United States Senate elections, 1998
history| title = Majority Leader | before_election = Trent Lott | before_party = Republican Party (United States) | after_election = Trent Lott | after_party = Republican Party (United States) }}
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 Republicans picked-up open seats in Ohio and Kentucky and defeated incumbent Senator Carol Mosley-Braun (D-IL), but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Senators Al D'Amato (R-NY) and Lauch Faircloth (R-NC). 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.
|align=left valign=top|Republican Party
|valign="top"|16
|valign="top"|16
|valign="top"| 39
|valign="top"| 55
|valign="top"| 55
|valign="top"|0
|valign="top"|25,346,613
|valign="top"|46.838%
|-
|align=left valign=top|Democratic Party
|valign="top"|18
|valign="top"|18
|valign="top"| 27
|valign="top"| 45
|valign="top"| 45
|valign="top"|0
|valign="top"|26,768,699
|valign="top"|49.466%
|-
|align=left valign=top|Independent
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|32,025
|valign="top"|0.059%
|-
|align=left valign=top|Libertarian Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|419,452
|valign="top"|0.775%
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF"|
|align=left valign=top|Constitutional Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|68,377
|valign="top"|0.126%
|-
|bgcolor="#66FFFF"|
|align=left valign=top|Independence Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|109,027
|valign="top"|0.201%
|-
|align=left valign=top|Green Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|21,861
|valign="top"|0.040%
|-
|bgcolor="#7FFFD4"|
|align=left valign=top|Reform Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|231,064
|valign="top"|0.427%
|-
|
|align=left valign=top|Socialist Workers Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|6,055
|valign="top"|0.011%
|-
|
|align=left valign=top|Conservative Party
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|274,220
|valign="top"|0.507%
|-
|bgcolor="#000000"|
|align=left valign=top| Other parties
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|427,845
|valign="top"|0.791%
|-
|bgcolor="#000000"|
|align=left valign=top| Scattering, Write-ins, etc.
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|-
|valign="top"|332,622
|valign="top"|0.615%
|- bgcolor=CCCCCC
|align=center colspan=2|'''TotalResults summary
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|Summary of the 1998 United States Senate election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left colspan=2 rowspan=2|Parties
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan=3|Breakdown
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan=3|Total Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan=2|Popular Vote
|- bgcolor=#E9E9E9
|align="center"|Up
|align="center"|Elected
|align="center"|Not Up
|align="center"|1996
|align="center"|1998
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|Vote
|align="center"|%
|-
Notable Races
Democratic gains
- Indiana: Former Indiana Governor Evan Bayh overwhelmingly defeated Republican Paul Helmke (Mayor of Fort Wayne) for the seat of retiring Senator Dan Coats (R-IN), which Bayh's father Birch Bayh (D-IN) had once held.
- New York: Three-term Senator Al D'Amato (R-NY) was defeated in "one of 1998's most high profile and nastiest races" [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/03/election/senate/new.york] by Congressman Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
- North Carolina: Trial lawyer John Edwards defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth (R-NC) in a close race, making Faircloth the fourth incumbent in a row to lose this seat after one term.
- Illinois: Incumbent Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL), the first African American woman elected to the Senate, was narrowly 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 Baseball Hall of Fameer, outspent Baesler heavily in increasingly Republican Kentucky.
- Ohio: Governor George Voinovich (R) defeated former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle (D) for the seat of retiring Senator John Glenn (D-OH). 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.
