1918 United States Senate elections

The 1918 United States Senate elections were held throughout 1918,[lower-alpha 1] the midpoint of Woodrow Wilson's second term as President of the United States. Republicans gained a slim 2-seat control after picking up a net 6 seats (4 in general elections and 2 in special elections).

1918 United States Senate elections

November 5, 1918[lower-alpha 1]
38 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Leader Henry Cabot Lodge (unofficial) Oscar Underwood Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1919 April 27, 1920 Leader's seat Massachusetts Alabama Seats before 43 53 Seats after 49 47 Seat change 6 6 Seats up 17 24 Seats won 23 18
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Thomas S. Martin (as Conference Chairman) Democratic Elected Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge (Unofficial) Republican

The change in control meant that the Republicans could deny entry of the United States into the League of Nations. American participation in this new international institution was the centerpiece of Wilson's post-war foreign policy.

It was the first election in which all Class 2 senators were subject to direct or popular election following the enactment of the Seventeenth Amendment, making them the final class under the old system.

Gains and losses

Republicans gained seven seats:

• Lawrence C. Phipps (CO)
• L. Heisler Ball (DE)
• Joseph M. McCormick (IL)
• Arthur Capper (KS)
• Selden P. Spencer (MO)
• Henry W. Keyes (NH)
• Irvine Lenroot (WI) — won in a special election

Democrats gained one seat:

• David I. Walsh (MA)

Party division

These numbers represent composition at the March 4, 1919 start of the 66th United States Congress. Composition often changes due to deaths, resignations, or party shifting.

• Majority Party: Republican (49 seats)
• Minority Party: Democratic (47 seats)
• Other Parties: 0
• Total Seats: 96

Source: United States Senate Official Website

Change in composition

Before the elections

		D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8
D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9
D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28
D38 Kan. Ran	D37 Ill. Ran	D36 Idaho Ran	D35 Ga. Ran	D34 Del. Ran	D33 Colo. Ran	D32 Ark. Ran	D31 Ala. Ran	D30	D29
D39 La. (reg) Ran	D40 La. (sp) Ran	D41 Mo. (sp) Ran	D42 Mont. Ran	D43 Nev. (sp) Ran	D44 N.H. (reg) Retired	D45 N.C. Ran	D46 Okla. Ran	D47 S.C. (reg) & S.C. (sp) Ran	D48 Tenn. Ran
Majority →									D49 Va. Ran
R39 N.J. (sp) Ran N.J. (reg) Retired	R40 N.M. Ran	R41 Ore. (sp) Retired Ore. (reg) Ran	R42 R.I. Ran	R43 S.D. Ran	R44 Texas Ran	R45 W.Va. Retired	D51 Wyo. Ran	D50 Wis. Died
R38 N.H. (sp) Retired	R37 Neb. Ran	R36 Miss. Ran	R35 Minn. Ran	R34 Mich. Retired	R33 Mass. Ran	R32 Me. Ran	R31 Ky. Retired	R30 Iowa Ran	R29 Idaho (reg) Ran
R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28
R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8

Elections results

		D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8
D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9
D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28
D38 Mass. Gain	D37 La. (sp) Hold	D36 La. (reg) Re-elected	D35 Ky. Hold	D34 Idaho Elected[lower-alpha 2]	D33 Ga. Hold	D32 Ark. Re-elected	D31 Ala. Re-elected	D30	D29
D39 Miss. Hold	D40 Mont. Re-elected	D41 Nev. Elected[lower-alpha 2]	D42 N.C. Re-elected	D43 Okla. Re-elected	D44 S.C. (reg) & S.C. (sp) Hold	D45 Tenn. Re-elected	D46 Texas Re-elected	D47 Va. Re-elected	R49 Wyo. Re-elected
Majority →
R39 Neb. Re-elected	R40 N.H. (reg) Gain	R41 N.H. (sp) Hold	R42 N.J. (sp) Elected N.J. (reg) Hold	R43 N.M. Re-elected	R44 Ore. (sp) Hold Ore. (reg) Elected[lower-alpha 2]	R45 R.I. Re-elected	R46 S.D. Re-elected	R47 W.Va. Hold	R48 Wis. Gain
R38 Mo. Gain	R37 Minn. Re-elected	R36 Mich. Hold	R35 Me. Re-elected	R34 Kan. Gain	R33 Iowa Re-elected	R32 Ill. Gain	R31 Idaho (reg) Re-elected	R30 Del. Gain	R29 Colo. Gain
R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28
R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8

