1968 United States Senate elections

The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the presidential election. Although Richard Nixon won the presidential election narrowly, the Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett.

Incumbents who retired

Democratic hold

1. Alabama: J. Lister Hill (D) was replaced by James Allen (D).

Democratic gain

1. Iowa: Bourke B. Hickenlooper (R) was replaced by Harold Hughes (D).

Republican holds

1. Kansas: Frank Carlson (R) was replaced by Bob Dole (R).
2. Kentucky: Thruston Ballard Morton (R) was replaced by Marlow W. Cook (R).

Republican gains

1. Arizona: Carl Hayden (D) was replaced by Barry Goldwater (R), who gave up Arizona's other Senate seat in 1964 to run for president.
2. Florida: George Smathers (D) was replaced by Edward J. Gurney (R), the first Republican to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.

Incumbents who lost their seats

Democratic holds

1. Alaska: Ernest Gruening (D) lost renomination to Mike Gravel (D), who later won the general election.
2. Missouri: Edward V. Long (D) lost renomination to Thomas Eagleton (D), who later won the general election.

Democratic gain

1. California: Thomas Kuchel (R) lost renomination to Max Rafferty (R), who later lost the general election to Alan Cranston (D).

Republican gains

1. Maryland: Daniel Brewster (D) lost re-election to Charles Mathias, Jr. (R)
2. Ohio: Frank J. Lausche (D) lost renomination to John J. Gilligan (D), who later lost the general election to William B. Saxbe (R).
3. Oklahoma: A. S. Mike Monroney (D), lost re-election to Henry Bellmon (R).
4. Oregon: Wayne Morse (D), lost re-election to Bob Packwood (R).
5. Pennsylvania: Joseph S. Clark (D), lost re-election to Richard Schweiker (R).

Later change

Republican gain

1. Alaska: Bob Bartlett (D) died December 11, 1968, and Ted Stevens (R) was appointed December 24, 1968.

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 Ran	D42 Ran	D43 Ran	D44 Ran	D45 Ran	D46 Ran	D47 Ran	D48 Ran	D49 Ran	D50 Ran
Majority →									D51 Ran
D60 Ran	D59 Ran	D58 Ran	D57 Ran	D56 Ran	D55 Ran	D54 Ran	D53 Ran	D52 Ran
D61 Retired	D62 Retired	D63 Retired	R37 Retired	R36 Retired	R35 Retired	R34 Ran	R33 Ran	R32 Ran	R31 Ran
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27 Ran	R28 Ran	R29 Ran	R30 Ran
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the general 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 Re-elected	D42 Re-elected	D43 Re-elected	D44 Re-elected	D45 Re-elected	D46 Re-elected	D47 Re-elected	D48 Re-elected	D49 Re-elected	D50 Re-elected
Majority →									D51 Re-elected
R41 Gain	R42 Gain	D58 Gain	D57 Gain	D56 Hold	D55 Hold	D54 Hold	D53 Re-elected	D52 Re-elected
R40 Gain	R39 Gain	R38 Gain	R37 Gain	R36 Gain	R35 Hold	R34 Hold	R33 Re-elected	R32 Re-elected	R31 Re-elected
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27 Re-elected	R28 Re-elected	R29 Re-elected	R30 Re-elected
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Beginning of the next Congress

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
R41	R42	R43 gain	D57	D56	D55	D54	D53	D52
R40	R39	R38	R37	R36	R35	R34	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

