1934 United States elections

Elections were held on November 6, 1934. The election took place in the middle of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term, during the Great Depression. In a historic midterm election, the Democrats built on the majorities in both houses of Congress they had won in the previous two elections.

1934 United States elections

← 1932          1933          1934          1935          1936 → Midterm elections
Election day	November 6
Incumbent president	Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
Next Congress	74th
Senate elections
Overall control	Democratic hold
Seats contested	36 of 96 seats (32 Class 1 seats + 5 special elections)[1]
Net seat change	Democratic +9
1934 Senate election results      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Progressive gain      Farmer–Labor hold      No election
House elections
Overall control	Democratic hold
Seats contested	All 435 voting seats
Net seat change	Democratic +9
1934 House of Representatives election results   Democratic gain   Democratic hold   Republican gain   Republican hold   Third party gain   Third party hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested	34
Net seat change	Democratic +1
1934 gubernatorial election results   Democratic gain   Democratic hold   Republican gain   Republican hold   Progressive gain   Farmer–Labor hold

In the House of Representatives, Roosevelt's party gained nine seats, mostly from the Republican Party. The Democrats also gained nine seats in the U.S. Senate, thereby winning a supermajority. A Progressive also unseated a Republican in the Senate. This marked the first time that an incumbent president's party did not lose seats in both houses in a midterm election, followed by 1998 and 2002. The feat of a Democratic president seeing net gains in the governorships would not be observed again until 2022.^[2] This was also the last midterm until 2022 in which the president's party did not lose any state legislative chambers.

The election was perhaps the most successful midterm of the 20th century for the party in control of the presidency. Despite opposition from Republicans, business organizations such as the United States Chamber of Commerce, and disaffected Democrats who formed the American Liberty League, Roosevelt's New Deal policies were bolstered and his New Deal coalition was solidified. The election was critical in re-centering the Democratic Party in Northern, urban areas, as opposed to the party's traditional base in the South. Conservative Republicans also suffered major losses across the country. Future president Harry S. Truman won election as senator from Missouri during this election.^[3]

Also in 1934 Nebraska held a referendum about switching from a bicameral to a non-partisan unicameral legislature which voters approved.^[4][5] With the referendum passing, it marked the first time in over 100 years that a state had a unicameral legislature and Nebraska continues to be the only state with a unicameral legislature.^[6]

See also

• 1934 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1934 United States Senate elections
• 1934 United States gubernatorial elections
• Kelayres massacre