1928 United States Senate elections

United States Senate elections, 1928
32 of the 96 seats in the U.S. Senate; 49 seats needed for a majority
	Results including special elections; Democratic gains Democratic holds; Republican gains Republican holds; Farmer–Labor gains Farmer–Labor holds
Majority Leader before election; Charles Curtis; Republican	Elected Majority Leader ; James Watson; Republican

The United States Senate elections of 1928 were elections that coincided with the presidential election of Republican Herbert Hoover. The strong economy helped the Republicans to gain seven seats from the Democrats.

Senate Majority leader, Republican Charles Curtis of Kansas, was not up for election this cycle, but he was elected U.S. Vice President. He resigned March 3, 1929, so his seat was vacant at the beginning of the next Congress (March 4, 1929) until April 1, 1929, when a Republican was appointed to continue the term.

Gains and losses

Republicans gained five seats by defeating five Democratic incumbents:

Delaware: Democratic incumbent Thomas F. Bayard, Jr. lost re-election to Republican challenger John G. Townsend, Jr..
Maryland: Democratic incumbent William Cabell Bruce lost re-election to Republican challenger Phillips Lee Goldsborough.
New Jersey: Democratic incumbent Edward I. Edwards lost re-election to Republican challenger Hamilton F. Kean.
Rhode Island: Democratic incumbent Peter G. Gerry lost re-election to Republican challenger Felix Hebert.
West Virginia: Democratic incumbent Matthew M. Neely lost re-election to Republican challenger Henry D. Hatfield.

Republicans gained one seat from a Democratic incumbent appointee who had lost nomination:

Ohio (Special): Democratic incumbent appointee Cyrus Locher lost nomination to Graham P. Hunt to finish the term. Hunt then lost the general election to Republican Theodore E. Burton.

Republicans gained one seat from a retiring Democratic incumbent:

Missouri: Democratic incumbent James A. Reed retired and was replaced by Republican Roscoe C. Patterson.

Republicans gained one seat from a vacancy:

Illinois (Special): The Senate refused to seat Republican incumbent Frank L. Smith after his 1926 election. He resigned February 9, 1928, leaving the seat vacant. Republican Otis F. Glenn won a special election to finish the term ending March 3, 1933.

Republicans held two seats from retiring Republican incumbents:

Connecticut: Republican incumbent George P. McLean retired and was replaced by Republican Frederic C. Walcott.

Democrats gained no seats.

Democrats held 1 seat from a retiring Democratic incumbent:

Texas: Democratic incumbent Earle Bradford Mayfield retired and was replaced by Democrat Tom Connally.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1928.

D₃₈ Ran	D₃₇ Ran	D₃₆ Ran	D₃₅ Ran	D₃₄ Ran	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₂ Ran	D₃₁ Ran	D₃₀ Ran	D₂₉ Ran
		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 Ran
D₃₉ Ran	D₄₀ Ran	D₄₁ Ran	D₄₂ Ran	D₄₃ Ran	D₄₄ Ran	D₄₅ Ran	D₄₆ Retired	FL₁ Ran	V₁
Plurality ↓									V₂
R₃₉ Ran	R₄₀ Ran	R₄₁ Ran	R₄₂ Ran	R₄₃ Ran	R₄₄ Ran	R₄₅ Ran	R₄₆ Ran	R₄₇ Retired	V₂
R₃₈ Ran	R₃₇ Ran	R₃₆ Ran	R₃₅	R₃₄	R₃₃	R₃₂	R₃₁	R₃₀	R₂₉
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

After the general elections

D₃₈ Re-elected	D₃₇ Re-elected	D₃₆ Re-elected	D₃₅ Re-elected	D₃₄ Re-elected	D₃₃ Re-elected	D₃₂ Re-elected	D₃₁ Re-elected	D₃₀ Re-elected	D₂₉ Re-elected
		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 Re-elected
D₃₉ Re-elected	D₄₀ Hold	FL₁ Re-elected	V₁	V₂	R₅₃ Gain	R₅₂ Gain	R₅₁ Gain	R₅₀ Gain	R₄₉ Gain
Majority →									R₄₈ Gain
R₃₉ Re-elected	R₄₀ Re-elected	R₄₁ Re-elected	R₄₂ Re-elected	R₄₃ Re-elected	R₄₄ Re-elected	R₄₅ Elected	R₄₆ Elected	R₄₇ Hold	R₄₈ Gain
R₃₈ Re-elected	R₃₇ Re-elected	R₃₆ Re-elected	R₃₅	R₃₄	R₃₃	R₃₂	R₃₁	R₃₀	R₂₉
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

