United States Senate elections, 2000

November 7, 2000

Class 1 (33 of the 100) seats in the United States Senate and one mid-term vacancy from Class 3 51 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Tom Daschle	Trent Lott
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader's seat	South Dakota	Mississippi
Last election	45 seats	55 seats
Seats before	46	54
Seats won	50 Control, until January 20, 2001, through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Al Gore	50 Control, starting January 20, 2001, through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Dick Cheney
Seat change	4	4
Popular vote	36,780,875	36,725,431
Percentage	47.04%	46.96%
Swing	2.5%	0.2%
Seats up	15	19

Democratic gain

Democratic hold

Republican hold

Republican gain

Majority Leader before election

Trent Lott
Republican

Elected Majority Leader

Tom Daschle
Democratic

The United States Senate elections, 2000 was held on November 7, 2000. The elections coincided with other federal and state elections, including the presidential election which was won by Republican George W. Bush. It featured a number of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Democratic Party, which gained a net total of four seats from the Republican Party.

This election took place six years after Republicans had won a net gain of eight seats in Senate Class 1 during the elections of 1994. Democrats defeated Republican senators Bill Roth (DE), Spencer Abraham (MI), Rod Grams (MN), John Ashcroft (MO), and Slade Gorton (WA), as well as winning the open seat in Florida. Ashcroft's defeat was noteworthy in that his opponent, Mel Carnahan, had died before the election, but still won. The Republicans did defeat one incumbent, Chuck Robb (VA), and won an open seat in Nevada.

The election resulted in an equal 50–50 split between Republicans and Democrats, meaning the Vice President would cast the tie-breaking votes in organizing the Senate. This resulted in the Democrats winning control of the Senate for only 17 days, since Al Gore was still Vice President and President of the Senate at the beginning of the new term, on January 3, 2001. But the Republicans won control of the chamber with the tie-breaking vote of the new Vice President Dick Cheney on January 20. The Republican majority would last until June 6, 2001 when Republican Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party, became an independent, and chose to caucus with the Democrats.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₆	R₅₄	R₅₃	R₅₂	R₅₁
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
D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
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

Beginning of the next Congress

January 3, 2001: Beginning of Congress

D₄₁ √	D₄₂ O	D₄₃ O	D₄₄ O	D₄₅ +	D₄₆ +	D₄₇ +	D₄₈ +	D₄₉ +	D₅₀ +
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
D₄₀ √	D₃₉ √	D₃₈ √	D₃₇ √	D₃₆ √	D₃₅ √	D₃₄ √	D₃₃ √	D₃₂ √	D₃₁
Majority (with Vice President Gore's vote)→
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

January 20, 2001: Inauguration of Vice President Cheney

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
D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₆	D₄₇	D₄₈	D₄₉	D₅₀
Majority (with Vice President Cheney's vote)→									R₅₀
R₄₁	R₄₂	R₄₃	R₄₄	R₄₅	R₄₆	R₄₇	R₄₈	R₄₉
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

Complete list of races

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

California

The heavily financed and popular Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) easily won re-election to her second full term defeating the underfunded and underdog candidate Representative Tom Campbell (R) by over 19 points. Campbell even lost his own congressional district by almost 15 points.

Delaware

Five-term incumbent William V. Roth, Jr. (R) was defeated by outgoing Governor Thomas R. Carper (D). The age of the two candidates was an unspoken issue of the campaign as Carper's relative youth contrasted that of the 79-year-old Roth.

Florida

Incumbent Connie Mack III (R) retired after two terms. Former Congressman Bill Nelson (D) would defeat Rep. Bill McCollum (R) in a close race that was nevertheless overshadowed by the contentious presidential race in Florida.

Michigan

Incumbent Spencer Abraham (R) was unseated after one term by Rep. Debbie Stabenow (D). The contentious election was highlighted by a series of third party ads attacking Abraham's record on border security.

Minnesota

Incumbent Rod Grams (R) lost his re-election bid to former State Auditor Mark Dayton (D). An heir to a department store chain, Dayton was able to self-finance his $12 million campaign.

