1912–13 United States Senate elections

← 1910 & 1911 January 16, 1912 – January 29, 1913 1914 →
← 1906 & 1907 1918 →
32 of the 96 seats in theUnited States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John W. Kern[a] Jacob H. Gallinger[b] Party Democratic Republican Leader since March 4, 1911 March 4, 1911 Leader's seat Indiana New Hampshire Seats before 43 52 Seats after 47 45 Seat change 4 7 Seats up 13 19 Seats won 17 12
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Republican gain     Republican hold      No election
Majority conference chairman before election Shelby Moore Cullom Republican ElectedMajority conference chairman John W. Kern Democratic

The1912–13 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They were the lastU.S. Senate elections before the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendment in 1913, establishing direct elections for all Senate seats. Senators had been primarily chosen bystate legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1912 and 1913, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due tolegislative deadlock.^[1] Some states elected their senators directly even before passage of Seventeenth Amendment.Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after,Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party'sprimary or in conjunction with ageneral election.

In these elections, terms were up for the senators inClass 2. TheDemocrats gained control of the Senate for the first time in20 years. Of the 32 seats up for election, 17 were won by Democrats, thereby gaining 4 seats from the Republicans. Two seats were unfilled by state legislators who failed to elect a new senator on time.

These elections coincided with DemocratWoodrow Wilson's victory in thepresidential election amid a divide in theRepublican Party. In the Senate,Joseph M. Dixon andMiles Poindexter defected from theRepublican Party and joinedTheodore Roosevelt's newProgressive Party. Dixon, however, lost his seat during this election.

Parties		Total Seats
		Incumbents	This election						Result	+/-
			Not up	Up	Re- elected	Held	Gained	Lost
	Democratic	43	30	13	5	5	7	2	47	4
	Republican	52	33	19	6	4	2	7	45	7
	Others	0	0	0	0	0			0
	Vacant	1	1	0			3		4	3
Total		96	64	32	11	9	12	9	96	3

In these special elections, the winners were seated in the 62nd Congress during 1912 or before March 4, 1913; ordered by election date.

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1913; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

In this early general election, the winner was seated in the 64th Congress, starting March 4, 1915.

In these elections (some special, some merely late), the winners were seated in 1913 after March 4.

Some of those five elections late and some special, some by legislatures before ratification of the amendment and some popularly thereafter:

• Two elections were late and elected by legislatures:New Hampshire andIllinois (Class 2)
• One election was special and elected by a legislature:Illinois (Class 3)
• One election was late and elected popularly:Georgia
• One election was special and elected popularly:Maryland

They are ordered here by election date, then by class.

Incumbent SenatorJohn H. Bankhead had already been re-elected early January 17, 1911^[28] for the 1913 term.

One-term incumbent SenatorJeff Davis died January 3, 1913. DemocraticGovernor of ArkansasJoseph T. Robinson appointedJohn N. Heiskell January 6, 1913, to continue the term just until a special election.

Arkansas special election (class 2)

← 1909 January 24, 1913

Nominee William Kavanaugh Scattering Party Democratic Members' vote 77 58 Percentage 57.0% 43.0%

U.S. senator before election John N. Heiskell Democratic Elected U.S. senator William Kavanaugh Democratic

John N. Heiskell was not a candidate in the special election. On January 29, 1913, theArkansas Legislature elected Democratic businessman and former judgeWilliam Marmaduke Kavanaugh just to finish the term that would end in March 1913.

Arkansas general election (class 2)

January 24, 1913 1918 →

Nominee Joseph T. Robinson Stephen Brundidge Jr. Party Democratic Democratic Members' vote 71 36 Percentage 53.0% 26.9%

U.S. senator before election John N. Heiskell Democratic Elected U.S. senator Joseph T. Robinson Democratic

Neither Heiskell nor Kavanaugh were candidates in the general election. On January 29, 1913, theArkansas Legislature elected the Democratic GovernorJoseph T. Robinson to the next term. This would be the last senate election by a state legislature before the April 8, 1913, adoption of the17th amendment. Robinson would later become leader of Senate Democrats andSenate majority leader.

