United States Senate elections, 1998

November 3, 1998

Class 3 (34 of the 100) seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Trent Lott	Tom Daschle
Party	Republican	Democratic
Leader's seat	Mississippi	South Dakota
Last election	55 seats	45 seats
Seats won	55	45
Seat change
Popular vote	25,346,613	26,768,699
Percentage	46.8%	49.5%
Swing	2.6%	1.6%
Seats up	16	18

Republican gain

Republican hold

Democratic hold

Democratic gain

Majority Leader before election

Trent Lott
Republican

Elected Majority Leader

Trent Lott
Republican

The United States Senate elections, 1998 was a roughly even contest between the Republican and Democratic parties. While the Democrats had to defend more seats up for election, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains did not materialize. The Republicans picked up open seats in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated incumbent Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL), but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Senators Al D'Amato (R-NY) and Lauch Faircloth (R-NC). The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans. With Democratic gaining five seats in the House of Representatives, this marked the first time since 1934 that the out-of-Presidency party failed to gain congressional seats in a mid-term election, and the first time since 1822 that the party not in control of the White House failed to gain seats in the mid-term election of a President's second term.

Results summary

↓
55	45
Republican	Democrat

Parties		Up	Elected	Not Up	1996	1998	+/-	Vote	%
Parties		Breakdown			Total Seats			Popular Vote
	Republican Party	16	16	39	55	55	0	25,346,613	46.838%
	Democratic Party	18	18	27	45	45	0	26,768,699	49.466%
	Libertarian Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	419,452	0.775%
	Independent	—	—	—	—	—	—	32,025	0.059%
	Constitution Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	68,377	0.126%
	Independence Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	109,027	0.201%
	Green Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	21,861	0.040%
	Reform Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	231,064	0.427%
	Socialist Workers Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,055	0.011%
	Conservative Party	—	—	—	—	—	—	274,220	0.507%
	Other parties	—	—	—	—	—	—	427,845	0.791%
	Scattering, Write-ins, etc.	—	—	—	—	—	—	332,622	0.615%
Total		34	34	66	100	100	-	54,115,051	100.0%

Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Change in Senate composition

Senate composition before the elections

D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
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
D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	R₅₆	R₅₅	R₅₄	R₅₃	R₅₂	R₅₁
Majority→
R₄₁	R₄₂	R₄₃	R₄₄	R₄₅	R₄₆	R₄₇	R₄₈	R₄₉	R₅₀
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

Senate composition as a result of the elections

D₄₀ √	D₃₉ √	D₃₈ √	D₃₇ √	D₃₆ √	D₃₅ √	D₃₄ √	D₃₃ √	D₃₂ √	D₃₁ √
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 √
D₄₁ O	D₄₂ +	D₄₃ +	D₄₄ +	R₅₆ +	R₅₅ +	R₅₄ +	R₅₃ O	R₅₂ √	R₅₁ √
Majority→
R₄₁ √	R₄₂ √	R₄₃ √	R₄₄ √	R₄₅ √	R₄₆ √	R₄₇ √	R₄₈ √	R₄₉ √	R₅₀ √
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

√	Incumbent re-elected or appointee elected to finish term
O	Party hold: New senator elected from same party
+	Party gain: New senator elected from different party

Gains, losses, holds, and re-elections

Democratic gains

Indiana: Former Governor Evan Bayh (D) overwhelmingly defeated Fort Wayne mayor Paul Helmke (R) for the seat of retiring Senator Dan Coats (R), which Bayh's father Birch Bayh (D) once held.
New York: Three-term Senator Al D'Amato (R) was defeated in "one of 1998's most high-profile and nastiest races" by eight-term Representative Chuck Schumer (D) of the Brooklyn and Queens-based 9th congressional district.
North Carolina: Trial lawyer John Edwards (D) defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth (R) in a close race, making Faircloth the fourth incumbent in a row to lose this seat after one term.

Republican gains

Illinois: Incumbent Carol Moseley Braun (D), the first African American woman elected to the Senate, was narrowly defeated by conservative state Senator Peter Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, though better-funded, maintained a low personal profile while the outspoken Moseley Braun was beset by a series of controversies.
Kentucky: Representative Jim Bunning (R) of the 4th district narrowly defeated Representative Scotty Baesler (D) of the 6th district for the seat left open by retiring Senator Wendell H. Ford (D-KY). Bunning, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, outspent Baesler heavily in increasingly Republican Kentucky.
Ohio: Governor George Voinovich (R) defeated former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle (D) for the seat of retiring Senator John Glenn (D). Voinovich, with an overwhelming advantage in name recognition and funding, maintained a clear lead in the polls in a campaign which turned mostly on his record as governor.

