The 1998 United States Senate elections were a 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 Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois), but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato (New York) and Lauch Faircloth (North Carolina). The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans. With Democrats 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. These are the last senate elections that resulted in no net change in the balance of power.
William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the presidency, he was the governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992, and the attorney general of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideologically a New Democrat and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy.
Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun, is an American diplomat, politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. She was the first female African-American Senator, the first African-American U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in an election, and the first female Senator from Illinois. She was the only female U.S. Senator from Illinois until Tammy Duckworth who became the U.S. Senator from Illinois in January 2017. From 1999 until 2001, she was the United States Ambassador to New Zealand. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Following the public announcement by Richard M. Daley that he would not seek re-election, in November 2010, Braun began her campaign for Mayor of Chicago. The former Senator placed fourth in a field of six candidates, losing the February 22, 2011, election to Rahm Emanuel.
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato is an American lawyer and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999. He subsequently founded a lobbying firm, Park Strategies.
Illinois: Democratic Incumbent Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American woman elected to the Senate, was narrowly defeated by conservative state SenatorPeter Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, though better-funded, maintained a low personal profile while the outspoken Moseley Braun was beset by a series of controversies.
Ohio: GovernorGeorge Voinovich (R) defeated former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle (D) for the seat of retiring Democratic Senator John Glenn. 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.
California: Incumbent U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer defeated California State TreasurerMatt 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.
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 GovernorDick 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.
Incumbent Republican Richard Shelby won re-election to a third term. Shelby had been elected in 1986 and 1992 as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican party in 1994, making this the first election he competed in as a Republican. He beat Democrat Clayton Suddith, an army veteran and former Franklin County Commissioner.[3]
Richard Craig Shelby is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Alabama. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, succeeding Thad Cochran. He previously served as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. He is the longest serving U.S. Senator from Alabama, surpassing John Sparkman who held the previous record.
Franklin County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population was 31,704. Its county seat is Russellville. Its name is in honor of Benjamin Franklin, famous statesman, scientist, and printer. It is a dry county, although the city of Russellville is wet.
Incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski easily won re-election to a fourth term against Democratic nominee Joseph Sonneman, a perennial candidate, earning nearly 75% of the vote.
Frank Hughes Murkowski is an American retired politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.
Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a third term over Democratic attorney Ed Ranger.[7]
John Sidney McCain III was an American politician and military officer who served as a United States Senator from Arizona from January 1987 until his death. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.
Dale Leon Bumpers was an American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas (1971–1975) and in the United States Senate (1975–1999). He was a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his death, he was counsel at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Arent Fox LLP, where his clients included Riceland Foods and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln is an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Lincoln was first elected to the Senate in 1998; she was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arkansas since Hattie Caraway in 1932 and, at age 38, was the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1997.
Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer won re-election to a second term.
Barbara Levy Boxer is a retired American politician who served as a United States Senator for California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993.
1998 United States Senate Democratic primary, California
Although the race was predicted[by whom?] to be fairly close, Boxer still defeated Fong by a ten-point margin. Boxer as expected did very well in Los Angeles County, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Campbell, who was elected in 1992 as a Democrat, switched parties after the 1994 Republican Revolution. He faced a primary challenger, but won with over 70% of the vote. In the general election, Democratic nominee Dottie Lamm criticized Campbell of flip flopping from being a moderate liberal to moderate conservative.[10][11] In fact, throughout the entire campaign, Lamm mostly sent out negative attack advertisements about Campbell.[12]
Incumbent Democrat Carol Moseley Braun decided to run for re-election, despite the number of controversies that she had in her first term. Republican State Senator Peter Fitzgerald won his party's primary with a slim margin of victory.
He ended up defeating the incumbent, with a margin of victory of approximately 3%. Peter Fitzgerald won all but five counties.
During Moseley Braun's first term as U.S. Senator, she was plagued by several major controversies. Moseley Braun was the subject of a 1993 Federal Elections Commission investigation over $249,000 in unaccounted-for campaign funds. The agency found some small violations, but took no action against Moseley Braun, citing a lack of resources. Moseley Braun only admitted to bookkeeping errors. The Justice Department turned down two requests for investigations from the IRS.[16]
In 1996, Moseley Braun made a private trip to Nigeria, where she met with dictator Sani Abacha. Despite U.S. sanctions against that country, due to Abacha's actions, the Senator did not notify, nor register her trip with, the State Department. She subsequently defended Abacha's human rights records in Congress.[17]
Peter Fitzgerald, a State Senator, won the Republican primary, defeating Illinois ComptrollerLoleta Didrickson with 51.8% of the vote, to Didrickson's 48.2%.[18] Fitzgerald spent nearly $7 million in the Republican primary.[19] He had a major financial advantage, as he was a multimillionaire. He ended up spending $12 million in his election victory.[20]
In September, Moseley Braun created controversy again by using the word Nigger to describe how she claims to be a victim of racism.[20]
Most polls over the first few months showed Moseley Braun trailing badly. However, after she was helped in the final month by notable Democrats such as First LadyHillary Clinton and U.S. Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, three polls published in the last week showed her within the margin of error, and, in one poll, running even with Fitzgerald.[21]
Moseley Braun was narrowly defeated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. Moseley Braun only won four of Illinois's 102 counties. Despite this, the race was kept close by Moseley running up massive margins in Cook County, home of Chicago. However it wasn't quite enough to win.
