Results of the elections: Democratic gainRepublican gain Democratic holdRepublican hold Independent hold No electionRectangular inset (Minn. & Miss.): both seats up for election
The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. Among the 100 seats, the 33 of Class 1 were contested in regular elections while 2 others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The regular election winners were elected to 6-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. SenateDemocrats had 26 seats up for election (including the seats of 2 independents who caucus with them), while Senate Republicans had 9 seats up for election.
To maintain their working majority of 50 senators and their party's vice president's tie-breaking vote, Republicans could only afford a net loss of 1 seat in these elections. The Republicans had a 52–48 majority after the 2016 elections, but they lost a seat in Alabama in December 2017 after Jeff Sessions resigned to become U.S. attorney general and Doug Jones, a Democrat, won in the subsequent special election. Three Republican-held seats were open as a result of retirements in Tennessee, Utah and Arizona. Although every Democratic incumbent ran for re-election, Democrats faced an extremely unfavorable map, defending 26 seats, of which 10 were in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, and 5 of those where Trump had won by more than 10%. Republicans, however, only had to defend 9 seats, of which only 1 was in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The Republicans increased their majority by defeating Democratic incumbents in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota; and holding the open seats in Tennessee and Utah. In contrast, Democrats won 2 Republican-held seats, defeating an incumbent in Nevada and winning the open seat in Arizona.
This was the first election cycle since 2002 in which the incumbent president's party gained seats in the Senate. The results for this election cycle were the only significant gains made by the Republicans in what was otherwise characterized as a "blue wave" election. The Republican gains in the Senate and the Democratic gains in the House marked the first mid-term election cycle since 1970 in which the president's party made net gains in one chamber of Congress while suffering net losses in the other,[3] which also occurred in 1914, 1962, and 2022. This was the first mid-term election cycle since 2002 in which any incumbents of the non-presidential party lost re-election. The number of defeated non-presidential party incumbents (4) was the most since the 1934 mid-terms.[4] As of February 2024, this is the last time Republicans either won control of the Senate and/or made net gains in the chamber.
Partisan composition
Among the 33 Class 1 Senate seats up for regular election in 2018, twenty-three were held by Democrats, two by independents who caucused with the Senate Democrats and eight by Republicans. Class Two seats in Minnesota and Mississippi held by interim appointees were also up for election; both incumbent appointees sought election to finish their unexpired terms.
Democrats targeted Republican-held Senate seats in Arizona (open seat) and Nevada.[5] Seats in Texas,[6]Mississippi (at least one of the two seats) and Tennessee (open seat)[7] were also competitive for the Democrats. Republicans targeted Democratic-held seats in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia, all of which were won by Republicans in both the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.[8] Seats in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, all of which were won by Obama in 2008 and 2012 but by Trump in 2016, were also targeted by Republicans.[5][9] The Democratic-held seat in New Jersey was also considered unexpectedly competitive due to corruption allegations surrounding the Democratic incumbent.
The map was widely characterized as extremely unfavorable to Democrats, as Democrats were defending 26 states while Republicans were defending nine. Of these seats, Democrats were defending ten in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, while Republicans were only defending one seat in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.[10][11][12] According to FiveThirtyEight, Democrats faced the most unfavorable Senate map in 2018 that any party has ever faced in any election.[13][14]
1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 4 Democrats replaced by 4 Republicans
5
Result
20
8
2
0
0
0
30
Special elections
Appointee ran
1
1
—
—
—
—
2
Appointee elected
1
1
—
—
—
—
2
Result
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
Total elected
22
11
2
0
0
0
35
Net gain/loss
2
2
2
Nationwide vote
52,224,867
34,722,926
808,370
590,051
200,599
1,262,765
90,473,222
Share
58.17%
38.67%
0.90%
0.66%
0.22%
1.41%
100%
Result
45
53
2
0
0
0
100
Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.[1]
Change in composition
Each block represents one of the one hundred seats in the Senate. "D#" is a Democratic senator, "I#" is an independent senator and "R#" is a Republican senator. Arranged so parties are separated and a majority is clear by crossing the middle.
