United States Senate elections, 1954

United States Senate elections, 1954

1952 ← November 2, 1954 → 1956

38 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Lyndon Johnson Bill Knowland Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Texas California Last election 47 seats 48 seats Seats before 47 48 Seats won 48 47 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 11,402,106 8,839,779 Percentage 55.5% 43.0% Swing 10.8% 8.9% Seats up 22 16   Third party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat Seats before 1 Seats won 1* Seat change Seats up 0

Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Republican gain *1 Independent caucused with the Democrats.

Majority Leader before election Bill Knowland Republican Elected Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson Democratic

     Republican hold      Republican gain
*1 Independent caucused with the Democrats.

Bill Knowland
Republican

Lyndon Johnson
Democratic

The United States Senate elections of 1954 was a midterm election in the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. Eisenhower's Republican party lost a net of two seats to the Democratic opposition. This small change was enough to give Democrats control of the chamber, which they would hold until January 1981. Including independent Wayne L. Morse, who caucused with the Democrats, Democrats held a 49-47 majority.

The elections resulted in a divided government that continued to the end of Eisenhower's presidency.

*I₁: Wayne Morse of Oregon, who was not up for election this year, later changed parties from Independent to Democratic in the next Congress.

Democrats defeated incumbents John S. Cooper (R-KY), Homer Ferguson (R-MI), Ernest S. Brown (R-NV), and Guy Cordon (R-OR), and took an open seat in Wyoming. Republicans took the seats of incumbents Guy M. Gillette (D-IA) and Thomas A. Burke (D-OH), and took an open seat in Colorado.

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