1998 United States Senate elections

The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 1998, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. This was 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 open seats up 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.

1998 United States Senate elections

November 3, 1998
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Trent Lott Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader since June 12, 1996 January 3, 1995 Leader's seat Mississippi South Dakota Seats before 55 45 Seats after 55 45 Seat change Popular vote 25,346,613 26,768,699 Percentage 46.8% 49.5% Swing 2.7% 1.6% Seats up 16 18 Races won 16 18
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority leader before election Trent Lott Republican Elected Majority leader Trent Lott Republican

With Democrats gaining five seats in the House of Representatives, this marked the first time since 1934 that the party not in control of the White House failed to gain congressional seats in mid-term election cycles, which would also happen in 2002. These are the last Senate elections that resulted in no net change in the balance of power, the last time Democrats won a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina, and the last time both major parties were on the general election ballot in every race.

Results summary

↓

45	55
Democratic	Republican

Parties							Total
			Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Other
Last elections (1996) Before the elections			45	55	0	0	100
Not up			27	39	—	—	66
Up Class 3 (1992→1998)			18	16	—	—	34
	Incumbent retired		3	2	—	—	5
		Held by same party	1	1	—	—	2
		Replaced by other party	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 2 Democrats replaced by 2 Republicans		—	—	3
		Result	2	3	—	—	5
	Incumbent ran		15	14	—	—	29
		Won re-election	14	12	—	—	26
		Lost re-election	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	—	3
		Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	0	—	—	0
		Result	16	13	—	—	29
	Total elected		18	16	0	0	34
	Net gain/loss						0
	Nationwide vote		26,768,699	25,346,613	419,452	1,580,287	54,115,051
		Share	49.47%	46.84%	0.78%	2.92%	100%
	Result		45	55	—	—	100

Source: Office of the Clerk

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Two Republicans and three Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Arkansas	Dale Bumpers	Blanche Lincoln
Idaho	Dirk Kempthorne	Mike Crapo
Indiana	Dan Coats	Evan Bayh
Kentucky	Wendell Ford	Jim Bunning
Ohio	John Glenn	George Voinovich

Defeats

One Democrat and two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Illinois	Carol Moseley Braun	Peter Fitzgerald
New York	Al D'Amato	Chuck Schumer
North Carolina	Lauch Faircloth	John Edwards

Post-election changes

Two Republicans died during the 106th Congress, and initially were all replaced by appointees.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Georgia (Class 3)	Paul Coverdell	Zell Miller
Rhode Island (Class 1)	John Chafee	Lincoln Chafee

Change in composition

Before the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28 Ark. Retired	D29 Calif. Ran	D30 Conn. Ran
D40 Ore. Ran	D39 Ohio Retired	D38 N.D. Ran	D37 Nev. Ran	D36 Md. Ran	D35 La. Ran	D34 Ky. Retired	D33 Ill. Ran	D32 Hawaii Ran	D31 Fla. Ran
D41 S.C. Ran	D42 S.D. Ran	D43 Vt. Ran	D44 Wash. Ran	D45 Wisc. Ran	R55 Utah Ran	R54 Pa. Ran	R53 Okla. Ran	R52 N.C. Ran	R51 N.Y. Ran
Majority →
R41 Alaska Ran	R42 Ariz. Ran	R43 Colo. Ran	R44 Ga. Ran	R45 Idaho Retired	R46 Ind. Retired	R47 Iowa Ran	R48 Kans. Ran	R49 Mo. Ran	R50 N.H. Ran
R40 Ala. Ran	R39	R38	R37	R36	R35	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28 Ark. Hold	D29 Calif. Re-elected	D30 Conn. Re-elected
D40 Vt. Re-elected	D39 S.D. Re-elected	D38 S.C. Re-elected	D37 Ore. Re-elected	D36 N.D. Re-elected	D35 Nev. Re-elected	D34 Md. Re-elected	D33 La. Re-elected	D32 Hawaii Re-elected	D31 Fla. Re-elected
D41 Wash. Re-elected	D42 Wisc. Re-elected	D43 Ind. Gain	D44 N.Y. Gain	D45 N.C. Gain	R55 Ohio Gain	R54 Ky. Gain	R53 Ill. Gain	R52 Utah Re-elected	R51 Pa. Re-elected
Majority →
R41 Alaska Re-elected	R42 Ariz. Re-elected	R43 Colo. Re-elected	R44 Ga. Re-elected	R45 Idaho Hold	R46 Iowa Re-elected	R47 Kans. Re-elected	R48 Mo. Re-elected	R49 N.H. Re-elected	R50 Okla. Re-elected
R40 Ala. Re-elected	R39	R38	R37	R36	R35	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key	D# Democratic R# Republican

Race summary

Special elections during the 105th Congress

There were no special elections in 1998.

