United States Senate elections, 1998
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The U.S. Senate election, 1998 was a roughly even contest between the Republican and Democratic parties. While the Democrats had more seats, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains failed to materialize. The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55-45 in favor of the Republicans. Because of gains made in the House of Representatives, it was 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 had failed to gain seats in the mid-term election of a President's second term.
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[edit] Results summary
Parties | Breakdown | Total Seats | Popular Vote | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Up | Elected | Not Up | 1996 | 1998 | +/- | 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% | ||
Independent | - | - | - | - | - | - | 32,025 | 0.059% | ||
Libertarian Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 419,452 | 0.775% | ||
Constitutional 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 |
[edit] Notable Races
[edit] Democratic gains
- Indiana: Democrat Evan Bayh, a former Indiana Governor, overwhelmingly defeated Republican Paul Helmke (Mayor of Fort Wayne) for the seat of retiring Senator Dan Coats (R-Indiana), which Bayh's father Birch Bayh (D-Indiana) had once held.
- New York: Three-term Senator Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.) was defeated in "one of 1998's most high profile and nastiest races" [1] by Congressman Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
- North Carolina: Trial lawyer John Edwards defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.) in a close race, making Faircloth the fourth incumbent in a row to lose this seat after one term.
[edit] Republican gains
- Illinois: Incumbent Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), the first African American woman elected to the Senate, was 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: Congressman Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) narrowly defeated Congressman Scotty Baesler (D-Ky.) for the seat left open by retiring Senator Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.). Bunning, a former pitcher in the Baseball Hall of Fame, outspent Baesler heavily in increasingly Republican Kentucky.
- Ohio: Republican Governor George Voinovich defeated former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle for the seat of retiring Senator John Glenn (D-Ohio). 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.
[edit] Senate contests in 1998
State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Richard C. Shelby | Republican | Re-elected, 63 - 37 | Clayton Suddith (Democrat) |
Alaska | Frank H. Murkowski | Republican | Re-elected, 75 - 20 | Joe Sonneman (Democrat) |
Arizona | John S. McCain III | Republican | Re-elected, 68 - 28 - 2 | Ed Ranger (Democrat) John C. Zajac (Libertarian) |
Arkansas | Dale L. Bumpers | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 55 - 42 | Blanche L. Lincoln (Democrat) Fay Boozman (Republican) |
California | Barbara L. Boxer | Democrat | Re-elected, 53 - 43 | Matt Fong (Republican) |
Colorado | Ben Nighthorse Campbell | Republican | Re-elected, 63 - 35 | Dottie Lamm (Democrat) |
Connecticut | Christopher J. Dodd | Democrat | Re-elected, 65 - 32 | Gary Franks (Republican) |
Florida | D. Robert Graham | Democrat | Re-elected, 63 - 37 | Charlie Crist (Republican) |
Georgia | Paul D. Coverdell | Republican | Re-elected, 52 - 45 | Michael Coles (Democrat) |
Hawaii | Daniel K. Inouye | Democrat | Re-elected, 79 - 18 | Crystal Young (Republican) |
Idaho | Dirk A. Kempthorne | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 70 - 28 | Michael D. Crapo (Republican) Bill Mauk (Democrat) |
Illinois | Carol Moseley-Braun | Democrat | Defeated, 51 - 47 | Peter G. Fitzgerald (Republican) |
Indiana | Daniel R. Coats | Republican | Retired: Democratic victory, 64 - 35 | B. Evans "Evan" Bayh III (Democrat) Paul Helmke (Republican) |
Iowa | Charles E. Grassley | Republican | Re-elected, 68 - 31 | David Osterberg (Democrat) |
Kansas | Samuel D. Brownback | Republican | Re-elected, 65 - 32 | Paul Feleciano Jr. (Democrat) |
Kentucky | Wendell H. Ford | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 50 - 49 | James P. Bunning (Republican) Scotty Baesler (Democrat) |
Louisiana | John B. Breaux | Democrat | Re-elected, 64 - 32 | Jim Donelon (Republican) |
Maryland | Barbara A. Mikulski | Democrat | Re-elected, 71 - 29 | Ross Pierpont (Republican) |
Missouri | Christopher S. "Kit" Bond | Republican | Re-elected, 53 - 44 | Jay Nixon (Democrat) |
Nevada | Harry M. Reid | Democrat | Re-elected, 48 - 48 | John E. Ensign (Republican) |
New Hampshire | Judd A. Gregg | Republican | Re-elected, 68 - 28 | George Condodemetraky (Democrat) |
New York | Alfonse M. D'Amato | Republican | Defeated, 54 - 45 | Charles E. Schumer (Democrat) |
North Carolina | D. McLaughlin "Lauch" Faircloth | Republican | Defeated, 51 - 47 | John Edwards (Democrat) |
North Dakota | Byron L. Dorgan | Democrat | Re-elected, 63 - 35 | Donna Nalewaja (Republican) |
Ohio | John H. Glenn Jr. | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 56 - 44 | George V. Voinovich (Republican) Mary O. Boyle (Democrat) |
Oklahoma | Donald L. Nickles | Republican | Re-elected, 66 - 31 | Don Carroll (Democrat) |
Oregon | Ronald L. Wyden | Democrat | Re-elected, 59 - 36 | John Lim (Republican) |
Pennsylvania | Arlen Specter | Republican | Re-elected, 61 - 35 | Bill Lloyd (Democrat) |
South Carolina | Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings | Democrat | Re-elected, 53 - 46 | Bob Inglis (Republican) |
South Dakota | Thomas A. Daschle | Democrat | Re-elected, 62 - 36 | Ron Schmidt (Republican) |
Utah | Robert F. Bennett | Republican | Re-elected, 64 - 33 | Scott Leckman (Democrat) |
Vermont | Patrick J. Leahy | Democrat | Re-elected, 72 - 23 | Fred Tuttle (Republican) |
Washington | Patricia Murray | Democrat | Re-elected, 58 - 42 | Linda Smith (Republican) |
Wisconsin | Russell D. Feingold | Democrat | Re-elected, 51 - 49 | Mark Neumann (Republican) |
[edit] See also
[edit] Senate composition before and after elections
105th Congress Senate Composition | 106th Congress Senate Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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