congress

In these special elections the winners were seated once they qualified; ordered by election date. US Senate after 1936 elections

Elections leading to the 75th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1937; ordered by state. All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Delaware

Florida (Special)

There were two special elections in Florida, due to the May 8, 1936 death of four-term Democrat

Park Trammell Park Monroe Trammell (April 9, 1876 – May 8, 1936), was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida. Trammell represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1917 until his death in 1936. As chair of the Senate Naval Aff ...

and the June 17, 1936 death of five-term Democrat Duncan U. Fletcher.

Florida (Special, Class 1)

Democrat Scott M. Loftin was appointed May 26, 1936 to continue the term, pending a special election. Primaries were held August 11, 1936. Andrews would be re-elected once and serve until his death September 18, 1946.

Florida (Special, Class 3)

Democrat William Luther Hill was appointed July 1, 1936 to continue the term, pending a special election. Democrat

Claude Pepper Claude Denson Pepper (September 8, 1900 – May 30, 1989) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951, and the Mi ...

, who had lost to Trammell in 1934 won this election. Pepper would be re-elected

twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, ...

and serve until he lost renomination in 1950. He would later be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and serve there for 26 years.

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Louisiana (Regular)

Louisiana (Special)

Democrat

Rose McConnell Long Rose Long (née McConnell; April 8, 1892May 27, 1970) was an American politician who served as a Senator, and the wife of Huey Long. She was the third woman to ever serve as a U.S. Senator, and the first from Louisiana. Life and work Rose McC ...

was elected April 21, 1936 to finish the term to which she was appointed on January 31, 1936. She was not a candidate, however, to the next term on November 3, 1936, see above.

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

There were 2 elections to the same seat on the same day due to the December 22, 1935 death of two-term Republican Thomas D. Schall.

Minnesota (Special)

The election was held to fill the vacancy in the seat formerly held by Thomas D. Schall for the final two months of Schall's unexpired term.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Floyd B. Olson Floyd Bjørnstjerne "Skipper" Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, dying in office of stomach cancer. Olson wa ...

had appointed

Elmer Benson Elmer Austin Benson (September 22, 1895 March 13, 1985) was an American lawyer and politician from Minnesota. In 1935, Benson was appointed to the U.S. Senate following the death of Thomas Schall. He served as the 24th governor of Minnesota, de ...

to fill the seat in 1935, but this appointment was temporary and subject to a special election held in the next general election year thereafter—1936. Benson opted to run for governor instead of running for election to continue for the remainder of the term. No special primaries were held for the special election, and, among Minnesota's three major parties, only the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

officially fielded a candidate— Guy V. Howard. Regardless of the absence of Farmer-Labor and Democratic nominees, Howard nevertheless faced a great degree of competition from

candidates Nathaniel J. Holmberg, Andrew Olaf Devold, and John G. Alexander. The candidates were: * John G. Alexander (I), Attorney and real estate manager * Andrew Olaf Devold (I), Attorney, State Senator since 1919, former State Representative (1915-1919); a member of the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota and formerly a member of the

Socialist Party of Minnesota The Socialist Party of Minnesota (from 1899 to 1902 the Social Democratic Party of Minnesota; from 1903 to 1913 the Public Ownership Party of Minnesota) was the state affiliate of the Springfield faction of the Social Democratic Party of America, t ...

* N. J. Holmberg (I), Former State Senator (1915-1919) and State Representative (1907-1915); a member of the

* Guy V. Howard (R), Businessman and

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 ...

elector in the 1916 presidential election Howard was not a candidate for the next term, and served only until January 1937.

Minnesota (Regular)

The election to the next term was won by Farmer–Labor congressman

Ernest Lundeen Ernest Lundeen (August 4, 1878August 31, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician. Family and education Lundeen was born and raised on his father's homestead in Brooklyn Township of Lincoln County near Beresford in the Dakota Territory. H ...

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

There were 2 elections, due to the May 6, 1935 death of two-term Republican

Bronson M. Cutting Bronson Murray Cutting (June 23, 1888May 6, 1935) was a United States senator from New Mexico. A prominent progressive Republican, he had also been a newspaper publisher and military attaché. Biography Bronson Cutting was born in Great River, ...

New Mexico (Special)

Democratic former-Congressman

Dennis Chavez Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

had been Cutting's opponent in 1934. On May 11, 1935, after Cutting's death, Chavez was then appointed to continue Cutting's term, pending a special election which he then won. Chavez would be re-elected four more times and serve until his death in 1962.

New Mexico (Regular)

One-term Democrat Carl Hatch was easily re-elected. Hatch would be re-elected once and serve until his 1948 retirement.

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

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