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1999; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Richard Shelby	Republican	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Richard Shelby (Republican) 63.2% ▌Clayton Suddith (Democratic) 36.7%
Alaska	Frank Murkowski	Republican	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Frank Murkowski (Republican) 74.5% ▌Joe Sonneman (Democratic) 19.7% ▌Jeffrey Gottlieb (Green) 3.2% ▌Scott Kohlhaas (Libertarian) 2.3%
Arizona	John McCain	Republican	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John McCain (Republican) 68.7% ▌Ed Ranger (Democratic) 27.2% Others ▌John C. Zajac (Libertarian) 2.3% ▌Bob Park (Reform) 1.8%
Arkansas	Dale Bumpers	Democratic	1974 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Blanche Lincoln (Democratic) 55.1% ▌Fay Boozman (Republican) 42.2% ▌Charley E. Heffley (Reform) 2.7%
California	Barbara Boxer	Democratic	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Barbara Boxer (Democratic) 53% ▌Matt Fong (Republican) 43% Others ▌Ted Brown (Libertarian) 1.1% ▌Timothy R. Erich (Reform) 1% ▌H. Joseph Perrin, Sr. (American Independent) 0.7% ▌Ophie C. Beltran (Peace and Freedom) 0.6% ▌Brian M. Rees (Natural Law) 0.6%
Colorado	Ben Nighthorse Campbell	Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Republican) 62.5% ▌Dottie Lamm (Democratic) 35.0% Others ▌David S. Segal (Libertarian) 1.0% ▌Kevin Swanson (American Constitution) 0.7% ▌Jeff Peckman (Natural Law) 0.3% ▌John Heckman (Concerns of People) 0.2% ▌Gary Swing (Pacifist) 0.1%
Connecticut	Chris Dodd	Democratic	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Chris Dodd (Democratic) 65.1% ▌Gary Franks (Republican) 32.4% Others ▌William Kozak (Concerned Citizens) 1.3% ▌Lois A. Grasso (Term Limits) 0.7% ▌Wildey Moore (Libertarian) 0.5%
Florida	Bob Graham	Democratic	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Graham (Democratic) 62.5% ▌Charlie Crist (Republican) 37.5%
Georgia	Paul Coverdell	Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Paul Coverdell (Republican) 52.3% ▌Michael Coles (Democratic) 45.3% ▌Bertil Armin Loftman (Libertarian) 2.5%
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye	Democratic	1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Daniel Inouye (Democratic) 79.2% ▌Crystal Young (Republican) 17.8% ▌Lloyd Mallan (Libertarian) 3%
Idaho	Dirk Kempthorne	Republican	1992	Incumbent retired to run for Governor of Idaho. Republican hold.	▌Y Mike Crapo (Republican) 69.5% ▌Bill Mauk (Democratic) 28.4% ▌George J. Mansfeld (Natural Law) 2%
Illinois	Carol Moseley Braun	Democratic	1992	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Peter Fitzgerald (Republican) 50.3% ▌Carol Moseley Braun (Democratic) 47.4% Others ▌Don A. Torgersen (Reform) 2.2% ▌Raymond W. Stalker (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.01%
Indiana	Dan Coats	Republican	1989 (appointed) 1990 (special) 1992	Incumbent retired. Democratic gain.	▌Y Evan Bayh (Democratic) 63.7% ▌Paul Helmke (Republican) 34.8% ▌Rebecca Sink-Burris (Libertarian) 1.5%
Iowa	Chuck Grassley	Republican	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Chuck Grassley (Republican) 68.4% ▌David Osterberg (Democratic) 30.5% Others ▌Susan Marcus (Natural Law) 0.8% ▌Margaret Trowe (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
Kansas	Sam Brownback	Republican	1996 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Sam Brownback (Republican) 65.3% ▌Paul Feleciano Jr. (Democratic) 31.6% Others ▌Tom Oyler (Libertarian) 1.6% ▌Alvin Bauman (Reform) 1.5%
Kentucky	Wendell Ford	Democratic	1974 1974 (appointed) 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	▌Y Jim Bunning (Republican) 49.7% ▌Scotty Baesler (Democratic) 49.2% ▌Charles R. Arbegust (Reform) 1.1%