Key:	D# Democratic R# Republican

Race summary

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1969; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	J. Lister Hill	Democratic	1938 (Appointed) 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ James Allen (Democratic) 70.0% Perry O. Hooper, Sr. (Republican) 22.1% Robert Schwenn (Independent) 8.0%
Alaska	Ernest Gruening	Democratic	1958 1962	Incumbent lost renomination. Incumbent lost re-election as a Democratic write-in. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Mike Gravel (Democratic) 45.1% Elmer E. Rasmuson (Republican) 37.4% Ernest Gruening (Democratic Write-In) 17.4%
Arizona	Carl Hayden	Democratic	1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Barry Goldwater (Republican) 57.2% Roy Elson (Democratic) 42.8%
Arkansas	J. William Fulbright	Democratic	1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ J. William Fulbright (Democratic) 59.2% Charles T. Bernard (Republican) 40.9%
California	Thomas Kuchel	Republican	1953 (Appointed) 1954 (Special) 1956 1962	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Alan Cranston (Democratic) 51.8% Max Rafferty (Republican) 46.9% Paul Jacobs (Peace & Freedom) 1.3%
Colorado	Peter H. Dominick	Republican	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Peter H. Dominick (Republican) 58.6% Stephen L.R. McNichols (Democratic) 41.5%
Connecticut	Abraham A. Ribicoff	Democratic	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Abraham A. Ribicoff (Democratic) 54.3% Edwin H. May, Jr. (Republican) 45.7%
Florida	George Smathers	Democratic	1950 1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Edward J. Gurney (Republican) 55.9% LeRoy Collins (Democratic) 44.1%
Georgia	Herman Talmadge	Democratic	1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Herman Talmadge (Democratic) 77.5% E. Earl Patton (Republican) 22.5%
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye	Democratic	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Daniel Inouye (Democratic) 83.4% Wayne C. Thiessen (Republican) 15.0%
Idaho	Frank Church	Democratic	1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frank Church (Democratic) 60.3% George V. Hansen (Republican) 39.7%
Illinois	Everett Dirksen	Republican	1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Everett Dirksen (Republican) 53.0% William G. Clark (Democratic) 46.6%
Indiana	Birch Bayh	Democratic	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Birch Bayh (Democratic) 51.7% William Ruckelshaus (Republican) 48.2%
Iowa	Bourke B. Hickenlooper	Republican	1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Harold Hughes (Democratic) 50.3% David M. Stanley (Republican) 49.7%
Kansas	Frank Carlson	Republican	1950 (Special) 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Bob Dole (Republican) 60.1% William I. Robinson (Democratic) 38.7%
Kentucky	Thruston B. Morton	Republican	1956 1962	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Marlow W. Cook (Republican) 51.4% Katherine Peden (Democratic) 47.6%
Louisiana	Russell B. Long	Democratic	1948 (Special) 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Russell B. Long (Democratic) Unopposed
Maryland	Daniel Brewster	Democratic	1962	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Charles Mathias, Jr. (Republican) 47.8% Daniel Brewster (Democratic) 39.1% George P. Mahoney (American Independent) 13.1%
Missouri	Edward V. Long	Democratic	1960 (Appointed) 1960 (Special) 1962	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Thomas Eagleton (Democratic) 51.1% Thomas B. Curtis (Republican) 48.9%
Nevada	Alan Bible	Democratic	1954 (Special) 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Alan Bible (Democratic) 54.8% Edward Fike (Republican) 45.2%
New Hampshire	Norris Cotton	Republican	1954 (Special) 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Norris Cotton (Republican) 59.3% John W. King (Democratic) 40.7%
New York	Jacob K. Javits	Republican	1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jacob K. Javits (Republican) 49.7% Paul O'Dwyer (Democratic) 32.7% James L. Buckley (Conservative) 17.3%
North Carolina	Sam Ervin	Democratic	1954 (Special) 1954 (Appointed) 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Sam Ervin (Democratic) 60.6% Robert V. Somers (Republican) 39.4%
North Dakota	Milton Young	Republican	1945 (Appointed) 1946 (Special) 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Milton Young (Republican) 64.6% Herschel Lashkowitz (Democratic) 33.7%
Ohio	Frank J. Lausche	Democratic	1956 1962	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ William B. Saxbe (Republican) 51.5% John J. Gilligan (Democratic) 48.5%
Oklahoma	Mike Monroney	Democratic	1950 1956 1962	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Henry Bellmon (Republican) 51.7% Mike Monroney (Democratic) 46.2%
Oregon	Wayne Morse	Democratic	1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Bob Packwood (Republican) 50.2% Wayne Morse (Democratic) 49.8%
Pennsylvania	Joseph S. Clark	Democratic	1956 1962	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Richard Schweiker (Republican) 51.9% Joseph S. Clark (Democratic) 45.8%
South Carolina	Ernest Hollings	Democratic	1966 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ernest Hollings (Democratic) 61.9% Marshall Parker (Republican) 38.1%
South Dakota	George McGovern	Democratic	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ George McGovern (Democratic) 56.8% Archie M. Gubbrud (Republican) 43.2%
Utah	Wallace F. Bennett	Republican	1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Wallace F. Bennett (Republican) 53.7% Milton N. Wellenmann (Democratic) 45.8%
Vermont	George Aiken	Republican	1940 (Special) 1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ George Aiken (Republican) Unopposed
Washington	Warren Magnuson	Democratic	1944 (Appointed) 1944 1950 1956 1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Warren G. Magnuson (Democratic) 64.4% Jack Metcalf (Republican) 35.3%
Wisconsin	Gaylord Nelson	Democratic	1962	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Gaylord Nelson (Democratic) 61.7% Jerris Leonard (Republican) 38.3%