Before the elections
Each block indicates an incumbent senator's actions going into the election. Some "Ran" for re-election, some "Retired," and those without a note were not up for election this cycle. Before the elections, Republicans held 51 seats, Democrats held 47, and Independents held 2.
Some senators were "Re-elected," some were a "Gain" in the seat from the other party (either by beating an incumbent or by winning an open seat), some were a "Hold" by the same party but with a different senator, and those without a note were not up for election this year.
After these elections, Democrats had 45 seats, independents had 2, and Republicans had 53.
Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors used:
"tossup": no advantage
"tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
"lean": slight advantage
"likely" or "favored": significant, but surmountable, advantage
One Republican resigned before the start of the 116th Congress on December 31, 2018, one other Republican also resigned during the 116th Congress due to health reasons. Initially, all were replaced by Republican appointees.
In these special elections, the winners will be seated before January 3, 2019, when elected and qualified. They are ordered by election date, then by state and by class.
Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain. Winner delayed term until January 8, 2019, to finish his term as Governor of Florida.
Four-term Democrat Dianne Feinstein won a special election in 1992 and was elected to full terms in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. She ran for re-election and advanced to the general election after securing the top spot in the June 5 jungle primary.[33]
The June 5 primary ballot listed 32 candidates (Feinstein plus 31 challengers) in addition to 3 write-in candidates. There were 10 Democratic candidates, 11 Republican candidates, one Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom candidate, and 9 independent candidates. There was also a Green Party candidate who ran as a write-in.
The 11 Republican candidates who ran in the primary combined for 33.2% of the vote. The top Republican candidate, James P. Bradley, received 8.3% of the vote, which put him in 3rd place at 3.8% behind the second-place finisher, Kevin DeLeon.[34]
Three-term Democrat Tom Carper won re-election with 66% of the vote in 2012. He announced he was running for re-election during an interview on MSNBC on July 24, 2017.[38] He defeated Dover community activist Kerri Evelyn Harris for the Democratic nomination. Sussex County Councilman Robert Arlett won the Republican nomination.[38]
Tom Carper defeated Arlett, winning 60% of the vote.[39]
Edward Janowski was running as an independent, but did not qualify.[40]
Scott led among ballots tallied on election night, but given the close margins of the race recounts were ordered.[41] Final recount numbers were released following a machine and hand recount with Rick Scott maintaining a lead.[42] On November 18, Nelson conceded to Scott.[43] Two days later, election results were certified by the state, cementing Scott's win.[44]
One-term Independent Senator Angus King was elected in a three-way race with 53% of the vote in 2012. King has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2013, but he has left open the possibility of caucusing with the Republican Party in the future.[49]
State Senator Eric Brakey ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.[50]
Public school teacher and founder of UClass Zak Ringelstein ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.[50]
Three-term Democrat Debbie Stabenow was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012.[60] She was renominated without Democratic opposition. On the Republican side, businessman John James won the nomination.[60]
In the final months of the election, polls showed the race was beginning to narrow. Ultimately, Stabenow was re-elected, defeating James, with a majority of the vote.
Two-term Democrat Al Franken announced that he would resign in December 2017, following allegations of sexual harassment. Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota, appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on January 2, 2018, as an interim Senator until the November 2018 election. She defeated primary challenger Richard Painter in the Democratic primary held on August 14.
Incumbent Tina Smith defeated Republican Karin Housley in the general election to finish the term ending January 3, 2021.
One-term Republican Roger Wicker won re-election with 57% of the vote in 2012. He was appointed in 2007 and won a special election in 2008 to serve the remainder of Trent Lott's term.[29]
David Baria[29] won the Democratic nomination in a run-off on June 26.
