Election 1950 Results
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1950 Senate election results by state and county
Republicans won 17 of the Senate seats up and gained seven states in a midterm fought over the Korean War and communism, though Democrats kept a slim majority.
32 Senate races were held in 1950, plus 6 special elections. Democrats won 15 and Republicans 17.
The closest were Pennsylvania (R+3.6), Connecticut (D+5.1) and New York (D+5.1). 8 seats changed party: California to the Republicans, Idaho to the Republicans, Illinois to the Republicans, Maryland to the Republicans, Missouri to the Democrats, North Dakota to the Republicans, Pennsylvania to the Republicans and Utah to the Republicans.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1950 Senate elections
The Korean War began in June 1950, and Senator Joseph McCarthy's charges about communists in government had made anti-communism a central campaign issue. Republicans won 17 Senate races and Democrats 15, taking seats in California, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Utah. Democrats kept control by a narrow margin. Two Democratic leaders lost. In Illinois, Majority Leader Scott Lucas was beaten by Everett Dirksen. In Maryland, Millard Tydings, who had chaired the hearings that dismissed McCarthy's charges, lost to John Butler after a campaign that McCarthy's allies helped run. In California, Richard Nixon beat Helen Gahagan Douglas for an open seat. The closest race was in Connecticut, where William Benton beat Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of future presidents, by about 0.1 points in a special election. Herbert Lehman held New York for the Democrats, and Thomas Hennings Jr. unseated Forrest Donnell in Missouri.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Lister Hill | 125,534 (76.5%) | none | John G. Crommelin (Independent) 38,477 (23.5%) |
D+76.5 | |
| Arizona | Carl Hayden | 116,246 (62.8%) | Bruce Brockett | 68,846 (37.2%) | D+25.6 | |
| Arkansas | J. William Fulbright | 302,582 (100.0%) | none | D+100.0 | ||
| California flip | Helen G. Douglas | 1,502,507 (40.8%) | Richard M. Nixon | 2,183,454 (59.2%) | 354 | R+18.5 |
| Colorado | John A. Carroll | 210,442 (46.7%) | Eugene D. Millikin | 239,734 (53.3%) | R+6.5 | |
| Connecticut | Brien McMahon | 453,646 (51.7%) | Joseph A. Talbot | 409,053 (46.6%) | 15,128 | D+5.1 |
| Connecticut (special) | William Benton | 431,413 (49.2%) | Prescott S. Bush | 430,311 (49.1%) | 15,441 | D+0.1 |
| Florida | George A. Smathers | 238,987 (76.3%) | John P. Booth | 74,228 (23.7%) | D+52.6 | |
| Georgia | Walter F. George | 261,290 (100.0%) | none | 3 | D+100.0 | |
| Idaho flip | D. Worth Clark | 77,180 (38.3%) | Herman Welker | 124,237 (61.7%) | R+23.4 | |
| Idaho (special) flip | Claude J. Burtenshaw | 97,092 (48.1%) | Henry C. Dworshak | 104,608 (51.9%) | R+3.7 | |
| Illinois flip | Scott W. Lucas | 1,657,630 (45.8%) | Everett Dirksen | 1,951,984 (53.9%) | 13,059 | R+8.1 |
| Indiana | Alex M. Campbell | 741,025 (46.4%) | Homer E. Capehart | 844,303 (52.8%) | 13,396 | R+6.5 |
| Iowa | Albert J. Loveland | 383,766 (44.7%) | Bourke Hickenlooper | 470,613 (54.8%) | 4,144 | R+10.1 |
| Kansas | Paul Aiken | 271,365 (43.8%) | Frank Carlson | 335,880 (54.3%) | 11,859 | R+10.4 |
| Kansas (special) | Paul Aiken | 261,405 (44.8%) | Frank Carlson | 321,718 (55.2%) | R+10.3 | |
| Kentucky | Earle C. Clements | 334,249 (54.2%) | Charles I. Dawson | 278,368 (45.1%) | 4,496 | D+9.1 |
| Kentucky (special) | Earle Clements | 317,320 (54.4%) | Charles I. Dawson | 265,994 (45.6%) | D+8.8 | |
| Louisiana | Russell B. Long | 220,907 (87.7%) | Charles S. Gerth | 30,931 (12.3%) | D+75.4 | |
| Maryland flip | Millard E. Tydings | 283,180 (46.0%) | John M. Butler | 326,291 (53.0%) | 6,143 | R+7.0 |
| Missouri flip | Thomas Hennings Jr. | 685,732 (53.6%) | Forrest C. Donnell | 593,139 (46.4%) | 760 | D+7.2 |
| Nevada | Pat McCarran | 35,829 (58.0%) | George E. Marshall | 25,933 (42.0%) | D+16.0 | |
| New Hampshire | Emmet J. Kelley | 72,473 (38.2%) | Charles W. Tobey | 106,142 (56.0%) | Wesley Powell (Write-in) 10,943 (5.8%) |
R+17.8 |
| New York | Herbert H. Lehman | 2,632,305 (50.6%) | Joe R. Hanley | 2,367,353 (45.5%) | 205,729 | D+5.1 |
| North Carolina | Clyde R. Hoey | 376,473 (68.7%) | Halsey B. Leavitt | 171,804 (31.3%) | D+37.3 | |
| North Carolina (special) | Willis Smith | 364,912 (67.0%) | E. L. Galvin | 177,753 (32.6%) | 2,259 | D+34.4 |
| North Dakota flip | Harry O'Brien | 60,507 (32.4%) | Milton R. Young | 126,209 (67.6%) | R+35.2 | |
| Ohio | Joseph T. Ferguson | 1,214,459 (42.5%) | Robert A. Taft | 1,645,643 (57.5%) | R+15.1 | |
| Oklahoma | Mike Monroney | 345,953 (54.8%) | Bill Alexander | 285,224 (45.2%) | D+9.6 | |
| Oregon | Howard Latourette | 116,780 (23.2%) | Wayne Morse | 376,510 (74.8%) | 10,165 | R+51.6 |
| Pennsylvania flip | Francis Myers | 1,694,076 (47.7%) | James H. Duff | 1,820,400 (51.3%) | 34,166 | R+3.6 |
| Rhode Island (special) | John O. Pastore | 184,520 (61.6%) | Austin T. Levy | 114,890 (38.4%) | D+23.3 | |
| South Carolina | Olin D. Johnston | 50,240 (99.9%) | none | 37 | D+99.9 | |
| South Dakota | John A. Engel | 90,692 (36.1%) | Francis Case | 160,670 (63.9%) | R+27.8 | |
| Utah flip | Elbert D. Thomas | 121,198 (45.8%) | Wallace F. Bennett | 142,427 (53.9%) | 815 | R+8.0 |
| Vermont | James E. Bigelow | 19,608 (22.0%) | George D. Aiken | 69,543 (78.0%) | 20 | R+56.0 |
| Washington | Warren Magnuson | 397,719 (53.4%) | Walter Williams | 342,464 (46.0%) | 4,600 | D+7.4 |
| Wisconsin | Thomas E. Fairchild | 515,539 (46.2%) | Alexander Wiley | 595,283 (53.3%) | 5,255 | R+7.2 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.