After the special 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	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉
D₃₉	FL₁	V₁	R₅₅ Gain	R₅₄ Gain	R₅₃ Hold	R₅₂ Elected	R₅₁ Elected	R₅₀	R₄₉
Majority →									R₄₈
R₃₉	R₄₀	R₄₁	R₄₂	R₄₃	R₄₄	R₄₅	R₄₆	R₄₇	R₄₈
R₃₈	R₃₇	R₃₆	R₃₅	R₃₄	R₃₃	R₃₂	R₃₁	R₃₀	R₂₉
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
FL_#	Farmer–Labor
R_#	Republican
V_#	Vacant

Race summary

Special elections during the 70th Congress

In these special elections, the winner were seated during 1928; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Idaho (Class 3)	John W. Thomas	Republican	1928 (Appointed)	Frank Gooding (R) died June 24, 1928, and Thomas was appointed June 30, 1928 to continue the term. Interim appointee elected November 6, 1928.	√ John W. Thomas (Republican) 62.6% Chase A. Clark (Democratic) 36.7%
Illinois (Class 3)	Vacant			1926 Senator-elect Frank L. Smith (R) had been disqualified and resigned February 9, 1928.^[2] New senator elected November 6, 1928. Republican gain.	√ Otis F. Glenn (Republican) 54.5% Anton Cermak (Democratic) 44.9%
Michigan (Class 1)	Arthur H. Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (Appointed)	Woodbridge N. Ferris (D) died March 23, 1928 and Vandenberg was appointed to continue the term. Interim appointee elected November 6, 1928. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below.	√ Arthur H. Vandenberg (Republican) 72.03% John W. Bailey (Democratic) 27.78%^[3]
New Mexico (Class 1)	Bronson M. Cutting	Republican	1927 (Appointed)	Interim appointee did not run to finish the term, but was elected to the next term, see below. New senator elected November 6, 1928. Republican hold.	√ Octaviano Larrazolo (Republican) [data missing]
Ohio (Class 3)	Cyrus Locher	Democratic	1928 (Appointed)	Frank B. Willis (R) died March 30, 1928 and Locher was appointed to continue the term. Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 6, 1928. Republican gain.	√ Theodore E. Burton (Republican) 62.4% Graham P. Hunt (Democratic) 37.4%