Arizona class 1 election

December 12, 1911, March 26, 1912 1916 →

Nominee Henry F. Ashurst Ralph H. Cameron Party Democratic Republican Electoral vote 54 0 Popular vote 10,872 9,640 Percentage 50.00% 44.33%

U.S. senator before election none Elected U.S. Senator To be formally determined by the Arizona legislature

Arizona class 3 election

December 12, 1911, March 26, 1912 1914 →

Nominee Marcus A. Smith Hoval A. Smith Party Democratic Republican Electoral vote 54 0 Popular vote 10,598 9,228 Percentage 50.35% 43.85%

U.S. senator before election none Elected U.S. Senator To be formally determined by the Arizona legislature

Arizona became a new state February 14, 1912, with senators in classes 1 (ending 1917) and 3 (ending 1915). For the initial senators there was a popular vote held December 12, 1911 — before statehood — and the newly formed state legislature effectively ratified the popular votes March 26, 1912: DemocratHenry F. Ashurst (class 1) and DemocratMarcus A. Smith (class 3).

Henry F. Ashurst was elected to theTerritorial House of Representatives in 1897. He was re-elected in 1899, and became the territory's youngestspeaker. In 1902, he was elected to theTerritorial Senate. In 1911, Ashurst presided over Arizona'sconstitutional convention.^[29] During the convention, he positioned himself for a U.S. Senate seat by avoiding the political fighting over various clauses in the constitution which damaged his rivals.^[30]

Marcus A. Smith announced his candidacy for one of Arizona's two senate seats on September 24, 1911.^[32] As the campaign began, Smith abandoned his long standing conservative stand and declared himself a "Progressive".^[33]

With the admission of Arizona as a state in 1912, theArizona State Legislature confirmed the selection of Smith and Ashurst as the state's first U.S. senators on March 27, 1912,^[35] taking office April 2, 1912.

On January 14, 1913, theColorado General Assembly elected both of the state's senators: GovernorJohn F. Shafroth for the class 2 seat (ending 1919) and DemocratCharles S. Thomas for the class 3 seat (ending 1915).

1912 United States Senate election in Colorado

← 1907 November 5, 1912 1918 →

Nominee John F. Shafroth Clyde Dawson Frank Catlin Party Democratic Republican Progressive Popular vote 118,260 47.3% 66,949 26.8% 58,649 23.5% Legislative vote 86 87.8% 11 11.2% 1 1.0%

County results Shafroth:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Dawson:     30–40%     40–50%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Simon Guggenheim Republican Elected U.S. Senator John F. Shafroth Democratic

One-term Republican incumbentSimon Guggenheim chose to retire in the term beginning March 4, 1913.

In the 1912 state elections, DemocraticGovernor of ColoradoJohn F. Shafroth won the popular vote.

TheColorado General Assembly ratified that decision January 14, 1913, by electing Thomas.

1912 United States Senate special election in Colorado

← 1909 November 5, 1912 1914 →

Nominee Charles S. Thomas Charles W. Waterman I.N. Stevens Party Democratic Republican Progressive Popular vote 111,633 44.9% 66,627 26.8% 64,405 25.9% Legislative vote 88 88.9% 9 9.1% 1 1.0%

County results Thomas:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Waterman:     30–40%     40–50%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Vacant Elected U.S. Senator Charles S. Thomas Democratic

DemocratCharles J. Hughes Jr. (D) had died January 11, 1911, and the seat remained vacant for two years because theColorado General Assembly failed to elect a successor.^[5]

In the 1912 state elections, DemocratCharles S. Thomas (formerGovernor of Colorado) won the popular vote^{[citation needed]}.

TheColorado General Assembly ratified that decision January 14, 1913, by overwhelmingly voting for Thomas.

Incumbent RepublicanHarry A. Richardson retired after one term in office.

DemocratWillard Saulsbury Jr. had been a member of theDemocratic National Committee since 1908 and had run for U.S. senator in1899,1901,1903,1905,1907, and1911, but Republicans controlled the state legislature and he was unsuccessful. In 1913, however, Democrats were in control of the legislature, Saulsbury was the preference of most Democrats, and he obtained the required majority January 29, 1913, after several days of balloting. This election was the first time since1883 that a Democrat won a full term for this Senate seat in Delaware.

