The United States Senate elections, 1986 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 United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
Democrats gained a net of eight seats, and recaptured control of the Senate from the Republicans with a 55–45 majority. Robert Dole (R-Kansas) and Robert C. Byrd (D-West Virginia) exchanged positions as the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader.
This was the last election — until 2016 — in which the Democrats in this Class of Senators (1/3 of the Senate) amassed a gain in seats (not including special elections held in off-years in some states to fill the seats that had been vacated by Senators due to death, resignation, or otherwise).
Republican gain
The only gain by the Republican Party was for one "open seat" in Missouri. On the other hand, the Democratic Party gained the "open seats" in Maryland and Nevada, and the Democrats also defeated seven incumbent Republican Senators, six of them who were first-term senators who had been elected in 1980.
James T. Broyhill (R-North Carolina). Broyhill was the only Republican who was defeated who had not been elected for the first time in 1980. However, Broyhill had been appointed to the seat that had been left vacant by the suicide of John P. East, a Republican who had been elected in 1980.
Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. was a U.S. Senator representing Alabama from 1981 to 1987, a United States Navy Rear Admiral, and Naval Aviator taken captive during the Vietnam War.
Paula Fickes Hawkins was an American politician from Florida. She is the only woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. She was the second woman ever elected to the Senate from the South. She was the first woman in the country to be elected to a full Senate term without having a close family member who previously served in major public office.
Mack Francis Mattingly is an American diplomat and politician who served one term as a United States senator from Georgia, the first Republican to have served in the U.S. Senate from that state since Reconstruction.
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.
Shelby, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat avoided a primary runoff and won nomination in the Democratic Party primary.[1]
Incumbent Senator Jeremiah Denton, a retired Rear Admiral and decorated Vietnam War veteran who six years earlier became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction, won the Republican primary with little opposition.[2]
Incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski ran for a second term and was primarily opposed by Alaska Pacific University President Glenn Olds and Libertarian Chuck House, field representative for Eastman Kodak Company. Following a highly competitive election in 1980, Murkowski faced a legitimate opponent in Glenn Olds, and the contest was fairly close. However, in the end, Murkowski was able to defeat Olds by a slightly wider margin than he won by six years prior.
Incumbent Republican Barry Goldwater decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. The open seat was won by Republican John McCain, a Congressman and former Navy Officer who beat Democratic State Legislator Richard Kimball.
Kimball's campaign was subject to negative press from the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette, both owned by McCain benefactor Darrow Tully. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness."[6] McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of 20%.[5]</ref>
Incumbent Democrat Gary Hart retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Tim Wirth won the open seat over Republican U.S. Representative Ken Kramer.
The incumbent Democratic Alan J. Dixon won re-election to a second term over Republican State Representative Judy Koehler. This is also the last time as of 2016 that a winning Senate Candidate was elected to this seat twice.
Dixon easily won the senate race. Koehler fared poorly throughout most parts of the state, only winning 10 of the states 102 counties.
Mathias announced his retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-GovernorHarry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate.
Chavez won the primary handily, defeating several Republican challengers. Later, she made comments that some Mikulski supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. In an article quoting Chavez's claim that Mikulski was a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat", the Washington Post reported that Chavez was directly implying that the never-married Mikulski was a lesbian.[citation needed] Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign. In defending her use of the phrase, Chavez stated the line "San Francisco Democrats" was a reference to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which Kirkpatrick coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal."[citation needed]. The phrase "San Francisco liberal" was common at the time.
Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote.[citation needed] She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).
United States Senate election in Maryland, 1986[5]
Incumbent Republican Al D'Amato won re-election to a second term over Democrat Mark Green, the Chief Speechwriter for U.S. Senator Gary Hart and former congressional candidate.
Incumbent Republican Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford. There were two separate elections held on the same day: a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987) and a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987).[19] Sanford won both elections.
The primary elections would nominate candidates to the special and the regular election.
Terry Sanford, then the outgoing president of Duke University, first said in September 1985 that he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate the next year but quickly withdrew, as it appeared that the party wanted a "fresh" face, most likely in the person of UNC System President William Friday.[20] Then, Friday declined to run, as did other well-known politicians like former Gov. Jim Hunt.[21] Former North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lauch Faircloth then made it known that he would run, but he was considered too conservative by many party leaders, who encouraged Sanford to enter the race in order to defeat Faircloth.[20] Sanford agreed to run, which led Faircloth and another candidate, Judge Marvin K. Blount Jr., to withdraw before filing their candidacies. Six years later, Faircloth did run for the Senate against Sanford, but this time as a Republican.
Sen. East declined to run for a second term, citing his health. Longtime U.S. Representative Jim Broyhill entered the race with much of the establishment support, but David Funderburk had the backing of the organization of Senator Jesse Helms.[21] Funderburk charged Broyhill with being insufficiently conservative, but in the end, Broyhill won the nomination handily in the May primary. The next month, Sen. East committed suicide, and Gov. James G. Martin appointed Broyhill to his seat.