Key:	D# Democratic R# Republican

Complete list of races

Special elections during the 65th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1918 or before March 4, 1919; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Wisconsin (Class 3)	Paul O. Husting	Democratic	1914	Incumbent died October 21, 1917. New senator elected April 2, 1918. Republican gain.	Irvine Lenroot (Republican) Joseph E. Davies (Democratic)
Idaho (Class 3)	John F. Nugent	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1918.	John F. Nugent (Democratic), 50.5% Frank R. Gooding (Republican), 49.5%[1]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Walter Guion	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1918. Democratic hold.	Edward James Gay Jr. (Democratic) Unopposed[2]
Missouri (Class 3)	Xenophon P. Wilfley	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 5, 1918. Republican gain.	Selden P. Spencer (Republican), 52.39% Joseph W. Folk (Democratic), 46.29% Caleb Lipscomb (Socialist), 1.16% William Wesley Cox (Socialist Labor), 0.16%[3]
Nevada (Class 3)	Charles Henderson	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1918.	Charles Henderson (Democratic), 47.71% Edwin E. Roberts (Republican), 31.5% Anne Henrietta Martin (Independent), 18.01% Martin Scanlan (Socialist), 2.78%[4]
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Irving W. Drew	Republican	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1918. Republican hold.	George H. Moses (Republican), 50.76% John B. Jameson (Democratic), 49.24%[5]
New Jersey (Class 2)	David Baird	Republican	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 5, 1918. Interim appointee was not a candidate for the next term, see below.	David Baird (Republican), 49.17% Charles O. Hennessy (Democratic), 44.64% James M. Reilly (Socialist), 3.82% Grafton Day (Prohibition), 2.38%[6]
Oregon (Class 2)	Charles L. McNary	Republican	1917 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 5, 1918. Republican hold. Interim appointee was instead elected to the next term, see below. Mulkey took the seat but subsequently resigned so McNary could be re-appointed ahead of the term.	Frederick W. Mulkey (Republican), 84.53% Martha Bean (Socialist), 15.47%[7]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Christie Benet	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost renomination. New senator elected November 5, 1918. Democratic hold. Neither the interim appointee nor the winner were elected to the next term, see below.	William P. Pollock (Democratic) Unopposed[8]