Missouri

In one of the more unusual races of the cycle, deceased Governor Mel Carnahan (D) defeated incumbent John Ashcroft (R). Carnahan died in a plane crash three weeks before the election. His widow Jean received an interim appointment in her late husband's place.

Montana

Two-term incumbent Conrad Burns (R) faced a surprisingly tough challenge from his Democratic opponent, rancher and future governor Brian Schweitzer. Burns narrowly won re-election.

Nebraska

Former Governor Ben Nelson (D) narrowly defeated Attorney General Don Stenberg (R) for the seat of retiring incumbent Bob Kerrey (D). Nelson had lost his previous bid for the Senate in 1996 against incumbent Chuck Hagel (R).

Nevada

Former Congressman John Ensign (R) defeated Democratic attorney and talk show host Edward M. Bernstein for the seat of incumbent Richard Bryan (D). Ensign had come within 428 votes of unseating incumbent Harry Reid (D) in a Senate race two years earlier.

New York

The retirement of incumbent Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D) appeared to set up a showdown between First Lady Hillary Clinton and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani, however, was forced to drop out of the race due to his being diagnosed with prostate cancer and a messy divorce from actress Donna Hanover. Clinton instead faced littleknown Congressman Rick Lazio (R), who could not match Clinton's fund raising abilities and name recognition. Clinton's election marked the first time a First Lady won elective office in American history.

Virginia

Incumbent Chuck Robb (D) was unseated in a close race against former Governor George Allen (R). Robb had survived a close call against Oliver North in the Republican landslide year of 1994, but could not defeat the popular Allen despite the year's Democratic trend.

Washington

Incumbent Slade Gorton (R) was unseated for a second time by former Congresswoman Maria Cantwell (D). Cantwell's campaign slogan of "Your voice for a change" referred to Gorton's "Time for a change" slogan he used when running against Warren G. Magnuson in 1980.

Results summary

↓
50	50
Republican	Democrat

**Summary of the 2000 United States Senate election results**
Parties		Breakdown			Total Seats		Popular Vote		Total Candidates
Parties		Up	Elected	Not Up	2000	+/-	Vote	%	General¹
	Democratic Party	15	19	31	50	4	36,780,875	47.039%	33
	Republican Party	19	15	35	50	4	36,725,431	46.968%	34
	Libertarian Party	-	-	-	-	-	1,036,684	1.326%	22
	Green Party	-	-	-	-	-	652,329	0.834%	8
	Independent	-	-	-	-	-	365,614	0.468%	24
	Constitution Party	-	-	-	-	-	286,816	0.367%	8
	Reform Party	-	-	-	-	-	190,509	0.244%	8
	Independence Party	-	-	-	-	-	183,764	0.235%	2
	Socialist Workers Party	-	-	-	-	-	15,996	0.020%	2
	Other parties	-	-	-	-	-	1,461,975	1.870%	12
	Write-in	-	-	-	-	-	324,295	0.415%	-
Total		34	34	66	100	-	78,191,797	100.0%	153
Source: Elections Statistics, Office of the Clerk

¹ Totals do not include participating voters who declined to cast a vote for U.S. Senate. Candidates in the Georgia Special Election to fill the seat of deceased Senator Paul Coverdell were required to be non-partisan. However, Zell Miller and Mack Mattingly were added to the Democratic and Republican columns respectively and all the other candidates were added to the Independent column.