Democratic holds

Arkansas: Former Representative Blanche Lincoln defeated state Senator Fay Boozman by a comfortable margin to keep the seat of retiring Senator Dale Bumpers in Democratic hands. The race was seen as crucial to the Democratic Party's fortunes in Arkansas; in the 1996 elections, Republican Tim Hutchinson was elected to the Senate and Republican Mike Huckabee ascended to the governorship after Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned due to Whitewater-related scandals.^[1]
California: Incumbent U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer defeated California State Treasurer Matt Fong after a contentious race. Boxer, a staunch liberal who suffered from low approval ratings, was the most highly targeted Democratic incumbent senator in 1998. Republicans hoped that Fong would appeal to moderates, independents, and his fellow Asian-Americans. Fong pulled ahead of Boxer by early October, but a blitz of negative advertising by Boxer in the final weeks of the campaign that attacked Fong on the issues of abortion and gun control helped boost the incumbent to a 53-43% win.
Nevada: Democrat Harry Reid defeated three-term Republican Representative John Ensign of the 1st district by just 428 votes to win a third term. Reid was made vulnerable by a Republican trend in Nevada's demographics and the unpopularity of President Bill Clinton in the state. Reid went on to serve as Senate Majority Leader, while Ensign was elected to the Senate in 2000.
South Carolina: Veteran Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings held back a strong challenge from Republican Congressman Bob Inglis. Inglis later won back his old House seat after his Republican successor Jim DeMint was elected to the Senate after Hollings' retirement in 2004.
Washington: Incumbent Senator Patty Murray defeated conservative Republican Congresswoman Linda Smith.
Wisconsin: Incumbent Senator Russ Feingold narrowly defeated Republican U.S. Representative Mark Neumann. Feingold, a leading proponent of campaign finance reform, angered national Democrats by placing self-imposed limits on his campaign spending, but nevertheless spent about $400,000 more on the race than Neumann.

Republican holds

Colorado: Incumbent Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell defeated Dottie Lamm, a columnist for the Denver Post and the wife of former Governor Dick Lamm, by a wide margin. It was Campbell's first race as a Republican, as he had been elected to the Senate in 1992 as a Democrat, but switched parties in 1995 after the 1994 Republican takeover of both houses of Congress.
Georgia: Incumbent Republican Senator Paul Coverdell defeated Michael Coles, the millionaire founder of the Great American Cookie, in a close race.
Missouri: Incumbent Republican Senator Kit Bond defeated Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who would be elected Governor ten years later.