Elections leading to the 66th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1919; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	John H. Bankhead	Democratic	1907 (Appointed) 1907 (Special) 1911 (Early)	Incumbent re-elected.	John H. Bankhead (Democratic) Unopposed[9]
Arkansas	Joseph Robinson	Democratic	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Joseph Robinson (Democratic) Unopposed[10]
Colorado	John F. Shafroth	Democratic	1913	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Lawrence C. Phipps (Republican), 49.49% John F. Shafroth (Democratic), 47.94% P. A. Richardson (Prohibition), 2.58%[11]
Delaware	Willard Saulsbury, Jr.	Democratic	1913	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	L. Heisler Ball (Republican), 51.17% Willard Saulsbury, Jr. (Democratic), 47.83% William H. Connor (Socialist), 1%[12]
Georgia	Thomas W. Hardwick	Democratic	1914 (Special)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	William J. Harris (Democratic), 88.34% G. H. Williams (Republican), 11.66%[13]
Idaho	William Borah	Republican	1907 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	William Borah (Republican), 67.21% Frank L. Moore (Democratic), 32.79%[14]
Illinois	J. Hamilton Lewis	Democratic	1913 (Late)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Joseph M. McCormick (Republican), 50.5% J. Hamilton Lewis (Democratic), 44.92% William B. Lloyd (Socialist), 3.91% John M. Francis (Socialist Labor), 0.34%[15]
Iowa	William S. Kenyon	Republican	1911 (Special) 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	William S. Kenyon (Republican), 65.4% Charles Rollin Keyes (Democratic), 34.6%[16]
Kansas	William Thompson	Democratic	1913	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Arthur Capper (Republican), 63.69% William Thompson (Democratic), 33.73% Eva Harding (Socialist), 2.58%[17]
Kentucky	George B. Martin	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Augustus O. Stanley (Democratic), 50.77% Ben Bruner (Republican), 49.23%[18]
Louisiana	Joseph E. Ransdell	Democratic	1912	Incumbent re-elected.	Joseph E. Ransdell (Democratic) Unopposed[19]
Maine	Bert M. Fernald	Republican	1916 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected September 9, 1918.	Bert M. Fernald (Republican), 55.4% Earl Newbert (Democratic), 44.6%[20]
Massachusetts	John W. Weeks	Republican	1913	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	David I. Walsh (Democratic), 49.67% John W. Weeks (Republican), 45.07% Thomas W. Lawson (Independent), 5.26%[21]
Michigan	William Alden Smith	Republican	1911 1913	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	Truman Handy Newberry (Republican), 50.19% Henry Ford (Democratic), 48.47% E. O. Foss (Socialist), 1.09% William Faull (Prohibition), 0.26%[22]
Minnesota	Knute Nelson	Republican	1895 1901 1907 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Knute Nelson (Republican), 60.05% Willis Calderwood (Nationalist), 39.95%[23]
Mississippi	James K. Vardaman	Democratic	1912	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected.[24] Democratic hold.[25]	Pat Harrison (Democratic), 95.04% Summer W. Rose (Socialist), 4.96%
Montana	Thomas J. Walsh	Democratic	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Thomas J. Walsh (Democratic), 41.07% Oscar Lanstrum (Republican), 35.79% Jeannette Rankin (Nationalist), 23.14%[26]
Nebraska	George W. Norris	Republican	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	George W. Norris (Republican), 54.52% John H. Morehead (Democratic), 45.49%[27]
New Hampshire	Henry F. Hollis	Democratic	1913	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Henry W. Keyes (Republican), 53.54% Eugene Elliott Reed (Democratic), 46.46%[28]
New Jersey	David Baird	Republican	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Interim appointee, however, waselected to finish the current term, see above.	Walter Evans Edge (Republican), 50.34% George M. La Monte (Democratic), 43.23% James M. Reilly (Socialist), 4.14% Grafton Day (Prohibition), 1.62% William J. Wallace (Single Tax), 0.66%[29]
New Mexico	Albert B. Fall	Republican	1912 (New state) 1912 (Invalidated) 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Albert B. Fall (Republican), 51.4% William B. Walton (Democratic), 47.48% W. P. Metcalf (Socialist), 1.12%[30]
North Carolina	Furnifold Simmons	Democratic	1901 1907 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Furnifold Simmons (Democratic), 60.5% John M. Morehead (Republican), 39.5%[31]
Oklahoma	Robert L. Owen	Democratic	1907 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Robert Latham Owen (Democratic), 55.44% W. B. Johnson (Republican), 40.73% C. M. Greenland (Socialist), 3.83%[32]
Oregon	Charles L. McNary	Republican	1917 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected to the next term but not to finish the term. Winner subsequently appointed to begin next term early when winner of the special election, see above, resigned.	Charles L. McNary (Republican), 54.17% Oswald West (Democratic), 42.3% Albert Slaughter (Socialist), 3.53%[33]
Rhode Island	LeBaron B. Colt	Republican	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	LeBaron B. Colt (Republican), 51.76% George F. O'Shaunessy (Democratic), 46.24% Frederick W. Hunt (Socialist), 2%[34]
South Carolina	Christie Benet	Democratic	1918 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Neither the interim appointee nor the winner were elected to finish the current term, see above.	Nathaniel B. Dial (Democratic) Unopposed
South Dakota	Thomas Sterling	Republican	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Thomas Sterling (Republican), 55.07% W. T. Rinehart (Democratic), 38.95% Orville Rafferty (Independent), 5.98%[35]
Tennessee	John K. Shields	Democratic	1913	Incumbent re-elected.	John K. Shields (Democratic), 62.17% Henry Clay Evans (Republican), 37.83%[36]
Texas	Morris Sheppard	Democratic	1913 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Morris Sheppard (Democratic), 86.69% J. Webster Flanagan (Republican), 12.41% M. A. Smith (Socialist), 0.9%[37]
Virginia	Thomas S. Martin	Democratic	1893 (Early) 1899 (Early) 1906 1912	Incumbent re-elected.	Thomas S. Martin (Democratic) Unopposed[38]
West Virginia	Nathan Goff, Jr.	Republican	1913	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	Davis Elkins (Republican), 53.53% Clarence Wayland Watson (Democratic), 45.4% D. M. S. Holt (Socialist), 1.06%[39]
Wyoming	Francis E. Warren	Republican	1890 1893 (Lost) 1895 1901 1907 1913	Incumbent re-elected.	Francis E. Warren (Republican), 57.77% John Eugene Osborne (Democratic), 42.23%[40]