Alabama

United States Senate election in Alabama, 1968^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Allen	638,774	69.71%
	Republican	Perry O. Hooper, Sr.	201,227	21.96%
style="background-color: {{Template:National Democratic Party[disambiguation needed]/meta/color}}; width: 2px;" |	[[National Democratic Party[disambiguation needed]|{{Template:National Democratic Party[disambiguation needed]/meta/shortname}}]]	Robert Schwenn	76,299	8.33%
Majority			437,547	47.75%
Turnout			916,300
	Democratic hold

Alaska

United States Senate election in Alaska, 1968^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Gravel	36,527	45.13%
	Republican	Elmer E. Rasmuson	30,286	37.42%
	Independent	Ernest Gruening (incumbent)	14,118	17.44%
Majority			6,241	7.71%
Turnout			80,931
	Democratic gain from Independent

Arizona

Incumbent Democrat Carl Hayden did not run for re-election to an eighth term, with his longtime staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him. Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. Senator and Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, and has thus far remained in Republican Party control since. Elson had previously challenged U.S. Senator Paul Fannin in 1964, when Goldwater vacated his seat in order to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson.

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roy Elson, Staff member to Senator Carl Hayden, 1964 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate	95,231	62.78%
	Democratic	Bob Kennedy, State Treasurer of Arizona	41,397	27.29%
Total votes			136,628	100.00

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1968^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Barry Goldwater, former U.S. Senator, 1964 Republican Party nominee for President of the United States	274,607	57.22%
	Democratic	Roy Elson	205,338	42.78%
Majority			69,269	14.44%
Turnout			479,945
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Arkansas

United States Senate election in Arkansas, 1968^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. William Fulbright (incumbent)	349,965	59.15%
	Republican	Charles T. Bernard	241,731	40.85%
Majority			108,234	18.30%
Turnout			591,696
	Democratic hold

California

United States Senate election in California, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston	3,615,261	51.78%
	Republican	Max Rafferty	3,275,679	46.91%
	Peace and Freedom	Paul Jacobs	91,254	1.31%
Majority			339,582	4.87%
Turnout			6,982,194
	Democratic gain from Republican

Colorado

United States Senate election in Colorado, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Peter H. Dominick (incumbent)	459,952	58.55%
	Democratic	Stephen L. R. McNichols	325,584	41.45%
Majority			134,368	17.10%
Turnout			785,536
	Republican hold

Connecticut

United States Senate election in Connecticut, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abraham Ribicoff (incumbent)	655,043	54.29%
	Republican	Edwin H. May, Jr.	551,455	45.71%
	None	Scattering	39	0.00%
Majority			103,588	8.58%
Turnout			1,206,537
	Democratic hold

Florida

United States Senate election in Florida, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward J. Gurney	1,131,499	55.90%
	Democratic	LeRoy Collins	892,637	44.10%
Majority			238,862	11.80%
Turnout			2,024,136
	Republican gain from Democratic

Georgia

United States Senate election in Georgia, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herman Talmadge (incumbent)	885,093	77.50%
	Republican	E. Earl Patton	256,796	22.49%
	None	Write-Ins	95	0.01%
Majority			628,297	55.01%
Turnout			1,141,984
	Democratic hold