Georgia late election

← 1911 (special) June 15, 1913 1914 (special) →

Nominee Augustus Octavius Bacon Party Democratic Percentage Unopposed

U.S. senator before election Augustus Octavius Bacon Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Augustus Octavius Bacon Democratic

TheGeorgia General Assembly failed to elect a senator, as Democratic incumbentAugustus O. Bacon's term ended. The Governor of Georgia therefore appointed Bacon to begin the term, pending a late election.

On June 15, 1913, Bacon was elected by the general populace without opposition, becoming the first senator elected under theSeventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Bacon died in early 1914, however, leading to another interim appointment and eventualspecial election.

Idaho general election (class 2)

← 1907 January 14, 1913 1918 →

Nominee William Borah Kirtland I. Perky Party Republican Democratic Members' vote 75 2 Percentage 94.9% 2.5%

U.S. senator before election William Borah Republican Elected U.S. Senator William Borah Republican

First term Republican incumbentWilliam Borah was easily re-elected over two Democratic challengers.

Idaho special election (class 3)

← 1909 January 24, 1913 1914 →

Nominee James H. Brady James F. Ailshie John F. Nugent Party Republican Republican Democratic Legislative vote 43 7 5 Percentage 53.8% 8.8% 6.3%   Nominee James E. Babb Robert N. Dunn E. H. Dewey Party Independent Republican Independent Legislative vote 5 4 4 Percentage 6.3% 5.0% 5.0%

U.S. senator before election James H. Brady Democratic Elected U.S. Senator James H. Brady Republican

Two-term incumbent RepublicanWeldon Heyburn died October 17, 1912. Democratic lawyer and former-JudgeKirtland I. Perky was appointed November 18, 1912, to continue the term pending a special election.

Perky was not a candidate in the special election, which was won by Republican former-GovernorJames H. Brady. Brady would winre-election in a popular vote in 1914.

In theNovember 1912 state elections, the Republicans lost control of the state due to theRepublican /Progressive split. But while the Democrats held a plurality of theIllinois General Assembly, they did not have a majority. The General Assembly took up the matter of electing the senators on February 1. The General Assembly therefore failed to elect until after the new congress began.

On March 26, in a compromise arranged by governorDunne, the General Assembly elected DemocratJ. Hamilton Lewis to fill the full-term seat and RepublicanLawrence Y. Sherman to fill the two remaining years of a vacancy that had just recently opened.

Illinois general election (class 2)

← 1907 March 26, 1913 1918 →

Nominee J. Hamilton Lewis Frank H. Funk Party Democratic Progressive Members' vote 164 22 Percentage 80.39% 10.78%

U.S. senator before election Shelby Moore Cullom Republican Elected U.S. senator J. Hamilton Lewis Democratic

On April 12, 1912, five-term Republican incumbentShelby Moore Cullom lost renomination toLieutenant Governor of IllinoisLawrence Y. Sherman in the Republican "advisory" primary, where the voters expressed their preference for senator but the decision was not binding on theGeneral Assembly, which made the actual choice. Cullom had suffered politically over his support for the other Illinois senator,William Lorimer, who was embroiled in a scandal over alleged bribery in his1909 election to the Senate.

After his defeat, Cullom withdrew his name from consideration by the General Assembly.

TheIllinois General Assembly eventually elected the Democratic nominee, CongressmanJ. Hamilton Lewis March 26, 1913, who had also won the Democratic advisory primary, as the sole candidate on the ballot.

Illinois special election (class 3)

← 1909 March 26, 1913 1914 →

Nominee Lawrence Y. Sherman[37] Charles Boeschenstein Party Republican Democratic Members' vote 143 25 Percentage 70.10% 12.26%   Nominee Frank H. Funk Party Progressive Members' vote 22 Percentage 10.78%

U.S. senator before election Vacant Elected U.S. senator Lawrence Y. Sherman Republican

Three months after the primary in which Sherman defeated Cullom, the U.S. Senate invalidatedLorimer's 1909 election and declared the seat vacant.^[38] TheIllinois Attorney General,William H. Stead determined that the General Assembly had failed to properly elect Lorimer in 1909 and so the Governor could not appoint a replacement.^[39] As a result, the General Assembly had a second Senate seat to fill.