Elections leading to the 71st Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1929; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats, unless otherwise indicated.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Arizona	Henry F. Ashurst	Democratic	1912 1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Henry F. Ashurst (Democratic) 54.3% Ralph H. Cameron (Republican) 45.7%
California	Hiram W. Johnson	Republican	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Hiram W. Johnson (Republican) 74.1% Minor Moore (Democratic) 18.2% Charles Hiram Randall (Independent) 5.9%
Connecticut	George P. McLean	Republican	1911 1922	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Frederic C. Walcott (Republican) 53.9% Augustine Lonergan (Democratic) 45.6%
Delaware	Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.	Democratic	1922 (Special) 1922	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ John G. Townsend, Jr. (Republican) 61.0% Thomas F. Bayard, Jr. (Democratic) 39.1%
Florida	Park Trammell	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Park Trammell (Democratic) 68.5% Barclay H. Warburton (Republican) 31.5%
Indiana	Arthur Raymond Robinson	Republican	1926 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Arthur Raymond Robinson (Republican) 55.3% Albert Stump (Democratic) 44.1%
Maine	Frederick Hale	Republican	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frederick Hale (Republican) 69.6% Herbert E. Holmes (Democratic) 30.4%
Maryland	William Cabell Bruce	Democratic	1922	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Phillips Lee Goldsborough (Republican) 54.1% William Cabell Bruce (Democratic) 45.2%
Massachusetts	David I. Walsh	Democratic	1926 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ David I. Walsh (Democratic) 53.6% Benjamin Loring Young (Republican) 45.5%
Michigan	Arthur H. Vandenberg	Republican	1928 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner was also elected to finish the current term, see above.	√ Arthur H. Vandenberg (Republican) 71.8% John W. Bailey (Democratic) 27.7%
Minnesota	Henrik Shipstead	Farmer–Labor	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Henrik Shipstead (Farmer–Labor) 65.4% Arthur E. Nelson (Republican) 33.7%
Mississippi	Hubert D. Stephens	Democratic	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Hubert D. Stephens (Democratic) Unopposed
Missouri	James A. Reed	Democratic	1910 1916 1922	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Roscoe C. Patterson (Republican) 51.9% Charles M. Hay (Democratic) 47.9%
Montana	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Burton K. Wheeler (Democratic) 53.2% Joseph M. Dixon (Republican) 46.8%
Nebraska	Robert B. Howell	Republican	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert B. Howell (Republican) 61.3% Richard L. Metcalfe (Democratic) 38.7%
Nevada	Key Pittman	Democratic	1913 (Special) 1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Key Pittman (Democratic) 59.3% Samuel Platt (Republican) 40.7%
New Jersey	Edward I. Edwards	Democratic	1922	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Hamilton F. Kean (Republican) 57.9% Edward I. Edwards (Democratic) 41.8%
New Mexico	Bronson M. Cutting	Republican	1927 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected. Winner was not elected to finish the current term, see above.	√ Bronson M. Cutting (Republican) 57.7% Jethro S. Vaught (Democratic) 42.3%
New York	Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Royal S. Copeland (Democratic) 49.1% Alanson B. Houghton (Republican) 47.9%
North Dakota	Lynn J. Frazier	Republican	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Lynn J. Frazier (Republican) 79.6% F. F. Burchard (Democratic) 19.4%
Ohio	Simeon D. Fess	Republican	1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Simeon D. Fess (Republican) 60.7% Charles V. Truax (Democratic) 39.1%
Pennsylvania	David A. Reed	Republican	1922 (Appointed) 1922 (Special) 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ David A. Reed (Republican) 64.4% William N. McNair (Democratic) 34.0%
Rhode Island	Peter G. Gerry	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Felix Hebert (Republican) 50.6% Peter G. Gerry (Democratic) 49.3%
Tennessee	Kenneth D. McKellar	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kenneth D. McKellar (Democratic) 59.3% J. A. Fowler (Republican) 40.7%
Texas	Earle Bradford Mayfield	Democratic	1922	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Tom Connally (Democratic) 81.2% T. M. Kennerly (Republican) 18.7%
Utah	William H. King	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ William H. King (Democratic) 55.5% Ernest Bamberger (Republican) 43.9%
Vermont	Frank L. Greene	Republican	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frank L. Greene (Republican) 71.6% Fred C. Martin (Democratic) 28.5%
Virginia	Claude A. Swanson	Democratic	1910 (Appointed) 1911 (Appointed) 1912 (Special) 1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Claude A. Swanson 99.8% Unopposed
Washington	Clarence C. Dill	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Clarence C. Dill (Democratic) 53.4% Kenneth Mackintosh (Republican) 46.5% Alex Noral (Workers (Communist) Party) 0.1%
West Virginia	Matthew M. Neely	Democratic	1922	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Henry D. Hatfield (Republican) 50.7% Matthew M. Neely (Democratic) 49.2%
Wisconsin	Robert M. La Follette, Jr.	Republican	1925 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (Republican) 85.6% William H. Markham (Independent) 11.0% David W. Emerson (Prohibitionist) 2.9%
Wyoming	John B. Kendrick	Democratic	1916 1922	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John B. Kendrick (Democratic) 53.5% Charles E. Winter (Republican) 46.1%

Complete list of races

Arizona

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1928^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry F. Ashurst	47,013	54.25%
	Republican	Ralph H. Cameron	39,651	45.75%
Majority			7,362	8.50%
Turnout			86,664
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Massachusetts

United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1928^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	David I. Walsh	818,055	53.65
Republican	Benjamin Loring Young	693,563	45.48
Socialist	Alfred B. Lewis	7,675	0.50
Workers Party	John J. Ballam	5,621	0.37

Pennsylvania

General election results^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	David A. Reed (inc.)	1,948,646	64.38%	+8.77%
	Democratic	William N. McNair	1,029,055	34.00%	+3.87%
	Socialist	William J. Van Essen	23,100	0.76%	-1.53%
	Prohibition	Elisha K. Kane	14,866	0.49%	-2.42%
	Socialist Labor	Charles Kutz	7,524	0.25%	+0.25%
	Workers	W. J. White	2,420	0.08%	+0.08%
	Socialist Labor	William H. Thomas	1,234	0.04%	+0.04%
	N/A	Other	19	0.00%	N/A
Totals			3,026,864	100.00%

Virginia

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1928^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Claude A. Swanson (inc.)	275,425	99.84%	+27.96%
	Write-ins		436	0.16%	+0.16%
Majority			274,989	99.68%	+54.29%
Turnout			275,861
	Democratic hold

References

^ September 10, 1928 in Maine
^ "SMITH, Frank Leslie – Biographical Information". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=240
^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3287
^ Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1928). Number of assessed polls, registered voters and persons who voted in each voting precinct in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the state, city and town elections. p. 375.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 6, 1928" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1928election.pdf

[1] September 10, 1928 in Maine

[IL_Bioguide-2] "SMITH, Frank Leslie – Biographical Information". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2013.

[3] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=240

[4] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3287

[5] Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1928). Number of assessed polls, registered voters and persons who voted in each voting precinct in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the state, city and town elections. p. 375.

[results-6] "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 6, 1928" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

[7] ttp://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1928election.pdf

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]