Hawaii

United States Senate election in Hawaii, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Inouye (incumbent)	189,248	83.40%
	Republican	Wayne C. Thiessen	34,008	14.99%
	Peace and Freedom	Oliver M. Lee	3,671	1.62%
Majority			155,240	68.41%
Turnout			226,927
	Democratic hold

Idaho

United States Senate election in Idaho, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank Church (incumbent)	173,482	60.26%
	Republican	George V. Hansen	114,394	39.74%
Majority			59,088	20.52%
Turnout			287,876
	Democratic hold

Illinois

Incumbent Republican and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen won re-election to his fourth term over William G. Clark (D), the Illinois Attorney General.

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1968^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Everett Dirksen (Incumbent)	2,358,947	53.01
	Democratic	William G. Clark	2,073,242	46.59
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	17,542	0.39
	Independent	Write-in candidates	26	0.00
Invalid or blank votes
Total votes			4,449,757	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

Indiana

United States Senate election in Indiana, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Birch Bayh (incumbent)	1,060,456	51.65%
	Republican	William Ruckelshaus	988,571	48.15%
	Prohibition	L. Earl Malcolm	2,844	0.14%
	Socialist Workers	Ralph Levitt	1,247	0.06%
Majority			71,885	3.50%
Turnout			2,053,118
	Democratic hold

Iowa

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold Hughes	574,884	50.25%
	Republican	David M. Stanley	568,469	49.69%
	Prohibition	Uerne M. Higens	727	0.06%
	None	Scattering	6	0.00%
Majority			6,415	0.56%
Turnout			1,144,086
	Democratic gain from Republican

Kansas

United States Senate election in Kansas, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Dole (incumbent)	490,911	60.08%
	Democratic	William I. Robinson	315,911	38.66%
	Prohibition	Joseph Fred Hyskell	10,262	1.26%
	None	Scattering	12	0.00%
Majority			175,000	21.42%
Turnout			817,096
	Republican hold

Kentucky

United States Senate election in Kentucky, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marlow Cook	484,260	51.36%
	Democratic	Katherine Peden	448,960	47.62%
	American Independent	Duane F. Olsen	9,645	1.02%
Majority			35,300	3.74%
Turnout			942,865
	Republican hold

Louisiana

United States Senate election in Louisiana, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Russell B. Long (incumbent)	518,586	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Maryland

United States Senate election in Maryland, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Mathias	541,893	47.78%
	Democratic	Daniel B. Brewster (incumbent)	443,667	39.12%
	American Independent	George P. Mahoney	148,467	13.09%
Majority			8,226	8.66%
Turnout			1,134,027
	Republican gain from Democratic

Missouri

United States Senate election in Missouri, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas F. Eagleton (incumbent)	880,113	51.01%
	Republican	Thomas B. Curtis	845,144	48.99%
Majority			34,969	2.02%
Turnout			1,725,257
	Democratic hold

Nevada

United States Senate election in Nevada, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Bible (incumbent)	83,622	54.76%
	Republican	Ed Fike	69,083	45.24%
Majority			14,539	9.52%
Turnout			152,705
	Democratic hold

New Hampshire

United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norris Cotton (incumbent)	170,163	59.29%
	Democratic	John W. King	116,816	40.71%
Majority			53,347	18.48%
Turnout			286,979
	Republican hold

New York

Incumbent Republican Jacob K. Javits won against Democratic challenger Paul O'Dwyer and Conservative Party challenger James L. Buckley in a three-way election.

While Javits did not face any challengers for the Republican nomination, he did face a minor one when seeking the Liberal Party of New York's nomination.