Senate contests in 1998
Winning candidates in bold
Republican pickups in ''''''
Democratic pickups in ''''''
Retiring Senators in ''''''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! State
! Incumbent
! Party
! Status
! Opposing Candidates
|-
| Alabama
| Richard C. Shelby
| Republican
| Re-elected, 63.2%
| Clayton Suddith (Democrat) 36.7%
|-
| Alaska
| Frank Murkowski
| Republican
| Re-elected, 74.5%
| Joe Sonneman (Democrat) 19.7%
Jeffrey Gottlieb (Green) 3.2%
Scott Kohlhaas (Libertarian) 2.3%
|-
| Arizona
| John McCain
| Republican
| Re-elected, 68.7%
| Ed Ranger (Democrat) 27.2%
John C. Zajac (Libertarian) 2.3%
Bob Park (Reform) 1.8%
|-
| Arkansas
| bgcolor="lightgrey" | Dale L. Bumpers
| Democratic
| Retired: Democratic victory
| Blanche Lincoln (Democrat) 55.1%
Fay Boozman (Republican) 42.2%
Charley E. Heffley (Reform) 2.7%
|-
| California
| Barbara Boxer
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 53%
| Matt Fong (Republican) 43%
Ted Brown (Libertarian) 1.1%
Timothy R. Erich (Reform) 1%
H. Joseph Perrin, Sr. (American Independent) 0.7%
Ophie C. Beltran (Peace & Freedom) 0.6%
Brian M. Rees (Natural Law) 0.6%
|-
| Colorado
| Ben Nighthorse Campbell
| Republican
| Re-elected, 62.5%
| Dottie Lamm (Democrat) 35%
David S. Segal (Libertarian) 1%
Kevin Swanson (American Constitution) 0.7%
Jeffrey Peckman (Natural Law) 0.3%
John Heckman (Concerns of People) 0.2%
Gary Swing (Pacifist) 0.1%
|-
| Connecticut
| Christopher Dodd
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 65.1%
| Gary Franks (Republican) 32.4%
William Kozak (Concerned Citizens) 1.3%
Lois A. Grasso (Term Limits) 0.7%
Wildey Moore (Libertarian) 0.5%
|-
| Florida
| Bob Graham
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 62.5%
| Charlie Crist (Republican) 37.5%
|-
| Georgia
| Paul Coverdell
| Republican
| Re-elected, 52.3%
| Michael Coles (Democrat) 45.3%
Bertil Armin Loftman (Libertarian) 2.5%
|-
| Hawaii
| Daniel Inouye
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 79.2%
| Crystal Young (Republican) 17.8%
Lloyd Mallan (Libertarian) 3%
|-
| Idaho
| bgcolor="lightgrey" | Dirk Kempthorne
| Republican
| Retired: Republican victory
| Mike Crapo (Republican) 69.5%
Bill Mauk (Democrat) 28.4%
George J. Mansfeld (Natural Law) 2%
|- bgcolor="#FFB3B3"
| Illinois
| Carol Moseley-Braun
| Democratic
| Defeated, 47.4%
| Peter Fitzgerald (Republican) 50.3%
Don A. Torgersen (Reform) 2.2%
Raymond W. Stalker (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.01%
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
| Indiana
| bgcolor="lightgrey" | Daniel R. Coats
| Republican
| Retired: Democratic victory
| Evan Bayh (Democrat) 63.7%
Paul Helmke (Republican) 34.8%
Rebecca Sink-Burris (Libertarian) 1.5%
|-
| Iowa
| Chuck Grassley
| Republican
| Re-elected, 68.4%
| David Osterberg (Democrat) 30.5%
Susan Marcus (Natural Law) 0.8%
Margaret Trowe (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
|-
| Kansas
| Sam Brownback
| Republican
| Re-elected, 65.3%
| Paul Feleciano Jr. (Democrat) 31.6%
Tom Oyler (Libertarian) 1.6%
Alvin Bauman (Reform) 1.5%
|- bgcolor="#FFB3B3"
| Kentucky
| bgcolor="lightgrey" | Wendell Ford
| Democratic
| Retired: Republican victory
| Jim Bunning (Republican) 49.7%
Scotty Baesler (Democrat) 49.2%
Charles R. Arbegust (Reform) 1.1%
|-
| Louisiana
| John Breaux
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 64%
| Jim Donelon (Republican) 32%
|-
| Maryland
| Barbara Mikulski
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 70.5%