1986 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election[22]
This was a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987), being held contemporaneously with a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987).[19] Sanford won both elections.
The primary elections would nominate candidates to the special and the regular election.
Incumbent Bob Packwood ran for re-election. U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver received the Democratic nomination. A populist Democratic congressman from Eugene, Oregon, he was a darling of the environmentalists. Weaver supported the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984. Packwood was confident despite the popular opponent, because had more money and a better campaign organization.[28] After winning the party nomination, Weaver was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into his campaign finances, and withdrew his candidacy. Rick Bauman was selected to replace Weaver on the ballot, and lost handily to Packwood.
Democratic primary for the United States Senate from Oregon, 1986[29]
Incumbent Republican Arlen Specter won re-election to a second term over Democratic U.S. Congressman Bob Edgar. Despite the popularity of his Republican counterpart John Heinz, Arlen Specter was viewed somewhat tepidly by the Pennsylvania electorate entering the race, although both men shared similar moderate profiles. Additionally, economic woes had dragged down the popularity of Republican candidates in the industrial states. Democrats sensed the vulnerability of the incumbent, and two men with similar experience in the U.S. House, but contrasting political views, vied for the nomination. Don Bailey, the state's incumbent Auditor General, was viewed[by whom?] as the initial favorite, as he projected a strong blue collar image and had moderate positions that were often relatively close to Specter's. Bob Edgar, a Methodist minister and sitting Congressman, had more liberal viewpoints, as he was connected with the Vietnam War-era peace movement and the anti-corruption movement following the Watergate scandals. However, issues played a very minor role in the primary, which instead showcased the state's geographical divide, with Delaware County-based Edgar narrowly defeating Westmoreland County-based Bailey.[32]
True to his past as a political organizer, Edgar developed a strong grassroots campaign and reached out to alienated left-leaning voters. He attacked Specter as a politician who compromised his moderate political positions when pressured by the conservative administration of Ronald Reagan. Edgar, who had a history of winning tight races in his congressional district, was a financial underdog, as Specter was able to raise nearly three times as much for his campaign warchest. Originally attempting a positive campaign, Specter changed his strategy in response to Edgar's personal attacks and characterized Edgar as soft on defense issues and as a liberal ideologue. Edgar was never able to find a message that resonated with voters in the western portion of the state, and Specter undercut Edgar's support in both candidates' suburban Philadelphia home by presenting himself as representative of the views of the average suburban voter.[32]
The race was not seriously contested and was not a target by the Republicans. With little financial assistance, McMaster was unable to mount a credible challenge to Hollings' re-election in what became a difficult year for Republicans.
Incumbent Republican James Abdnor ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic Congressman Tom Daschle.[33]
Despite Abdnor winning the primary by a fairly comfortable margin, it hurt him badly. Daschle was uncontested for the Democratic nomination and therefore was able to focus on the general election early, while Abdnor had to fight a challenge from an incumbent governor. Many political analysts say this was one of the factors in Abdnor's general election loss.
The 1994 United States Senate elections were elections held November 8, 1994, in which the Republican Party was able to take control of the Senate from the Democrats. In a midterm election, the opposition Republicans held the traditional advantage. Congressional Republicans campaigned against the early presidency of Bill Clinton, including his unsuccessful health care plan.
The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3 and seen as an even contest between the Republican Party and Democratic Party. 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 and Lauch Faircloth. 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.
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 1984 United States Senate elections coincided with the landslide re-election of President Ronald Reagan in the presidential election. In spite of the lopsided presidential race, Reagan's Republican Party suffered a net loss of two Senate seats to the Democrats, although it retained control of the Senate and gained seats in the House.
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 1974 United States Senate elections were held in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and Gerald Ford's subsequent pardon of Nixon. Economic issues, specifically inflation and stagnation, were also a factor that contributed to Republican losses. Democrats made a net gain of three seats from the Republicans. Following the 1974 elections, the Democratic caucus controlled 60 seats and the Republican caucus controlled 39 seats.
The 1972 United States Senate elections coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. After the elections, Democrats held 56 seats and Republicans held 42 seats, with 1 Conservative and 1 independent Senator. These were the first elections in which all citizens at least 18 years of age could vote due to the 1971 passage of the 26th Amendment.
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 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 1946 United States Senate elections were held November 5, 1946, in the middle of Democratic President Harry S. Truman's first term.
The United States Senate elections of 1940 coincided with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his third term as President.
The 1988 United States Senate election in Wisconsin took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator William Proxmire decided to retire, instead of running for re-election to a sixth full term. Democrat Herb Kohl won the open seat.
The 1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina was held on November 8, 1986 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford. This was a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress, being held contemporaneously with a regular election for a new six-year term. Sanford won both elections.
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