Liberal Party Primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Jacob K. Javits	10,277	72.14%
	Liberal	Murray Baron	3,969	27.86%
Total votes			14,246	100.00%

Democratic Party Primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer, former New York City Councilman	275,877	36.14%
	Democratic	Eugene Nickerson, Nassau County Executive	257,639	33.75%
	Democratic	Joseph Y. Resnick, U.S. Representative	229,893	30.11%
Total votes			763,409	100.00%

General election results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)	2,810,836
	Liberal	Jacob K. Javits	458,936
	Total	Jacob K. Javits	3,269,772	49.68%	-7.70%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer	2,150,695	32.68%	-7.46%
	Conservative	James L. Buckley, Attorney	1,139,402	17.31%	+15.27%
	Peace and Freedom	Herman Ferguson	8,775	0.13%	+0.13%
	Socialist Labor	John Emanuel	7,964	0.12%	-0.02%
	Socialist Workers	Hedda Garza	4,979	0.08%	-0.23%
Majority			1,119,113	17.00%
Turnout			6,581,551
	Republican hold		Swing

North Carolina

The general election was fought between the Democratic incumbent Sam Ervin and the Republican nominee Robert Somers. Ervin won re-election to a third full term, with over 60% of the vote.

The first round of the Primary Election was held on May 4, 1968.^[9] The runoff for the Republican Party candidates took place on June 1.^[10]

1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Sam Ervin	499,392	82.12%
	Democratic	Charles Pratt	60,362	9.90%
	Democratic	John Gathings	48,357	7.95%
Turnout			608,111

Republican primary – First round

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Robert Somers	48,351	36.63%
	Republican	J. L. Zimmerman	43,644	33.06%
	Republican	B. E. Sweatt	40,023	30.32%
Turnout			132,018

1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election – Second round

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Robert Somers	8,816	60.59%
	Republican	J. L. Zimmerman	5,734	39.41%
Turnout			14,550

1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Sam Ervin (incumbent)	870,406	60.56%
	Republican	Robert Somers	566,834	39.44%
Majority			303,572	21.12%
Turnout			901,978
	Democratic hold		Swing

North Dakota

The 1968 U.S. Senate election for the state of North Dakota was held November 5, 1968. The incumbent, Republican Senator Milton Young, sought and received re-election to his fifth term, defeating North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Herschel Lashkowitz, the mayor of Fargo, North Dakota since 1954.^[11][12]

Only Young filed as a Republican, and the endorsed Democratic candidate was Herschel Lashkowitz of Fargo, North Dakota, who was serving as the mayor of the city since 1954. Young and Lashkowitz won the primary elections for their respective parties.

One independent candidate, Duane Mutch of Larimore, North Dakota, also filed before the deadline. Mutch was later a state senator for the North Dakota Republican Party in the North Dakota Senate from 1959 to 2006 for District 19. He ran as an independent when he did not receive his party's nomination.

1968 United States Senate election, North Dakota

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Milton R. Young	154,968	64.79%
	Democratic	Herschel Lashkowitz	80,815	33.79%
	Independent	Duane Mutch	3,393	1.42%
Majority
Turnout			239,176
	Republican hold		Swing

Ohio

United States Senate election in Ohio, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William B. Saxbe	1,928,964	51.53%
	Democratic	John J. Gilligan	1,814,152	48.47%
	None	Write-Ins	4	0.00%
Majority			114,812	3.06%
Turnout			3,743,120
	Republican gain from Democratic

Oklahoma

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mike Monroney was running for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican former Governor Henry Bellmon.

Oklahoma U.S. Senate Election, 1968^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Henry Bellmon	470,120	51.7%
	Democratic	Mike Monroney (incumbent)	419,658	46.2%
	Independent	George Washington	19,341	2.1%
Majority			50,462	5.55%
Turnout			909,119
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Oregon

Incumbent Democrat Wayne Morse was seeking a fifth term, but narrowly lost re-election to 36 year-old Republican State Representative Bob Packwood race.^[14]

The Democratic primary was held May 28, 1968.^[15] Morse defeated former Representative Robert B. Duncan, former U.S. Congressman from Oregon's 4th congressional district (1963–1967), and Phil McAlmond, millionaire and former aide to opponent Robert B. Duncan.

