Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold No electionRectangular inset (Tennessee): both seats up for election
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023[update], this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
In a close race in Nevada, Democratic incumbent Howard Cannon won re-election over Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt by fewer than 100 votes. Laxalt joined Cannon in the Senate when he won Nevada's other seat in 1974. Patrick V. McNamara (D–Michigan) later died on April 30, 1966, and was replaced on May 11, 1966, by appointee Robert P. Griffin (R), reducing Democrats' majority to 67–33.
Notably, of the 35 seats up for election this year, 26 were held by Democrats, who managed to retain 25 of them. A party defending two-thirds of the seats up for election would not make net gains in the Senate again until 2012. Coincidentally, it would be the same Senate class, class 1. This is the earliest round of Senate elections in which a first-elected member is still alive (Fred Harris, D-OK).
One Democrat sought election to finish the unexpired term but lost in the primary election. One Democrat sought election to a full term but lost in the general election. One Republican sought election to finish the unexpired term and sought election to a full term but lost in both the special election and the regular election. Two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election.
One Democrat died on April 30, 1966, and was replaced on May 11, 1966, by a Republican appointee. Another Democrat died on April 18, 1965, and was replaced by a fellow Democrat. Another Democrat resigned on November 10, 1965, for health reasons and was replaced by a fellow Democrat.
Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 31, 1964, to give successor preferential seniority. Winner seated January 1, 1965.
Incumbent Barry Goldwater decided not to run for re-election to a third term, instead running for President of the United States as the Republican Party nominee against Lyndon B. Johnson.[2] Governor of Arizona Paul Fannin ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and defeated Democratic nominee Roy Elson, who was a staff member for U.S. senator Carl Hayden until Hayden's retirement in 1969. Despite a landslide loss throughout the country, and Goldwater only able to obtain 50.45% of the vote in his home state of Arizona, Fannin managed to prevail in the state's Senate election. Goldwater would win the election for the other Senate seat in 1968 when Hayden retired from the post and serving two more terms.
Democratic incumbent Pierre Salinger, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Senator Clair Engle three months earlier, was defeated in his bid for a full term by Republican candidate George Murphy, a retired actor.
1964 United States Senate election in California[1]
Democratic incumbent Spessard Holland was reelected to a fourth term in a landslide, defeating the Republican candidate, future governor Claude R. Kirk Jr.
Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy, who had won a special election two years earlier, defeated his challengers to win his second (his first full) Senate term. Much of the campaign-appearance burden on behalf of Ted Kennedy fell on his wife, Joan, because of Ted's serious back injury in a plane crash.
Candidates:
Ted Kennedy - Incumbent senator elected in 1962 to the unexpired term of John F. Kennedy.
Lawrence Gilfedder - Candidate for Lt. Governor in 1948. Ran for Governor in 1952 and 1954. Ran for Senate in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, and 1970.[7]
Democratic incumbent John C. Stennis was reelected virtually unopposed to a fourth term, even as Republican candidate Barry Goldwater carried Mississippi in the presidential election. Stennis received 97% of the vote in the Democratic primary and faced no Republican challenger in the general election.
1964 United States Senate election in Mississippi[1]
Incumbent Democrat Mike Mansfield, who was first elected to the Senate in 1952 and was re-elected in 1958, ran for re-election. Mansfield won the Democratic primary in a landslide, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Alex Blewett, the Majority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives and the Republican nominee. Though Mansfield's margin was significantly reduced from 1958, he still overwhelmingly defeated Blewett and won his third term in the Senate.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Cannon won re-election to a second term by a razor-thin margin of only 48 votes over Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt.
Incumbent Republican Edwin L. Mechem, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Democrat Dennis Chávez two years earlier, sought election to a full term, but was defeated by Democrat Joseph Montoya.
Montoya was Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico (1947–1951 and 1955–1957) and a four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1957–1964).
During the campaign, Kennedy was frequently met by large crowds. Keating accused Kennedy of being a carpetbagger from Massachusetts. Kennedy responded to these charges in a televised town meeting by saying, "If the senator of the state of New York is going be selected on who's lived here the longest, then I think people are going vote for my opponent. If it's going be selected on who's got the best New York accent, then I think I'm probably out too. But I think if it's going be selected on the basis of who can make the best United States senator, I think I'm still in the contest."[23]
The Democratic/Liberal candidate was elected. Campaign help from President Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as the Democratic landslide after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, helped carry Kennedy into office, as Kennedy polled about 1.1 million votes less in New York than Johnson did. The incumbent Keating was defeated.
Only Burdick filed as a Democratic-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Thomas S. Kleppe, who would go on to serve two terms as a Representative for North Dakota's second congressional district from 1967 to 1971. Burdick and Kleppe won the primary elections for their respective parties.
This election was to determine who would serve for the final two years of the term to which Robert S. Kerr had been elected in 1960. Kerr had died in January 1963, and outgoing Governor J. Howard Edmondson was appointed to take his place. Edmondson hoped to win the special election, but lost the Democratic primary to former state senatorFred R. Harris, who then won the general election over University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson.
1964 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma[1]
Democratic incumbent John Pastore won reelection to a third full term (and fourth overall), defeating Republican candidate Ronald Lagueux by more than 65 percentage points.
1964 United States Senate election in Rhode Island[1]
Democratic Congressman Ross Bass won the special election to serve the remaining 26 months of the term to which the late Estes Kefauver had been elected in 1960. He defeated Republican candidate Howard Baker, who would go on to win the seat in the regular election two years later.
Democratic incumbent Robert Byrd was reelected to a second term over Republican candidate Cooper Benedict. Byrd would serve in the Senate until his death in 2010, making him the longest-serving senator in United States history.
1964 United States Senate election in West Virginia[1]
^ abThe Liberal Party in New York endorsed Robert F. Kennedy, a Democrat, but the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives did not tabulate their votes, totaling 284,646, into the national Democratic total.[1]
^Peter J. Crotty (ca. 1910–1992), lawyer, of Buffalo, President of the Buffalo City Council 1948–1951.[21]
^Dr. Henry Paolucci (1921–1999), Professor of Comparative Literature and Ancient Greek and Roman History at Iona College, later Professor of Government and Politics at St. John's University.[24]
^John Emanuel (b. ca. 1908 in Greece), "fur worker," ran also for Comptroller in 1954; and for Lieutenant Governor in 1958 and 1962
^Richard Garza (b. ca. 1928 The Bronx), "restaurant worker and seaman," ran also for Mayor of New York in 1961; and for Governor in 1962