Louisiana	John Breaux	Democratic	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Breaux (Democratic) 64% ▌Jim Donelon (Republican) 32%
Maryland	Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Barbara Mikulski (Democratic) 70.5% ▌Ross Pierpont (Republican) 29.5%
Missouri	Kit Bond	Republican	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Kit Bond (Republican) 52.7% ▌Jay Nixon (Democratic) 43.8% Others ▌Tamara Millay (Libertarian) 2.0% ▌Curtis Frazier (U.S. Taxpayers) 1.0% ▌James F. Newport (Reform) 0.5%
Nevada	Harry Reid	Democratic	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Harry Reid (Democratic) 47.9% ▌John Ensign (Republican) 47.8% Others ▌Michael Cloud (Libertarian) 1.9% None of These Candidates 1.8% ▌Michael E. Williams (Natural Law) 0.6%
New Hampshire	Judd Gregg	Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Judd Gregg (Republican) 67.8% ▌George Condodemetraky (Democratic) 28.2% Others ▌Brian Christeson (Libertarian) 2.4% ▌Roy Kendel (Independent) 1.5%
New York	Al D'Amato	Republican	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	▌Y Chuck Schumer (Democratic) 54.6% ▌Al D'Amato (Republican) 44.1% Others ▌Corinne E. Kurtz (Marijuana Reform) 0.7% ▌Joel Kovel (Green) 0.3% ▌William P. McMillen (Libertarian) 0.2% ▌Rose Ana Berbeo (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
North Carolina	Lauch Faircloth	Republican	1992	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	▌Y John Edwards (Democratic) 51.2% ▌Lauch Faircloth (Republican) 47.0% ▌Barbara Howe (Libertarian) 1.8%
North Dakota	Byron Dorgan	Democratic-NPL	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Byron Dorgan (Democratic-NPL) 63.1% ▌Donna Nalewaja (Republican) 35.2% ▌Harley McLain (Libertarian) 1.7%
Ohio	John Glenn	Democratic	1974 1974 (appointed) 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	▌Y George Voinovich (Republican) 56.5% ▌Mary Boyle (Democratic) 43.5%
Oklahoma	Don Nickles	Republican	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Don Nickles (Republican) 66.4% ▌Don Carroll (Democratic) 31.3% Others ▌Mike Morris (Independent) 1.8% ▌Argus W. Yandell, Jr. (Independent) 0.5%
Oregon	Ron Wyden	Democratic	1996 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ron Wyden (Democratic) 61% ▌John Lim (Republican) 33.8% Others ▌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	1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Arlen Specter (Republican) 61.3% ▌Bill Lloyd (Democratic) 34.8% Others ▌Dean Snyder (Constitution) 2.3% ▌Jack Iannantuono (Libertarian) 1.6%
South Carolina	Fritz Hollings	Democratic	1966 (special) 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Fritz Hollings (Democratic) 52.7% ▌Bob Inglis (Republican) 45.7% ▌Richard Quillian (Libertarian) 1.6%
South Dakota	Tom Daschle	Democratic	1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tom Daschle (Democratic) 62.1% ▌Ron Schmidt (Republican) 36.4% ▌Byron Dale (Libertarian) 1.4%
Utah	Bob Bennett	Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Bennett (Republican) 64% ▌Scott Leckman (Democratic) 33% ▌Gary R. Van Horn (Independent American) 3%
Vermont	Patrick Leahy	Democratic	1974 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Patrick Leahy (Democratic) 72.2% ▌Fred Tuttle (Republican) 22.5% Others ▌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	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Patty Murray (Democratic) 58.4% ▌Linda Smith (Republican) 41.6%
Wisconsin	Russ Feingold	Democratic	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Russ Feingold (Democratic) 50.6% ▌Mark Neumann (Republican) 48.4% Others ▌Robert R. Raymond (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.5% ▌Tom Ender (Libertarian) 0.3% ▌Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.2%