Complete list of contests

State	Incumbent	Party	Results	Candidates
Arizona	Jon Kyl	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jon Kyl (Republican) 79.3% William Toel (Independent) 7.8% Vance Hansen (Green) 7.8% Barry Hess (Libertarian) 5.1%
California	Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) 55.8% Tom Campbell (Republican) 36.6% Medea Benjamin (Green) 3.1% Gail Lightfoot (Libertarian) 1.8% Diane Beall Templin (American Independent) 1.3% Jose Camahort (Reform) 0.9% Brian M. Rees (Natural Law) 0.6%
Connecticut	Joe Lieberman	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Joe Lieberman (Democratic) 63.2% Philip Giordano (Republican) 34.1% William Kozak (Concerned Citizens) 2% Wildey J. Moore (Libertarian) 0.7%
Delaware	William V. Roth, Jr.	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	√ Thomas R. Carper (Democratic) 55.5% William V. Roth, Jr. (Republican) 43.7% Mark Dankof (Constitution) 0.3% J. Burke Morrison (Libertarian) 0.3% Robert Mattson (Natural Law) 0.2%
Florida	Connie Mack	Republican	Incumbent retired Democratic gain.	√ Bill Nelson (Democratic) 51% Bill McCollum (Republican) 46.2% Willie Logan (Independent) 1.4% Joe Simonetta (Natural Law) 0.4% Darrell L. McCormick (Independent) 0.4% Joel Deckard (Reform) 0.3% Andy Martin (Independent) 0.3% Nikki Oldaker (Independent) 0.1%
Georgia Class 3: Special	Zell Miller (appointee)	Democratic	Interim appointee elected to finish term.	√ Zell Miller (Democratic) 58% Mack Mattingly (Republican) 38%
Hawaii	Daniel Akaka	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Daniel Akaka (Democratic) 72.7% John S. Carroll (Republican) 24.5% Lauri Clegg (Natural Law) 1.2% Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan (Libertarian) 0.9% David Porter (Constitution) 0.7%
Indiana	Richard Lugar	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Richard Lugar (Republican) 66.5% David Johnson (Democratic) 31.9% Paul Hager (Libertarian) 1.6%
Maine	Olympia Snowe	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Olympia Snowe (Republican) 68.9% Mark Lawrence (Democratic) 31.1%
Maryland	Paul Sarbanes	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Paul Sarbanes (Democratic) 63.2% Paul Rappaport (Republican) 36.7%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ted Kennedy (Democratic) 72.9% Jack E. Robinson III (Republican) 12.9% Carla Howell (Libertarian) 11.9% Philip F. Lawler (Constitution) 1.62% Dale Friedgen (Independent) 0.5%
Michigan	Spencer Abraham	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	√ Debbie Stabenow (Democratic) 49.4% Spencer Abraham (Republican) 47.9% Matthew Abel (Green) 0.9% Michael Corliss (Libertarian) 0.7% Mark Forton (Reform) 0.6% John Mangopoulos (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.3% William Quarton (Natural Law) 0.1%
Minnesota	Rod Grams	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	√ Mark Dayton (Democratic) 48.8% Rod Grams (Republican) 43.3% James Gibson (Independence) 5.8% David Daniels (Grassroots) 0.9% Rebecca Ellis (Socialist Workers) 0.5% David Swan (Constitution) 0.4% Erik D. Pakieser (Libertarian) 0.3%
Mississippi	Trent Lott	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Trent Lott (Republican) 65.9% Troy Brown (Democratic) 31.6% Jim Giles (Independent) 0.9% Lewis Napper (Libertarian) 0.9% Shawn O'Hara (Reform) 0.7%
Missouri	John Ashcroft	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	√ Mel Carnahan (Democratic) 50.4% John Ashcroft (Republican) 48.4% Evaline Taylor (Green) 0.5% Grant Samuel Stauffer (Libertarian) 0.4% Hugh Foley (Reform) 0.2% Charles Dockins (Natural Law) 0.1%
Montana	Conrad Burns	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Conrad Burns (Republican) 50.6% Brian Schweitzer (Democratic) 47.2% Gary Lee (Reform) 2.2%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	√ Ben Nelson (Democratic) 51% Don Stenberg (Republican) 48.8%
