United States Senate elections, 1966

United States Senate elections, 1966

November 8, 1966
33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate, plus 2 mid-term vacancies 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mike Mansfield Everett Dirksen Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Montana Illinois Last election 68 seats 32 seats Seats before 67 33 Seats won 64 36 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 12,358,323 13,169,332 Percentage 47.9% 51.0% Swing 8.4% 8.8% Seats up 20 15
Republican hold   Republican gain   Democratic hold   Democratic gain
Majority Leader before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected Majority Leader Mike Mansfield Democratic

The U.S. Senate election, 1966 was an election on November 8, 1966 for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second and first full term of President Lyndon Johnson. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48	D49	D50
Majority →									D51
D60	D59	D58	D57	D56	D55	D54	D53	D52
D61	D62	D63	D64	D65	D66	D67	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

As a result of the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48√	D49√	D50√
Majority →									D51
D60√	D59√	D58√	D57√	D56√	D55√	D54√	D53√	D52√
D61√	D62√	D63O	D64O	R36+	R35+	R34+	R33O	R32O	R31√
R21√	R22√	R23√	R24√	R25√	R26√	R27√	R28√	R29√	R30√
R20√	R19√	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key:	D# Democratic R# Republican		√ Incumbent re-elected or appointee elected to finish term O Party hold: New senator elected from same party + Party gain: New senator elected from different party

Retirements

Republican holds

1. Massachusetts: Leverett Saltonstall (R) was replaced by Edward Brooke (R)
2. Wyoming: Milward L. Simpson (R) was replaced by Clifford Hansen (R)

Republican gain

1. Oregon: Maurine Brown Neuberger (D) was replaced by Mark Hatfield (R)

Incumbents who lost their seats

Democratic holds

1. South Carolina: Appointee Donald S. Russell (D) lost nomination to finish the term to Ernest Hollings (D), who went on to win the general election
2. Virginia: Absalom Willis Robertson (D) lost renomination to William B. Spong, Jr. (D), who went on to win the general election

Republican gains

1. Illinois: Paul Douglas (D) lost to Charles H. Percy (R)
2. Tennessee: Ross Bass (D) lost renomination to Frank G. Clement (D), who went on to lose the general election to Howard Baker (R)

Complete list of races

A bolded state name indicates an article about that state's election.