Closest races

Eight races had a margin of less than 10%:

State	Party of winner	Margin
Nevada	Democratic	0.09%
Kentucky	Republican (flip)	0.59%
Wisconsin	Democratic	2.1%
Illinois	Republican (flip)	2.9%
North Carolina	Democratic (flip)	4.1%
South Carolina	Democratic	7.0%
Georgia	Republican	7.2%
Missouri	Republican	8.9%

Ohio was the tipping point state with a margin of 13%.

Alabama

Alabama election

Nominee Richard Shelby Clayton Suddith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 817,973 474,568 Percentage 63.2% 36.7%

County results Shelby:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Suddith:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Richard Shelby Republican Elected U.S. Senator Richard Shelby Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama

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.

1998 United States Senate election in Alabama

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	817,973	63.2%
	Democratic	Clayton Suddith	474,568	36.7%
	Independent	Write-ins	864	0.1%
Majority			343,405	26.5%
Turnout			1,293,405	100.0%
	Republican hold

Alaska

Alaska election

Nominee Frank Murkowski Joseph Sonneman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 165,227 43,743 Percentage 74.5% 19.7%

Results by state house district Murkowski:      40–50%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Frank Murkowski Republican Elected U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Alaska

See also: List of United States senators from Alaska

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.

Open primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski (Incumbent)	76,649	71.76%
	Democratic	Joseph Sonneman	10,721	10.04%
	Democratic	Frank Vondersaar	6,342	5.94%
	Republican	William L. Hale	6,313	5.91%
	Green	Jeffrey Gottlieb	4,796	4.49%
	Libertarian	Scott A. Kohlhaas	1,987	1.86%
Total votes			106,808	100.00%
	Republican hold

1998 United States Senate election in Alaska

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski (Incumbent)	165,227	74.49%	+21.44%
	Democratic	Joe Sonneman	43,743	19.72%	−18.68%
	Green	Jeffrey Gottlieb	7,126	3.21%	−5.14%
	Libertarian	Scott A. Kohlhaas	5,046	2.27%
	Write-ins		665	0.30%
Majority			121,484	54.77%	+40.13%
Turnout			221,807
	Republican hold

Arizona

Arizona election

Nominee John McCain Ed Ranger Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 696,577 275,224 Percentage 68.7% 27.2%

County results McCain:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election John McCain Republican Elected U.S. Senator John McCain Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Arizona

See also: List of United States senators from Arizona

Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a third term over Democratic attorney Ed Ranger.

General election result

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John McCain (Incumbent)	696,577	68.74%	+12.93%
	Democratic	Ed Ranger	275,224	27.16%	−4.41%
	Libertarian	John C. Zajac	23,004	2.27%	+0.63%
	Reform	Bob Park	18,288	1.80%
	Write-ins		187	0.02%
Majority			421,353	41.58%	+17.34%
Turnout			1,013,280
	Republican hold

Arkansas

Arkansas election

Nominee Blanche Lincoln Fay Boozman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 385,878 295,870 Percentage 55.1% 42.4%

County results Lincoln:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Boozman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Dale Bumpers Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas

Incumbent Dale Bumpers retired. U.S. Representative Blanche Lincoln won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Blanche Lincoln	145,009	45.5%
	Democratic	Winston Bryant	87,183	27.4%
	Democratic	Scott Ferguson	44,761	14.0%
	Democratic	Nate Coulter	41,848	13.1%
Total votes			318,801	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fay Boozman	128,929	78.0%
	Republican	Tom Prince	44,006	22.0%
Total votes			172,035	100.00%

Arkansas Senate election 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Blanche Lincoln	385,878	55.1%
	Republican	Fay Boozman	295,870	42.2%
	Reform	Charley E. Heffley	18,896	2.7%
Majority			90,008	12.9%
Turnout			700,644	100.0%
	Democratic hold

California

California election

Nominee Barbara Boxer Matt Fong Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,411,705 3,576,351 Percentage 53.1% 43.0%

County results Boxer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Fong:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Barbara Boxer Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in California

See also: List of United States senators from California

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer won re-election to a second term.

1998 United States Senate Democratic primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Barbara Boxer (Incumbent)		2,574,264	92.15%
John Pinkerton		219,250	7.85%
Total votes		2,793,514	100.00%

1998 United States Senate Republican primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Matt Fong		1,292,662	45.28%
Darrell Issa		1,142,567	40.02%
Frank Riggs		295,886	10.36%
John M. Brown		48,941	1.71%
Mark Raus		45,480	1.59%
Linh Dao		29,241	1.02%
Total votes		2,854,777	100.00%

1998 United States Senate primary, California (Others)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Ted Brown	67,408	100.00%
	Peace and Freedom	Ophie C. Beltran	52,306	100.00%
	Reform	Timothy R. Erich	45,601	100.00%
	American Independent	Joseph Perrin, Sr.	24,026	100.00%
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	23,945	100.00%

Although the race was predicted 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.

