United States Senate elections, 1938

thumbnail|320px">
legend|#00f|Democratic pickupsThe U.S. Senate elections of 1938 occurred in the middle of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's second term. This occurred six years after the Democratic landslide in the 1932 election, and so the opposition Republicans gained six seats from the Democrats. However, the Democrats retained a commanding lead over the Republicans with more than two-thirds of the chamber.

A contemporary account [ 1939 Britannica Book of the Year, "Democratic Party," pages 205-6 ] cited a number of reasons for the losses suffered by the Democrats. The first was the Recession of 1937, which had continued into the first half of 1938, and which had arguably weakened public confidence in the administration's New Deal economic policies. Controversy over a government reorganization bill (Roosevelt's "Court-packing" plan) was also a major factor. There were, in addition, strains between the more liberal New Deal supporters and the conservative wing of the Democratic party centered in the Southern states. These strains were exacerbated by an effort led by President Roosevelt to target certain conservative senators for defeat in Democratic primaries, including Walter George of Georgia, Millard Tydings of Maryland and Ellison Smith of South Carolina, along with the chairman of the House Rules Committee, John J. O'Connor of New York. While a number of New Deal supporters won primary elections, such as Sen. Alben Barkley in Kentucky, who defeated future baseball commissioner Happy Chandler, Sen. James P. Pope of Idaho, a prominent New Deal supporter, lost his bid for re-nomination, as did California senator William McAdoo.

Given the high levels of Democratic success in the 1930, 1932, 1934 and 1936 elections, the Democrats did face a difficult position in defending a large number of seats, even without the pressures described above.

Overall, the Democrats would go on to lose 6 seats in the Senate, though with 69 seats, they retained a very strong majority position.

The Republicans took an open seat in New Jersey, and defeated five Democratic incumbents:
* Augustine Lonergan (D-CT)
* George McGill (D-KS)
* Fred H. Brown (D-NH)
* Robert J. Bulkley (D-OH)
* F. Ryan Duffy (D-WI)

enate contests in 1938

See also

*United States House elections, 1938

References