1962 United States elections

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The 1962 United States elections were held on November 6 to elect the members of the 88th United States Congress. The election occurred in the middle of Democratic President John F. Kennedy's term. The Republican Party picked up four seats in the House of Representatives. Still, the Democrats retained strong majorities in both houses of Congress.

1962 United States elections
1960          1961          1962          1963          1964
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 6
Incumbent presidentJohn F. Kennedy (Democratic)
Next Congress88th
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contested39 of 100 seats
(34 Class 3 seats + 5 special elections)
Net seat changeDemocratic +4
1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts1962 United States Senate special election in Wyoming1962 United States Senate special election in Idaho1962 United States Senate special election in New Hampshire1962 United States Senate special election in Kansas1962 United States Senate election in Alabama1962 United States Senate election in Alaska1962 United States Senate election in Arizona1962 United States Senate election in Arkansas1962 United States Senate election in California1962 United States Senate election in Colorado1962 United States Senate election in Connecticut1962 United States Senate election in Florida1962 United States Senate election in Georgia1962 United States Senate election in Hawaii1962 United States Senate election in Idaho1962 United States Senate election in Illinois1962 United States Senate election in Indiana1962 United States Senate election in Iowa1962 United States Senate election in Kansas1962 United States Senate election in Kentucky1962 United States Senate election in Louisiana1962 United States Senate election in Maryland1962 United States Senate election in Missouri1962 United States Senate election in Nevada1962 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1962 United States Senate election in New York1962 United States Senate election in North Carolina1962 United States Senate election in North Dakota1962 United States Senate election in Ohio1962 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1962 United States Senate election in Oregon1962 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1962 United States Senate election in South Carolina1962 United States Senate election in South Dakota1962 United States Senate election in Utah1962 United States Senate election in Vermont1962 United States Senate election in Washington1962 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
1962 Senate election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting seats
Popular vote marginDemocratic +5.3%
Net seat changeRepublican +1
1962 House election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested35
Net seat changeNo change
1962 North Dakota gubernatorial election1962 Alabama gubernatorial election1962 Alaska gubernatorial election1962 Arizona gubernatorial election1962 Arkansas gubernatorial election1962 California gubernatorial election1962 Colorado gubernatorial election1962 Connecticut gubernatorial election1962 Georgia gubernatorial election1962 Hawaii gubernatorial election1962 Idaho gubernatorial election1962 Iowa gubernatorial election1962 Kansas gubernatorial election1962 Maine gubernatorial election1962 Maryland gubernatorial election1962 Massachusetts gubernatorial election1962 Michigan gubernatorial election1962 Minnesota gubernatorial election1962 Nebraska gubernatorial election1962 Nevada gubernatorial election1962 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1962 New Mexico gubernatorial election1962 New York gubernatorial election1962 Ohio gubernatorial election1962 Oklahoma gubernatorial election1962 Oregon gubernatorial election1962 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election1962 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1962 South Carolina gubernatorial election1962 South Dakota gubernatorial election1962 Tennessee gubernatorial election1962 Texas gubernatorial election1962 Vermont gubernatorial election1962 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1962 Wyoming gubernatorial election
1962 gubernatorial election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold

In the Senate, Democrats won a net gain of four seats from the Republicans, maintaining control of the Senate. In the House of Representatives, Republicans picked up four seats from the Democrats but were short of winning a majority in the chamber; the Democrats won the national popular vote by a margin of 5.3 percentage points. In the gubernatorial elections, neither party won a net gain of seats, Democrats won the most governorships.[1] Notably, 1960 Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon lost the California gubernatorial election, which many analysts, as well as Nixon himself, incorrectly predicted to be the end of his political career.

This was the first time since 1914 that the president's party had a net gain in the Senate and lost seats in the House; this would occur again in 1970, 2018, and 2022. This would be the last time until 2022 that the Democrats achieved a net Senate gain in a midterm during which they held the Presidency, and like in that election, they gained Senate seats while losing House seats.

After failing to pass his New Frontier programs in the face of the powerful conservative coalition, Kennedy's victory in this election helped bolster his presidency. Republicans campaigned on Kennedy's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the end of the crisis shortly before the election helped the Democrats avoid the typical midterm losses. The election also saw the Republicans pick up several House seats in the South for the first time in the Fifth Party System. The GOP would later build on these inroads with Nixon's Southern strategy. The ranks of liberal Democrats were bolstered in this election, allowing for the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other programs.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ Busch, Andrew (1999). Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 145–148.