Iowa election

← 1911 (special) January 21, 1913 1918 →

Nominee William S. Kenyon Daniel W. Hamilton Party Republican Democratic Members' vote 91 58

U.S. senator before election William S. Kenyon Republican Elected U.S. Senator William S. Kenyon Republican

Incumbent RepublicanWilliam S. Kenyon, who had just won a1911 special election to the seat, was easily re-elected by theIowa General Assembly over Democratic former congressmanDaniel W. Hamilton.^[5]

Kansas election

← 1907 January 29, 1913 1918 →

Nominee William H. Thompson W. R. Stubbs Party Democratic Republican Electoral vote 160 3 Popular vote 172,601 151,647 Percentage 49.34% 43.35%

County results Thompson:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Stubbs:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Charles Curtis Republican Elected U.S. Senator William H. Thompson Democratic

One-term incumbent Republican (and future Vice President)Charles Curtis lost renomination toGovernor of KansasWalter R. Stubbs, who then lost the general election to Democratic JudgeWilliam H. Thompson as Democrats took control of theKansas Legislature in the 1912 state elections.

Thompson would only serve one term, losingre-election in 1918. As of 2025, this is the last time the Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Kansas. This represents the longest current winning streak of either party for a single Senate seat.

Curtis' political career, meanwhile, would rebound, as he was elected toKansas' other US Senate seat, first by defeating Kansas' senior senatorJoseph L. Bristow in the Republican primary, and then winning re-election nonconsecutively to the U.S Senate by a very narrow margin over two opponents, becoming the first Kansan to be popularly elected to the U.S Senate in a historic first. Curtis would serve in the Senate for three terms before resigning to become U.S. Vice President in March 1929, the firstNative American to serve in that office.

Kentucky election

← 1906 January 16, 1912 1918 →

Nominee Ollie James Edwin P. Morrow Party Democratic Republican Senate ballot 31 (83.8%) 6 (16.2%) House ballot 74 (76.3%) 23 (23.7%)

Senate ballot House ballot Blue denotes members voting for James andred denotes those voting for Morrow.

[[List of United States senators from {{{country}}}|U.S. senator]] before election Thomas H. Paynter Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ollie James Democratic

One-term DemocratThomas H. Paynter retired and Democratic RepresentativeOllie James was easily elected January 16, 1912.^[2]

The legislature formally elected James a second time January 16, 1912, to comply with a federal rule requiring an election on the second Tuesday after the meeting of the legislature.^[2]

Louisiana senators

Joseph E. Ransdell
Class 2: starting March 4, 1913

Robert F. Broussard
Class 3: starting March 4, 1915

Louisiana held two elections May 21, 1912: an election for the class 2 term that would begin March 4, 1913, and an election for the class 3 term that would begin March 4, 1915.

In the class 2 seat, DemocratMurphy J. Foster lost renomination to fellow-DemocratJoseph E. Ransdell, who later was elected unopposed to seat.

In the class 3 seat, DemocratJohn Thornton retired. Fellow-DemocratRobert F. Broussard was elected unopposed, but he would have to wait until term began on March 4, 1915.

Five-term incumbent RepublicanWilliam P. Frye had died August 8, 1911, and DemocratObadiah Gardner was appointed September 23, 1911, to continue the term, pending a special election. In this election cycle, Gardner would first win the election to finish the term and then lose re-election to the next term.

Maine special election

← 1907 April 2, 1912 1913 →

Nominee Obadiah Gardner Frederick A. Powers Party Democratic Republican Members' vote 98 56 Percentage 66.2% 33.8%

U.S. senator before election Obadiah Gardner Democratic Elected U.S. senator Obadiah Gardner Democratic

Democratic interim appointeeObadiah Gardner was elected April 2, 1912, to finish the term ending March 3, 1913.^[4][2]

Maine general election

← 1912 (special) January 15, 1913 1918 →

Nominee Edwin C. Burleigh Obadiah Gardner Party Republican Democratic Members' vote 91 82 Percentage 50.6% 45.6%

U.S. senator before election Edwin C. Burleigh Republican Elected U.S. senator Obadiah Gardner Democratic

DemocratObadiah Gardner lost re-election January 15, 1913, to RepublicanEdwin C. Burleigh for the term starting March 4, 1913.