Democratic primary for the United States Senate from Oregon, 1968^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wayne Morse (Incumbent)	185,091	49.03%
	Democratic	Robert B. Duncan	174,795	46.30%
	Democratic	Phil McAlmond	17,658	4.68%
Total votes			377,544	100.00%

General election results^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Packwood	408,646	50.20%
	Democratic	Wayne Morse (Incumbent)	405,353	49.80%
Total votes			813,999	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Pennsylvania

Incumbent Democrat Joseph Clark sought re-election to another term, but was defeated by Republican nominee Richard Schweiker, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Pennsylvania results^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Schweiker	2,399,762	51.90%
	Democratic	Joseph Clark (incumbent)	2,117,662	45.80%
	Constitution	Frank W. Gaydosh	96,742	2.09%
	Socialist Labor	Benson Perry	7,198	0.16%
	Socialist Workers	Pearl Chertov	2,743	0.06%
	Other	Other	111	0.00%
Majority			282,100	6.10%
Turnout			4,624,218
	Republican gain from Democratic

South Carolina

Incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican state senator Marshall Parker in a rematch of the election two years earlier to win his first full term.

Hollings faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election. Marshall Parker, the state senator from Oconee County in the Upstate, was persuaded by South Carolina Republicans to enter the race and he did not face a primary challenge.

After a close election loss to Fritz Hollingsin 1966, the Republicans felt that Parker might have a chance at defeating Hollings by riding Nixon's coattails in the general election. However, the Republicans did not provide Parker with the financial resources to compete and he subsequently lost by a bigger margin to Hollings than two years prior.

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1968

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings	404,060	61.9%	-10.6%
	Republican	Marshall Parker	248,780	38.1%	-10.6%
	No party	Write-Ins	15	0.0%	0.0%
Majority			155,280	23.8%	+21.2%
Turnout			652,855	76.5%	+27.4%
	Democratic hold

South Dakota

United States Senate election in South Dakota, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George McGovern (incumbent)	158,961	56.79%
	Republican	Archie M. Gubbrud	120,951	43.21%
Majority			38,010	13.58%
Turnout			279,912
	Democratic hold

Utah

United States Senate election in Utah, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wallace F. Bennett (incumbent)	225,075	53.68%
	Democratic	Milton N. Wellenmann (D)	192,168	45.83%
	Independent	Bruce D. Phillips	2,019	0.48%
Majority			32,907	7.85%
Turnout			419,262
	Republican hold

Vermont

Incumbent Republican George Aiken ran successfully for re-election to another term in the United States Senate; he was unopposed.

Republican primary results^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	George Aiken (Incumbent)	42,248	72.8%
	Republican	William K. Tufts	15,786	27.2%
	Republican	Other	28	0.0%
Total votes			58,062	100.0%

Democratic primary results^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Write-in	George Aiken (Incumbent)	1,534	61.8%
	Write-in	Philip H. Hoff	400	18.2%
	Democratic	Other	438	20.0%
Total votes			2,192	100.0%

United States Senate election in Vermont, 1968^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	George Aiken (Incumbent)	94,738	60.2%
	Democratic	George Aiken (Incumbent)	62,416	39.7%
	No party	George Aiken (Incumbent)	43	0.0%
	Total	George Aiken (Incumbent)	157,197	99.9%
	N/A	Other	178	0.1%
Total votes			157,375	100.0%
	Republican hold		Swing

Washington

United States Senate election in Washington, 1968^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Warren G. Magnuson (incumbent)	796,183	64.41%
	Republican	Jack Metcalf	435,894	35.26%
	New Party	Irwin R. Hogenauer	2,762	0.22%
	Socialist Workers	Debbie Leonard	1,224	0.10%
Majority			360,289	29.15%
Turnout			1,236,063
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin

Incumbent democrat Gaylord A. Nelson (U.S. Senator since 1963) defeated Republican State Senator Jerris Leonard.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gaylord Nelson (incumbent)	1,020,931	61.69%
	Republican	Jerris Leonard	633,910	38.31%
	None	Write-ins	20	0.00%
Majority			387,021	23.38%
Turnout			1,654,861
	Democratic hold

Notes

References

• "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1969, p. 19.
• Kalk, Bruce H. (2001). The Origins of the Southern Strategy: Two-Party Competition in South. Lexington Books. p. 86.

See also

• United States elections, 1968
  • United States gubernatorial elections, 1968
  • 1968 United States presidential election
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1968
• 90th United States Congress
• 91st United States Congress