Incumbent Republican Dan Coats decided to retire instead of seeking a second full term. Democratic nominee, former GovernorEvan Bayh won the open seat his father once held.
Incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley sought re-election to a fourth term in the United States Senate, facing off against former State Representative David Osterberg, who won the Democratic nomination unopposed. Grassley had not faced a competitive election since 1980; this year proved no different, and Grassley crushed Osterberg to win a fourth term.
Incumbent Republican Sam Brownback won re-election to his first full term. Brownback was first elected in a special election held in 1996, when then-Senator Bob Dole resigned to campaign for U.S. President, after 27 years in the Senate. This would've been Dole's seventh term in office had he remained in his seat.
Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator Wendell Ford decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican Representative Jim Bunning won the open seat.
Incumbent Democrat John Breaux won re-election to a third term. As of 2016, this is the last time the Democrats have won the Class 3 Senate Seat from Louisiana.
Reid won in a close election by 401 votes -- even closer than Tim Johnson's Senate run in South Dakota in 2002, when he narrowly defeated Congressman John Thune by 524 votes. Ensign did not contest the results, and Reid won the race.
Incumbent Republican Al D'Amato was running for re-election to a fourth term, but lost to Chuck Schumer in what was considered by many to be the "high[est] profile and nastiest" contest of the year.[33]
At the start of 1998, Ferraro had done no fundraising, out of fear of conflict of interest with her job hosting the CNN program Crossfire, but was nonetheless perceived as the front-runner by virtue of her name recognition;[34] indeed, December and January polls had her 25percentage points ahead of Green in the race and even further ahead of Schumer.[35][36] Unlike her previous campaigns, Ferraro's family finances never became an issue in 1998.[35] However, she lost ground during the summer, with Schumer catching her in the polls by early August and then soon passing her.[37] Schumer, a tireless fundraiser, outspent her by a five-to-one margin, and Ferraro failed to establish a political image current with the times.[35][38] In the September 15, 1998, primary, she was beaten soundly by Schumer with a 51percent to 26percent margin.[35] Unlike the bitter 1992 Democratic senatorial primary, this contest was not divisive, and Ferraro and third-place finisher Green endorsed Schumer at a unity breakfast the following day.[39]
The primaries were held on September 15, 1998.
Democratic primary for New York United States Senate election, 1998[40]
During the general campaign, D'Amato attempted to brand Schumer as a diehard liberal, while Schumer accused D'Amato of being a liar. When D'Amato's first strategy failed, D'Amato attacked his opponent's attendance record as a member of Congress, which Schumer refuted.[43][44]
Late in the campaign, D'Amato called Schumer a "putzhead" in a private meeting with Jewish supporters ("putz" is Yiddish for penis, and can be slang for "fool").[45] The senator later apologized.[33]
Though D'Amato was effective in obtaining federal government funds for New York State projects during his Senate career, he failed to capitalize on this in the election.[43] Also, Schumer was a tenacious fund-raiser and was aggressive in his attacks.[46] The candidates spent $30 million during the race.[43]
The race was not close with Schumer defeating the incumbent D'Amato by just over 10%. D'Amato did win a majority of New York's counties, but his wins were in less populated areas. Schumer's win is attributed to strong performance in New York City. Schumer also performed well in heavily populated upstate cities, like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and Albany.
Incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth decided to seek re-election to a second term, but was unseated by Democrat John Edwards.[6]
In the Democratic primary, Edwards defeated D.G. Martin, Ella Scarborough, and several minor candidates. In the Republican primary, Faircloth easily defeated two minor candidates.[47]
North Carolina United States Senate election, 1998
Republican Donna Nalewaja, State Senator's campaign focused on the suggestion that Dorgan had served in the United States Congress for nearly 20 years, and had accomplished relatively little. Dorgan and Nalewaja won the primary elections for their respective parties. McLain had previously run for North Dakota's other senate seat in 1980 against incumbent Mark Andrews.
Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator John Glenn decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican Governor George Voinovich won the open seat.
Incumbent Republican Arlen Specter won re-election to a fourth term.
Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party was in dire straits, as it was plagued by prior corruption allegations of several key legislators and by a lack of fund-raising. Just as in the accompanying gubernatorial race, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, State Representative,[52] who was a well-respected party leader but who had almost zero statewide name recognition, was considered[by whom?] to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second-largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. Lloyd won in two counties: almost uniformly Democratic Philadelphia and his home county, rural and typically Republican Somerset County.[53]
Incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings won re-election to his sixth full term. As of 2016, this is the last Senate election in South Carolina won by a Democrat.
The race between Hollings and Bob Inglis, U.S. Representative gave the voters a choice of two very different visions of and for South Carolina. Hollings was from the Lowcountry, a face of the Old New South, and secured a large amount of federal funds for the state. On the other hand, Inglis came from the Upstate, was a face of the New New South, and opposed to pork barrel spending. Hollings viciously attacked Inglis on the campaign trail as a "goddamn skunk" and when Inglis requested that Hollings sign a pledge for campaign courtesy, Hollings replied that Inglis could "kiss his fanny." Inglis tried to tie Hollings to President Clinton, who had been tainted by the Lewinsky scandal.