On November 6, a nonpartisan jungle primary took place on the same day as the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the seat currently held by Roger Wicker. Party affiliations were not printed on the ballot.[66] As no candidate gained 50% of the votes, a runoff special election between the top two candidates - Hyde-Smith and former United States Secretary of AgricultureMike Espy[29] - was held on November 27, 2018. Hyde-Smith won the runoff election.
Democrat Tobey Bartee[67] and Republican Chris McDaniel also contested the first round of the election.[29]
Two-term Democrat Jon Tester was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 2012. He won the Democratic nomination in the June 5 primary with no opposition.[71]
One-term Republican Deb Fischer was elected with 58% of the vote in 2012. She ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary.[73] Other Republicans who ran include retired professor Jack Heidel, Todd Watson, and Dennis Frank Macek.[74]
Lincoln City Councilwoman Jane Raybould ran for and won the Democratic nomination in the May 15 primary.[73] Other Democrats who ran include Frank Svoboda, Chris Janicek, and Larry Marvin, who was a candidate in 2008, 2012, and 2014.[74]
Jim Schultz ran for the Libertarian nomination.[73]
Incumbent Republican Dean Heller was the Republican nominee.[76] He was appointed to the seat in 2011 and then elected with 46% of the vote in 2012. Heller considered running for governor, but chose to seek re-election.[77]
Nevada was the only state in the mid-term elections that had an incumbent Republican senator in a state that Hillary Clinton had won in 2016.
Republican Bob Hugin[79] was nominated to face two-term Democrat Bob Menendez, who was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012. Menendez was originally appointed to the seat in January 2006. He ran for re-election, despite recent scandals that plagued his campaign.[79]
Hugin self-funded most of his campaign. Ultimately, Menendez was re-elected with nearly 54% of the vote.[80]
One-term Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was elected with 72% of the vote in 2012. She had previously been appointed to the seat in 2009 and won a special election to remain in office in 2010. She ran.[82]
Private equity executive Chele Chiavacci Farley has been nominated for U.S. Senate by the Republican and Conservative Parties.[82]
One-term Democrat Heidi Heitkamp was elected with 50% of the vote in 2012. She won the Democratic nomination unopposed.[84]
Representative Kevin Cramer[84] won the Republican nomination in the June 12 primary. Former Niagara, North Dakota Mayor Thomas O'Neill[84] also ran for the Republican nomination.
Heitkamp was continuously behind in the polls leading up to the election, and Heitkamp ended up losing to Cramer by 11%.[85]
Two-term Democrat Sherrod Brown was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. He ran and was unopposed in Democratic primary.[86]
U.S. Representative Jim Renacci ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary.[86] Other Republicans who ran include investment banker Michael Gibbons,[86] businesswoman Melissa Ackison,[86] Dan Kiley,[86] and Don Elijah Eckhart.[86]
Brown won re-election, defeating Renacci. Brown was the only non-judicial statewide Democrat in Ohio to win in 2018.[87]
Two-term Republican Bob Corker was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Senator Corker filed his Statement of Candidacy with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate to run for re-election,[93] but on September 26, 2017, Senator Corker announced his intent to retire.[94]
One-term Republican Ted Cruz was elected with 57% of the vote in 2012. He overwhelmingly won the Republican primary on March 6, 2018.[98] Television producer Bruce Jacobson,[99] Houston energy attorney Stefano de Stefano,[100] former mayor of La Marque Geraldine Sam,[101] Mary Miller,[102] and Thomas Dillingham[103] were Cruz's opponents.
