Election to the United States Senate in 1974

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The 1974 election to the United States Senate for the 94th United States Congress took place on November 5. She was part of the elections in the United States on that day and it was half-time choice (Engl. Midterm election ) in the middle of President Richard Nixon's second term. However, Nixon had resigned in August because of the Watergate affair , after which his successor Gerald Ford had pardoned him , which, in addition to economic problems in the wake of the 1973 oil price crisis, led to heavy losses for the Republicans.

blue: Democrats
red: Republicans
lighter shade: profits

The 34 Class III seats were up for election, there were no by-elections for senators who left office prematurely. Twenty of these senators were from the Democratic Party and 14 from the Republicans . 23 incumbents were able to defend their seats, 15 Democrats and 8 Republicans. The Democrats won 4 seats from the Republicans, the Republicans one from the Democrats. In New Hampshire, the election was contested, so this previously Republican seat was initially vacant. This allowed the Democrats to increase their majority in the Senate from 57 to 60 seats, while the Republicans fell from 41 to 37. The Conservative Senate seat and the independent Senator had not stood for election.

In New Hampshire, the very narrow election was challenged, which dragged on to July 1975 without result (see below ). In a by-election in September , the Democratic candidate John A. Durkin won the previously Republican seat. This gave the Democrats 61 seats.

Results

The winners of these elections were admitted to the Senate on January 3, 1975, when the 94th Congress met . All seats of these senators belong to class III .

Country Acting Senator Political party Result New senator
Alabama James Browning Allen democrat re-elected James Browning Allen
Alaska Mike Gravel democrat re-elected Mike Gravel
Arizona Barry Goldwater republican re-elected Barry Goldwater
Arkansas J. William Fulbright democrat held by Democrats Dale Bumpers
Colorado Peter H. Dominick republican Gain democrats Gary Hart
Connecticut Abraham A. Ribicoff democrat re-elected Abraham A. Ribicoff
Florida Edward Gurney republican Gain democrats Richard Stone
Georgia Herman Talmadge democrat re-elected Herman Talmadge
Hawaii Daniel Inouye democrat re-elected Daniel Inouye
Idaho Frank Church democrat re-elected Frank Church
Illinois Adlai Stevenson democrat re-elected Adlai Stevenson
Indiana Birch Bayh democrat re-elected Birch Bayh
Iowa Harold Hughes democrat held by Democrats John Culver
California Alan Cranston democrat re-elected Alan Cranston
Kansas Bob Dole republican re-elected Bob Dole
Kentucky Marlow Cook republican Gain democrats Wendell Ford
Louisiana Russell B. Long democrat re-elected Russell B. Long
Maryland Charles Mathias republican re-elected Charles Mathias
Missouri Thomas Eagleton democrat re-elected Thomas Eagleton
Nevada Alan Bible democrat Gain Republicans Paul Laxalt
New Hampshire Norris Cotton republican Election contestation vacant
new York Jacob K. Javits republican re-elected Jacob K. Javits
North Carolina Sam Ervin democrat held by Democrats Robert Burren Morgan
North Dakota Milton Young republican re-elected Milton Young
Ohio Howard Metzenbaum democrat held by Democrats John Glenn
Oklahoma Henry Bellmon republican re-elected Henry Bellmon
Oregon Bob Packwood republican re-elected Bob Packwood
Pennsylvania Richard Schweiker republican re-elected Richard Schweiker
South carolina Fritz Hollings democrat re-elected Fritz Hollings
South Dakota George McGovern democrat re-elected George McGovern
Utah Wallace F. Bennett republican held by Republicans Jake yarn
Vermont George Aiken republican Gain democrats Patrick Leahy
Washington Warren G. Magnuson democrat re-elected Warren G. Magnuson
Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson democrat re-elected Gaylord Nelson
  • re-elected: an elected incumbent was re-elected

States

New Hampshire

In New Hampshire the election was extremely close. After the initial vote count, Republican Louis C. Wyman and Democrat John A. Durkin each had 49.7 percent of the vote, with Wyman 355 votes ahead. Durkin requested a new vote count, which resulted in a majority of 10 votes for him. Wyman then requested a recount, after which he had 2 more votes than Durkin. On December 31, 1974, the former Senator Norris Cotton resigned to give Wyman a higher seniority , a practice that is widely used in the United States. Governor Meldrim Thomson then named Wyman a senator for the remaining three days of Cotton's tenure.

Durkin then challenged the election before the Senate, which under the constitution has the final say on the election of its members. There was a stalemate in the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration , and the case went back and forth several times between the committee and the entire Senate. In July , when the blockade threatened to drag on beyond the summer recess, the Washington Post urged Wyman and Durkin to somehow come to an agreement. Thereupon Wyman suggested a repetition of the election, which Durkin accepted after an initial rejection.

The Senate declared the seat vacant with effect from July 8, and Governor Thomson appointed Norris Cotton for the period leading up to the election as Senator. The election took place on September 16. With a significantly higher turnout, Durkin won with 53.6% against Wyman, who received 43% of the vote, his absolute lead was more than 27,000 votes.