Senate contests in 1998

State	Incumbent Senator	Incumbent Party	Result	Candidates
Alabama	Richard Shelby	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Richard Shelby (Republican) 63.2% Clayton Suddith (Democratic) 36.7%
Alaska	Frank Murkowski	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frank Murkowski (Republican) 74.5% Joe Sonneman (Democratic) 19.7% Jeffrey Gottlieb (Green) 3.2% Scott Kohlhaas (Libertarian) 2.3%
Arizona	John McCain	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John McCain (Republican) 68.7% Ed Ranger (Democratic) 27.2% John C. Zajac (Libertarian) 2.3% Bob Park (Reform) 1.8%
Arkansas	Dale L. Bumpers	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold	√ Blanche Lincoln (Democratic) 55.1% Fay Boozman (Republican) 42.2% Charley E. Heffley (Reform) 2.7%
California	Barbara Boxer	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Barbara Boxer (Democratic) 53% Matt Fong (Republican) 43% Ted Brown (Libertarian) 1.1% Timothy R. Erich (Reform) 1% H. Joseph Perrin, Sr. (American Independent) 0.7% Ophie C. Beltran (Peace & Freedom) 0.6% Brian M. Rees (Natural Law) 0.6%
Colorado	Ben Nighthorse Campbell	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Republican) 62.5% Dottie Lamm (Democratic) 35% David S. Segal (Libertarian) 1% Kevin Swanson (American Constitution) 0.7% Jeff Peckman (Natural Law) 0.3% John Heckman (Concerns of People) 0.2% Gary Swing (Pacifist) 0.1%
Connecticut	Chris Dodd	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Chris Dodd (Democratic) 65.1% Gary Franks (Republican) 32.4% William Kozak (Concerned Citizens) 1.3% Lois A. Grasso (Term Limits) 0.7% Wildey Moore (Libertarian) 0.5%
Florida	Bob Graham	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bob Graham (Democratic) 62.5% Charlie Crist (Republican) 37.5%
Georgia	Paul Coverdell	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Paul Coverdell (Republican) 52.3% Michael Coles (Democratic) 45.3% Bertil Armin Loftman (Libertarian) 2.5%
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Daniel Inouye (Democratic) 79.2% Crystal Young (Republican) 17.8% Lloyd Mallan (Libertarian) 3%
Idaho	Dirk Kempthorne	Republican	Incumbent retired. Republican hold	√ Mike Crapo (Republican) 69.5% Bill Mauk (Democratic) 28.4% George J. Mansfeld (Natural Law) 2%
Illinois	Carol Moseley Braun	Democratic	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain	√ Peter Fitzgerald (Republican) 50.3% Carol Moseley Braun (Democratic) 47.4% Don A. Torgersen (Reform) 2.2% Raymond W. Stalker (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.01%
Indiana	Dan Coats	Republican	Incumbent retired. Democratic gain	√ Evan Bayh (Democratic) 63.7% Paul Helmke (Republican) 34.8% Rebecca Sink-Burris (Libertarian) 1.5%
Iowa	Chuck Grassley	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Chuck Grassley (Republican) 68.4% David Osterberg (Democratic) 30.5% Susan Marcus (Natural Law) 0.8% Margaret Trowe (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
Kansas	Sam Brownback	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Sam Brownback (Republican) 65.3% Paul Feleciano Jr. (Democratic) 31.6% Tom Oyler (Libertarian) 1.6% Alvin Bauman (Reform) 1.5%
Kentucky	Wendell Ford	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Republican gain	√ Jim Bunning (Republican) 49.7% Scotty Baesler (Democratic) 49.2% Charles R. Arbegust (Reform) 1.1%
Louisiana	John Breaux	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John Breaux (Democratic) 64% Jim Donelon (Republican) 32%
Maryland	Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Barbara Mikulski (Democratic) 70.5% Ross Pierpont (Republican) 29.5%
Missouri	Kit Bond	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kit Bond (Republican) 52.7% Jay Nixon (Democratic) 43.8% Tamara Millay (Libertarian) 2.0% Curtis Frazier (U.S. Taxpayers) 1.0% James F. Newport (Reform) 0.5%
Nevada	Harry Reid	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Harry Reid (Democratic) 47.9% John Ensign (Republican) 47.8% Michael Cloud (Libertarian) 1.9% None of These Candidates 1.8% Michael E. Williams (Natural Law) 0.6%
New Hampshire	Judd Gregg	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Judd Gregg (Republican) 67.8% George Condodemetraky (Democratic) 28.2% Brian Christeson (Libertarian) 2.4% Roy Kendel (Independent) 1.5%
New York	Al D'Amato	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain	√ Chuck Schumer (Democratic) 54.6% Al D'Amato (Republican) 44.1% Corinne E. Kurtz (Marijuana Reform) 0.7% Joel Kovel (Green) 0.3% William P. Mc Millen (Libertarian) 0.2% Rose Ana Berbeo (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
North Carolina	Lauch Faircloth	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain	√ John Edwards (Democratic) 51.2% Lauch Faircloth (Republican) 47.0% Barbara Howe (Libertarian) 1.8%
North Dakota	Byron Dorgan	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Byron Dorgan (Democratic) 63.1% Donna Nalewaja (Republican) 35.2% Harley McLain (Libertarian) 1.7%
Ohio	John Glenn	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Republican gain	√ George Voinovich (Republican) 56.5% Mary Boyle (Democratic) 43.5%
Oklahoma	Don Nickles	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Don Nickles (Republican) 66.4% Don Carroll (Democratic) 31.3% Mike Morris (Independent) 1.8% Argus W. Yandell, Jr. (Independent) 0.5%
Oregon	Ron Wyden	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ron Wyden (Democratic) 61% John Lim (Republican) 33.8% Karen Moskowitz (Green) 2.0% Jim Brewster (Libertarian) 1.6% Michael A. Campbell (Natural Law) 0.8% Dean M. Braa (Socialist) 0.7%
Pennsylvania	Arlen Specter	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Arlen Specter (Republican) 61.3% Bill Lloyd (Democratic) 34.8% Dean Snyder (Constitution) 2.3% Jack Iannantuono (Libertarian) 1.6%
South Carolina	Fritz Hollings	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Fritz Hollings (Democratic) 52.7% Bob Inglis (Republican) 45.7% Richard Quillian (Libertarian) 1.6%
South Dakota	Tom Daschle	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Tom Daschle (Democratic) 62.1% Ron Schmidt (Republican) 36.4% Byron Dale (Libertarian) 1.4%
Utah	Bob Bennett	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bob Bennett (Republican) 64% Scott Leckman (Democratic) 33% Gary R. Van Horn (Independent American) 3%
Vermont	Patrick Leahy	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Patrick Leahy (Democratic) 72.2% Fred Tuttle (Republican) 22.5% Hugh Douglas (Libertarian) 2.0% Barry M. Nelson (Independent) 1.4% Bob Melamede (Vermont Grassroots) 1.2% Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 0.6%
Washington	Patty Murray	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Patty Murray (Democratic) 58.4% Linda Smith (Republican) 41.6%
Wisconsin	Russ Feingold	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Russ Feingold (Democratic) 50.6% Mark Neumann (Republican) 48.4% Robert R. Raymond (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.5% Tom Ender (Libertarian) 0.3% Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.2%

References

↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/arsen/arsen.htm

(1996 ←) 1998 United States elections (→ 1999)

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