United States Senate elections, 1912 and 1913

United States Senate elections, 1912 and 1913

← 1910 / 1911 January 16, 1912 – January 29, 1913 1914 / 1915 →
32 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John W. Kern (Conference Chairman) Jacob H. Gallinger (Conference Chairman) Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Indiana New Hampshire Seats before 43 52 Seats won 17 12 Seats after 47 45 Seat change 4 7 Seats up 13 19
Results including special elections      Democratic gains      Republican gains      Democratic holds      Republican holds
Majority conference chairman before election Shelby Moore Cullom Republican Elected Majority conference chairman John W. Kern Democratic

Shelby Moore Cullom
Republican

John W. Kern
Democratic

In the United States Senate elections of 1912 and 1913, Democrats gained control of the Senate from the Republicans. This coincided with Democrat Woodrow Wilson's victory in the presidential election amid a divide in the Republican Party. In the Senate, Joseph M. Dixon and Miles Poindexter defected from the Republican Party and joined Theodore Roosevelt's new Progressive Party. Dixon, however, lost his seat during this election.

Some states elected their Senators directly even before passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913. 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's primary or in conjunction with a general election.

This was the first time in 20 years that the Democrats won a majority in the Senate.

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