Nevada	Richard Bryan	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	√ John Ensign (Republican) 55.1% Edward M. Bernstein (Democratic) 39.7% None of These Candidates 1.9% Kathy Rusco (Green) 1.7% J.J. Johnson (Libertarian) 0.9% Ernie Berghof (Independent American) 0.4% Bill Grutzmacher (Citizens First) 0.3%
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	√ Jon Corzine (Democratic) 50.1% Bob Franks (Republican) 47.1% Bruce Afran (Green) 1.1% Pat DiNizio (Reform) 0.6% Emerson Ellett (Libertarian) 0.2% Dennis A. Breen (Independent) 0.2% J.M. Carter (Trust in God) 0.2% Lorraine LaNeve (NJ Conservative) 0.1% Gregory Pason (Socialist) 0.1% Nancy Rosenstock (Socialist Workers) 0.1% George Gostigian (God Bless Jersey) 0.1%
New Mexico	Jeff Bingaman	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jeff Bingaman (Democratic) 61.7% William T. Redmond (Republican) 38.3%
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	√ Hillary Clinton (Democratic) 55% Rick Lazio (Republican) 43% Jeffrey E. Graham (Independence) 0.6% Mark J. Dunau (Green) 0.6% John O. Adefope (Right To Life) 0.3% John Clifton (Libertarian) 0.1% Louis Wein (Constitution) 0.1% Jacob Perasso (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
North Dakota	Kent Conrad	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kent Conrad (Democratic) 61.4% Duane Sand (Republican) 38.6%
Ohio	Mike DeWine	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Mike DeWine (Republican) 59.9% Ted Celeste (Democratic) 35.9% John McAlister (Libertarian) 2.6% John Eastman (Natural Law) 1.6%
Pennsylvania	Rick Santorum	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Rick Santorum (Republican) 52.4% Ron Klink (Democratic) 45.5% John Featherman (Libertarian) 1% Lester Searer (Constitution) 0.6% Robert Domske (Reform) 0.5%
Rhode Island	Lincoln Chafee (appointee)	Republican	Interim appointee elected to full term.	√ Lincoln Chafee (Republican) 56.8% Robert Weygand (Democratic) 41.1% Christopher Young (Reform) 1% Kenneth Proulx (Independent) 0.9%
Tennessee	Bill Frist	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bill Frist (Republican) 65.1% Jeff Clark (Democratic) 32.2% Tom Burrell (Green) 1.3% Charles F. Johnson (Independent) 0.5% Robert Watson (Independent) 0.4% David Jarrod Ownby (Independent) 0.2% Joel Kinstle (Independent) 0.2%
Texas	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican) 65% Gene Kelly (Democratic) 32.3% Doug Sandage (Green) 1.5% Mary Ruwart (Libertarian) 1.1%
Utah	Orrin Hatch	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Orrin Hatch (Republican) 65.6% Scott Howell (Democratic) 31.5% Carlton Edward Bowen (Independent American) 1.6% Jim Dexter (Libertarian) 1.4%
Vermont	Jim Jeffords	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jim Jeffords (Republican) 65.6% Ed Flanagan (Democratic) 25.4% Charles W. Russell (Constitution) 3.5% Rick Hubbard (Independent) 1.9% Billy Greer (Vermont Grassroots) 1.7% Hugh Douglas (Libertarian) 1.3% Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 0.5%
Virginia	Chuck Robb	Democratic	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	√ George Allen (Republican) 52.3% Chuck Robb (Democratic) 47.7%
Washington	Slade Gorton	Republican	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	√ Maria Cantwell (Democratic) 48.7% Slade Gorton (Republican) 48.6% Jeff Jared (Libertarian) 2.6%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert Byrd (Democratic) 77.7% David T. Gallaher (Republican) 20.2% Joe Whelan (Libertarian) 2.1%
Wisconsin	Herb Kohl	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Herb Kohl (Democratic) 61.5% John Gillespie (Republican) 37% Tim Peterson (Libertarian) 0.8% Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.4% Robert R. Raymond (Constitution) 0.2%
Wyoming	Craig L. Thomas	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Craig L. Thomas (Republican) 73.7% Mel Logan (Democratic) 22% Margaret Dawson (Libertarian) 4.2%

External links

United States Election 2000 Web Archive from the U.S. Library of Congress

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(1999 ←) 2000 United States elections (→ 2001)

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