"There was no choice in the separate balloting on January 14. The next day in joint assembly, [Burleigh was elected]."^[14]

Maryland special election

← 1910 November 4, 1913 1916 →

Nominee Blair Lee Thomas Parran Sr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 112,485 73,300 Percentage 56.75% 36.98%

County results Parran:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Lee:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election William P. Jackson Republican Elected U.S. senator Blair Lee Democratic

DemocratIsidor Rayner died November 25, 1912, and RepublicanWilliam P. Jackson was appointed to continue the term, pending a special election.

Democratic state senatorBlair Lee waselected November 4, 1913.

Lee presented his credentials to serve as senator on December 5, 1913, but he did not qualify until January 28, 1914, because Jackson claimed that "since [Jackson] had been appointed under the original constitutional provision, [Jackson] was entitled to hold his seat until the regularly scheduled adjournment date of the Maryland state assembly."^[27] The Senate considered Jackson's challenge but eventually rejected it and seated Lee.

Lee would only serve this one term, as helost renomination in 1916.

Massachusetts election

← 1905 (special) January 14, 1913 1918 →

Nominee John W. Weeks Sherman L. Whipple Party Republican Democratic Members' vote 160 80 Percentage 58.82% 29.41%

U.S. senator before election Winthrop M. Crane Republican Elected U.S. Senator John W. Weeks Republican

RepublicanWinthrop M. Crane, who was first appointed in 1904, retired. Republican congressman fromNewton, Massachusetts,John W. Weeks, was elected January 14, 1913, to succeed him. RepublicanEben Sumner Draper had been considered a candidate for the seat, but the Republican party, then under the control of its hardline conservative faction (and in control of the legislature), chose Weeks instead.^[43]

Weeks would only serve for one six-year term. He wouldlose re-election in 1918 to DemocratDavid I. Walsh.

Two-term RepublicanWilliam A. Smith, whose Senate tenure began weeks before his first full-term began, was re-elected January 14, 1913.

He would retire after this term.

Three-term RepublicanKnute Nelson was overwhelmingly supported in a 1912 popular election.

TheMinnesota Legislature unanimously ratified the popular vote January 21, 1913:

Nelson later would bere-elected again in 1918 to a fifth term, before his 1923 death.

Mississippi election

← 1912 1 August 1911 1918 →

Nominee James K. Vardaman C. H. Alexander Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 79,380 31,300 Percentage 60.04% 23.68%   Nominee LeRoy Percy Party Democratic Popular vote 21,521 Percentage 16.28%

County results Vardaman:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Percy:     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%

U.S. senator before election LeRoy Percy Democratic Elected U.S. senator James K. Vardaman Democratic

One-term DemocratLeRoy Percy lost renomination in mid-1911 towhite supremacistJames K. Vardaman, who was then elected January 16, 1912, to the seat, unopposed.^[2]

Percy hadwon in 1910 (to finish a vacant term) despite Vardaman's support of a plurality of legislators (all white). The fractured remainder sought to thwart his extreme racial policies. A majority united behind Percy to block Vardaman's election. Percy had advocated education for blacks and worked to improve race relations by appealing to the planters' sense ofnoblesse oblige. Disenfranchisement of blacks made the Democratic primary the deciding competitive race for state and local offices in Mississippi.

In this rematch, Vardaman's campaign was managed byLieutenant Governor of Mississippi (and future senator)Theodore Bilbo, who emphasized class tensions andracial segregation, attacking Percy as a representative of the aristocracy of the state and for taking a progressive stance on race relations.

Vardaman, however, would only serve one term,losing renomination in 1918, primarily due to his vote against entry intoWorld War I.

One-term RepublicanJoseph M. Dixon ran for re-election as aProgressive, but lost to DemocratThomas J. Walsh.

TheMontana Legislature then unanimously elected Walsh January 14, 1913.^[14]

Walsh would be re-elected four more times and serve for 20 years until his 1933 death. Dixon, meanwhile, would go on to becomeGovernor of Montana from 1921 to 1925.