Ultimately, Hollings won the race for four crucial reasons. First, Inglis refused to accept PAC donations which allowed Hollings to enjoy a huge financial advantage and blanket the state with his television advertisements. Secondly, Inglis came from the Upstate which already provided GOP majorities whereas Hollings came from the Lowcountry which was a key tossup region in the state. Thirdly, the voters two years prior in the 1996 Senate election had rewarded Strom Thurmond for his long service to the state and it was unlikely that they would then deny re-election to Hollings. Finally, the 1998 South Carolina GOP ticket was dragged down with unpopular GovernorDavid Beasley at the top of the ticket who would go on to lose his re-election campaign to Jim Hodges.
Incumbent Democrat Tom Daschle won re-election to a third term. As of 2018, this is the last time the Democrats have won the Class 3 Senate Seat from South Dakota.
Incumbent Democrat Patrick Leahy won re-election to a fifth term.[57]
Notably, the Republican nominee, dairy farmer and actor Fred Tuttle, withdrew from the race and endorsed Leahy, asking Vermonters to vote for his Democratic opponent because he hated Washington DC and he was, as his wife had previously said publicly, unqualified to serve as a United States Senator. His campaign, which had been conducted primarily from his front porch in Tunbridge, VT, spent only $251 during the election season and featured the slogans "Spread Fred!" and "Why Not?" In spite of this, Tuttle still received 48,051 votes, or 22% of the total.[58]
Incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold won re-election to a second term. In September 1997, Mark Neumann, a Republican U.S. Representative, announced his candidacy for the United States Senate against Russell Feingold. Both candidates had similar views on the budget surplus, although Neumann was for banning partial-birth abortion while Feingold was against a ban. Both candidates limited themselves to $3.8 million in campaign spending ($1 for every citizen of Wisconsin), although outside groups spent more than $2 million on Neumann; Feingold refused to have outside groups spend their own 'soft money' on his behalf.[62][63] Feingold defeated Neumann by a slim 2% margin in the election. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Neumann had a 30,000 vote margin outside Milwaukee County, but was overwhelmed by a 68,000 vote margin in Milwaukee County.[64]
The 2004 United States Senate elections were elections for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate which coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House election, as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998, known as Senate Class 3, were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004. This was the third consecutive election for Senate Class 3 where the Democrats failed to end up with a net gain. This also marked the first time since 1980 in which a presidential candidate from either party won with coattails in the Senate. As of 2018, these are the last elections held during a Presidential election year in which the Republicans made a net gain of seats.
The 2002 United States Senate elections featured a series of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Republican Party, which gained two seats and thus a narrow majority from the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. The Senate seats up for election, known as "class 2" Senate seats, were last up for regular election in 1996. The election was held on November 5, 2002, almost fourteen months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The 1996 United States Senate elections coincided with the presidential election, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected President.
The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with Bill Clinton's victory the presidential election. Despite the presidential victory, Democrats had a net loss of a seat in the general elections, and only managed to break even by winning a seat in a special election.
The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and, as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress.
The 1988 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in which, in spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. Seven seats changed parties, with four incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one from 54/46 to 55/45.
The 1986 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. The party not controlling the presidency gained seats, as usually occurs in mid-term elections.
The 1982 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 1982. They were elections for the United States Senate following Republican gains in 1980. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, and the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., retired. Democrats made a net gain of one seat in the elections. A special election in 1983 was then held after the winner of Washington's 1982 election died at the beginning of the term.
The 1980 United States Senate elections coincided with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter pulled in many Democratic voters and gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates.
The 1978 United States Senate elections in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties. The Democrats at first lost a net of two seats to the Republicans, and then one more in a special election. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58-41 majority.
The 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate that coincided with Democratic Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democrats, and the balance of the chamber remained the same.
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate, taking place in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as President. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the presidential election. Although Richard Nixon won the presidential election narrowly, the Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett.
The 1966 United States Senate elections was an election on November 8, 1966 for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. This was also the first election that occurred after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law.
The 1964 United States Senate elections coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2019, this is the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which would have hypothetically allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, convict and expel certain officials, or invoke cloture without any votes from Republicans. The Senate election coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although the Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained back two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber remained unchanged.
The 1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings won reelection to his sixth full term. As of 2019, this is the last Senate election in South Carolina won by a Democrat.
The 1998 United States Senate election in New York was held November 3, 1998 along with elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Al D'Amato was running for re-election to a fourth term, but lost to Chuck Schumer in what was considered by many to be the "high[est] profile and nastiest" contest of the year.
The 1998 United States Senate election in Illinois was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun decided to run for re-election, despite the number of controversies that she had in her first term. Republican State Senator Peter Fitzgerald won his party's primary with a slim margin of victory.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon decided to run for re-election a third term, but was defeated in the primary against Carol Moseley Braun, who ended up winning the general election.
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