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

1918 United States Senate election in Illinois[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Medill McCormick	479,967	50.50
	Democratic	James Hamilton Lewis (incumbent)	426,943	44.92
	Socialist	William Bross Lloyd	37,167	3.91
	Socialist Labor	John M. Francis	3,268	0.34
	Prohibition	Frank B. Vennum	3,151	0.33
Majority			53,024	5.58
Turnout			950,496
	Republican gain from Democratic

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Carolina (Regular)

Senator Nathaniel B. Dial

The Democratic primary was held August 27, 1918.[42]

South Carolina (Special)

Senator William P. Pollock

The Democratic primary was held August 27, 1918,[43] and a run-off between William P. Pollock and Thomas H. Peeples was held September 10, 1918.[44]

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

See also

• 1918 United States elections
  • 1918 United States House of Representatives elections
• 65th United States Congress
• 66th United States Congress

Notes

1. There was a general election September 9, 1918 in Maine, and special elections in April and November 1918.
2. Appointee elected

References

1. "ID US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
2. "LA US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
3. "MO US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
4. "NV US Senate - Special Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
5. "NH US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
6. "NJ US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
7. "OR US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
8. "Our Campaigns - SC US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 05, 1918". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
9. "AL Senate Race - Nov 03, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
10. "AR US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
11. "CO US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
12. "DE US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
13. "GA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
14. "ID US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
15. "IL US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
16. "IA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
17. "KS US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
18. "KY US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
19. "LA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
20. "ME US Senate Race - Sep 09, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
21. "MA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
22. "MI US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
23. "MN US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
24. Street, William B. (March 21, 1965). "The Man Who Invented The Redneck". The Commercial Appeal.
25. "MS US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
26. "MT US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
27. "NE US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
28. "NH US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
29. "NJ US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
30. "NM US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
31. "NC US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
32. "OK US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
33. "OR US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
34. "RI US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
35. "SD US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
36. "TN US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
37. "TX US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
38. "VA US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
39. "WV US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1918". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
40. 1919 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns For 1918. W.E. Chaplin, Wyoming Secretary of State. pp. 36–37. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
41. "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE General Election, November 5, 1918 Judicial Elections, 1917-1918, Primary Election, September 11, 1918" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
42. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=430754
43. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=430755
44. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=430756