| Ross Pierpont (Republican) 29.5%
|-
| Missouri
| Kit Bond
| Republican
| Re-elected, 52.7%
| Jay Nixon (Democrat) 43.8%
Tamara Millay (Libertarian) 2.0%
Curtis Frazier (U.S. Taxpayers) 1.0%
James F. Newport (Reform) 0.5%
|-
| Nevada
| Harry Reid
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 47.9%
| John Ensign (Republican) 47.8%
Michael Cloud (Libertarian) 1.9%
None of These Candidates 1.8%
Michael E. Williams (Natural Law) 0.6%
|-
| New Hampshire
| Judd Gregg
| Republican
| Re-elected, 67.8%
| George Condodemetraky (Democrat) 28.2%
Brian Christeson (Libertarian) 2.4%
Roy Kendel (Independent) 1.5%
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
| New York
| Al D'Amato
| Republican
| Defeated, 44.1%
| Chuck Schumer (Democrat) 54.6%
Corinne E. Kurtz (Marijuana Reform) 0.7%
Joel Kovel (Green) 0.3%
William P. Mc Millen (Libertarian) 0.2%
Rose Ana Berbeo (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
| North Carolina
| Lauch Faircloth
| Republican
| Defeated, 47%
| John Edwards (Democrat) 51.2%
Barbara Howe (Libertarian) 1.8%
|-
| North Dakota
| Byron Dorgan
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 63.1%
| Donna Nalewaja (Republican) 35.2%
Harley McLain (Libertarian) 1.7%
|- bgcolor="#FFB3B3"
| Ohio
| bgcolor="lightgrey" | John Glenn
| Democratic
| Retired: Republican victory
| George Voinovich (Republican) 56.5%
Mary Boyle (Democrat) 43.5%
|-
| Oklahoma
| Don Nickles
| Republican
| Re-elected, 66.4%
| Don Carroll (Democrat) 31.3%
Mike Morris (Independent) 1.8%
Argus W. Yandell, Jr. (Independent) 0.5%
|-
| Oregon
| Ron Wyden
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 61%
| John Lim (Republican) 33.8%
Karen Moskowitz (Green) 2.0%
Jim Brewster (Libertarian) 1.6%
Michael A. Campbell (Natural Law) 0.8%
Dean M. Braa (Socialist) 0.7%
|-
| Pennsylvania
| Arlen Specter
| Republican
| Re-elected, 61.3%
| Bill Lloyd (Democrat) 34.8%
Dean Snyder (Constitution) 2.3%
Jack Iannantuono (Libertarian) 1.6%
|-
| South Carolina
| Fritz Hollings
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 52.7%
| Bob Inglis (Republican) 45.7%
Richard Quillian (Libertarian) 1.6%
|-
| South Dakota
| Tom Daschle
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 62.1%
| Ron Schmidt (Republican) 36.4%
Byron Dale (Libertarian) 1.4%
|-
| Utah
| Robert Foster Bennett
| Republican
| Re-elected, 64%
| Scott Leckman (Democrat) 33%
Gary R. Van Horn (Independent American) 3%
|-
| Vermont
| Patrick Leahy
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 72.2%
| Fred Tuttle (Republican) 22.5%
Hugh Douglas (Libertarian) 2.0%
Barry M. Nelson (Independent) 1.4%
Bob Melamede (Vermont Grassroots) 1.2%
Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 0.6%
|-
| Washington
| Patty Murray
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 58.4%
| Linda Smith (Republican) 41.6%
|-
| Wisconsin
| Russ Feingold
| Democratic
| Re-elected, 50.6%
| Mark Neumann (Republican) 48.4%
Robert R. Raymond (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.5%
Tom Ender (Libertarian) 0.3%
Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.2%
|}»http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe1998/98senate.htm 1998 U.S. Senate Results. Federal Election Commission, Washington, D.C. April 1999. Retrieved May 30, 2008
- United States House elections, 1998
- United States gubernatorial elections, 1998
- United States Senate elections, 1996
- United States Senate elections, 2000
Senate composition before and after elections