U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke won the Democratic nomination on March 6, 2018.[98] Other Democrats who ran include Irasema Ramirez Hernandez[104] and Edward Kimbrough.[105]
Nurse Carl Bible ran as an independent.[106] Bob McNeil ran as the candidate of the American Citizen Party.[107] Neal Dikeman was the Libertarian nominee.[108]
O'Rourke ran a strong campaign, creating a close race in what has traditionally been a Republican stronghold.[109] Nevertheless, Cruz was narrowly re-elected to a second term.[110]
Seven-term Republican Orrin Hatch was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Hatch was the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, as well as the second most-senior Senator. Before the 2012 election, Hatch said that he would retire at the end of his seventh term if he was re-elected.[111] Hatch initially announced his re-election campaign on March 9, 2017,[112][113] but later announced his plans to retire on January 2, 2018. Former 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was running for the seat.[114]
Professor James Singer was running for the Democratic nomination, but he dropped out and endorsed Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who made her Senate bid official on July 17, 2017.[115][116] Danny Drew[117][118] also was running, but dropped out and endorsed Jenny Wilson. Mitchell Kent Vice was defeated for the Democratic nomination by Wilson.
Mitt Romney was easily elected, defeating Wilson.[119]
Two-term Independent Senator Bernie Sanders was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2012. Sanders, one of two independent members of Congress, has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2007. In November 2015, Sanders announced his plans to run as a Democrat, rather than an independent, in all future elections. He won the nomination easily.[120]
One-term Democrat Tim Kaine was elected with 53% of the vote in 2012. He was re-nominated unopposed.[122]Prince William County SupervisorCorey Stewart[122] was the Republican nominee. Matt Waters was the Libertarian nominee.[123] Kaine defeated Stewart with 57% of the vote. Stewart received 41% of the vote.[124]
Three-term Democrat Maria Cantwell was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2012. She ran.[125]
Washington holds non-partisan blanket primaries, in which the top two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party. Cantwell and former state Republican Party chair Susan Hutchison faced each other in November.
One-term Democrat Joe Manchin was elected with 61% of the vote in 2012. He originally won the seat in a 2010 special election. Manchin ran for re-election and won the May 8 Democratic primary.[127] Environmental activist Paula Jean Swearengin,[127] also ran for the Democratic nomination.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey received the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary. Representative Evan Jenkins,[127] coal miner Bo Copley,[127] Jack Newbrough, Don Blankenship, and Tom Willis ran for the Republican nomination.[127]
Despite recent Republican successes in West Virginia, Manchin was able to win re-election to a second term.[128]
One-term Republican John Barrasso was elected with 76% of the vote in 2012. Barrasso was appointed to the seat in 2007 and won a special election in 2008. He ran.[131]
Gary Trauner,[131] a Jackson Hole businessman and U.S. House candidate in 2006 and 2008, was the Democratic nominee.
Barrasso was easily elected to a second term, defeating Trauner.[132]
↑ Total of official results for Democratic candidates.
↑ Both general election candidates in California were members of the Democratic Party, having won the top 2 positions in the nonpartisan blanket primary (established by the 2010 California Proposition 14), so all 11.1 million votes in California were counted for Democrats, as tabulated by the Clerk of the House.[1][2] In 2012, the last time a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate appeared on the ballot in California, 12.6 million votes were cast, of which 4.7 million, or 38%, were cast for the Republican candidate.
↑ Both independent senators — Angus King and Bernie Sanders — have caucused with the Democratic Party since joining the Senate.
↑ Total of official results for candidates labeled "Independent".
↑ The last elections for this group of senators were in 2012, except for those who were appointed after the resignation or passing of a sitting senator, as noted.
↑ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races
↑ Reflects the classic version of the forecast model.
↑ Democrat Al Franken won with 53.2% of the vote in 2014, but resigned on January 2, 2018.
↑ Special elections in Mississippi are nonpartisan, therefore party affiliation is not listed on the ballot.
↑ Republican Thad Cochran won with 59.9% of the vote in 2014, but resigned on April 1, 2018 due to declining health.
↑ Democratic total includes 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats
↑ Mississippi held a run-off for the special election on November 27, 2018 because no candidate won a majority of the vote in the November 6, 2018 jungle primary.
↑ Under California's "jungle primary" system, the general election was between two Democrats.
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