State	Incumbent	Party	Result	Candidates
Alabama	John Sparkman	Democratic	Re-elected	John Sparkman (Democratic) 60.1% John Grenier (Republican) 39.0%
Alaska	Bob Bartlett	Democratic	Re-elected	Bob Bartlett (Democratic) 75.5% Lee L. McKinley (Republican) 24.5%
Arkansas	John Little McClellan	Democratic	Re-elected	John Little McClellan (Democratic) unopposed
Colorado	Gordon L. Allott	Republican	Re-elected	Gordon L. Allott (Republican) 58.0% Roy Romer (Democratic) 41.9%
Delaware	J. Caleb Boggs	Republican	Re-elected	J. Caleb Boggs (Republican) 59.1% James M. Tunnell, Jr. (Democratic) 40.9%
Georgia	Richard Russell, Jr.	Democratic	Re-elected	Richard Russell, Jr. (Democratic) unopposed
Idaho	Leonard B. Jordan	Republican	Re-elected	Leonard B. Jordan (Republican) 55.4% Ralph R. Harding (Democratic) 44.6%
Illinois	Paul Douglas	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Charles H. Percy (Republican) 55.0% Paul Douglas (Democratic) 43.9%
Iowa	Jack Miller	Republican	Re-elected	Jack Miller (Republican) 60.9% E. B. Smith (Democratic) 37.8%
Kansas	James B. Pearson	Republican	Re-elected	James B. Pearson (Republican) 52.2% James Floyd Breeding (Democratic) 45.2%
Kentucky	John Sherman Cooper	Republican	Re-elected	John Sherman Cooper (Republican) 64.5% John Y. Brown, Sr. (Democratic) 35.5%
Louisiana	Allen J. Ellender	Democratic	Re-elected	Allen J. Ellender (Democratic) unopposed
Maine	Margaret Chase Smith	Republican	Re-elected	Margaret Chase Smith (Republican) 59.0% Elmer H. Violette (Democratic) 41.1%
Massachusetts	Leverett Saltonstall	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Edward Brooke (Republican) 60.7% Endicott Peabody (Democratic) 38.7%
Michigan	Robert P. Griffin	Republican	Re-elected	Robert P. Griffin (Republican) 55.9% G. Mennen Williams (Democratic) 43.8%
Minnesota	Walter Mondale	Democratic	Appointee elected to full term	Walter Mondale (Democratic) 53.9% Robert A. Forsythe (Republican) 45.2%
Mississippi	James Eastland	Democratic	Re-elected	James Eastland (Democratic) 65.5% Prentiss Walker (Republican) 26.8% Clifton R. Whitley (Independent) 7.8%
Montana	Lee Metcalf	Democratic	Re-elected	Lee Metcalf (Democratic) 53.2% Tim M. Babcock (Republican) 46.8%
Nebraska	Carl Curtis	Republican	Re-elected	Carl Curtis (Republican) 61.2% Frank B. Morrison (Democratic) 38.8%
New Hampshire	Thomas J. McIntyre	Democratic	Re-elected	Thomas J. McIntyre (Democratic) 54.0% Harrison Thyng (Republican) 45.9%
New Jersey	Clifford P. Case	Republican	Re-elected	Clifford P. Case (Republican) 60.0% Warren W. Wilentz (Democratic) 37.0%
New Mexico	Clinton Presba Anderson	Democratic	Re-elected	Clinton Presba Anderson (Democratic) 53.1% Anderson Carter (Republican) 46.9%
North Carolina	B. Everett Jordan	Democratic	Re-elected	B. Everett Jordan (Democratic) 55.6% John S. Shallcross (Republican) 44.4%
Oklahoma	Fred R. Harris	Democratic	Re-elected	Fred R. Harris (Democratic) 53.7% Pat H. Patterson (Republican) 46.3%
Oregon	Maurine Brown Neuberger	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Mark Hatfield (Republican) 51.7% Robert B. Duncan (Democratic) 48.2%
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell	Democratic	Re-elected	Claiborne Pell (Democratic) 67.7% Ruth M. Briggs (Republican) 32.3%
South Carolina	Strom Thurmond	Republican	Re-elected	Strom Thurmond (Republican) 62.2% Bradley Morrah (Democratic) 37.8%
South Carolina Special: Class 3	Donald S. Russell	Democratic	Lost nomination to finish term Democratic hold	Ernest Hollings (Democratic) 51.4% Marshall Parker (Republican) 48.7%
South Dakota	Karl Earl Mundt	Republican	Re-elected	Karl Earl Mundt (Republican) 66.3% Donn H. Wright (Democratic) 33.7%
Tennessee	Ross Bass	Democratic	Lost renomination Republican gain	Howard Baker (Republican) 55.7% Frank G. Clement (Democratic) 44.3%
Texas	John Tower	Republican	Re-elected	John Tower (Republican) 56.4% Waggoner Carr (Democratic) 43.1%
Virginia Special: Class 1	Harry F. Byrd, Jr.	Democratic	Re-elected	Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (Democratic) 53.3% Lawrence M. Traylor (Republican) 37.4% John W. Carter (Independent) 7.9%
Virginia	Absalom Willis Robertson	Democratic	Lost renomination Democratic hold	William B. Spong, Jr. (Democratic) 58.6% James P. Ould, Jr. (Republican) 33.5% F. Lee Hawthorne (Conservative) 7.9%
West Virginia	Jennings Randolph	Democratic	Re-elected	Jennings Randolph (Democratic) 59.5% Francis J. Love (Republican) 40.5%
Wyoming	Milward L. Simpson	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Clifford Hansen (Republican) 51.8% Teno Roncalio (Democratic) 48.2%

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1966
• 90th United States Congress