1998 United States Senate election, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara Boxer (Incumbent)	4,410,056	53.06%
	Republican	Matt Fong	3,575,078	43.01%
	Libertarian	Ted Brown	93,926	1.13%
	Reform	Timothy R. Erich	82,918	1.00%
	American Independent	Joseph Perrin, Sr.	54,699	0.66%
	Peace and Freedom	Ophie C. Beltran	48,685	0.56%
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	46,543	0.59%
Total votes			8,311,905	100.00%
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Colorado

Colorado election

Nominee Ben Nighthorse Campbell Dottie Lamm Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 829,370 464,754 Percentage 62.5% 35.0%

County results Nighthorse Campbell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Lamm:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Ben Nighthorse Campbell Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Colorado

See also: List of United States senators from Colorado

Incumbent Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell won re-election to a second term.

Colorado Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dottie Lamm	84,929	57.98%
	Democratic	Gil Romero	61,548	42.02%
Total votes			146,477	100.00%

Colorado Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Incumbent)	154,702	70.62%
	Republican	Bill Eggert	64,347	29.38%
Total votes			219,049	100.00%

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. In fact, throughout the entire campaign, Lamm mostly sent out negative attack advertisements about Campbell.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Incumbent)	829,370	62.49%	+19.78%
	Democratic	Dottie Lamm	464,754	35.02%	−16.76%
	Libertarian	David S. Segal	14,024	1.06%	+1.06%
	Constitution	Kevin Swanson	9,775	0.74%
	Natural Law	Jeffrey Peckham	4,101	0.31%
	Independent	John Heckman	3,230	0.24%
	Independent	Gary Swing	1,981	0.15%
Majority			364,616	27.47%	+18.40%
Turnout			1,327,235
	Republican hold		Swing

Connecticut

Connecticut election

Nominee Chris Dodd Gary A. Franks Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 628,306 312,177 Percentage 65.2% 32.4%

Dodd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Franks:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Chris Dodd Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chris Dodd Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut

Incumbent Democrat Chris Dodd won re-election for a fourth term against former Republican U.S. Congressman Gary A. Franks.

Connecticut Senate election 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Dodd (Incumbent)	628,306	65.2%
	Republican	Gary A. Franks	312,177	32.4%
	Concerned Citizens	William Kozak	12,261	1.3%
	Independent	Lois A. Grasso	6,517	0.7%
	Libertarian	Wildey J. Moore	5,196	0.5%
Majority			316,129	32.8%
Turnout			964,457	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Florida

Florida election

Nominee Bob Graham Charlie Crist Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,436,407 1,463,755 Percentage 62.5% 37.5%

Graham:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Crist:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Bob Graham Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Bob Graham Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Florida

See also: List of United States senators from Florida

Incumbent Democrat Bob Graham won re-election to a third term.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Graham (Incumbent)	909,349	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charlie Crist	365,894	66.40%
	Republican	Andy Martin	184,739	33.60%
Total votes			550,633	100.00%

Graham defeated Crist in a landslide, as Crist won just four counties in the state. There were no third party or independent candidates.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Daniel Robert Graham (incumbent)	2,436,407	62.47%	−2.93%
	Republican	Charles Joseph Crist, Jr.	1,463,755	37.53%	+2.94%
Majority			972,652	24.94%	−5.87%
Turnout			3,900,162	46.84%
Total votes			3,900,162	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Georgia

Georgia election

Nominee Paul Coverdell Michael Coles Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 918,540 791,904 Percentage 52.37% 45.15%

County results Coverdell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Coles:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Paul Coverdell Republican Elected U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

Incumbent Republican Paul Coverdell won re-election to a second term.

1998 Georgia United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Coverdell (Incumbent)	918,540	52.37%
	Democratic	Michael Coles	791,904	45.15%
	Libertarian	Bert Loftman	43,467	2.48%
	Socialist Workers	Daniel Fein (write-in)	42	0.00%
Majority			126,636	7.22%
Turnout			1,753,953
	Republican hold

Hawaii

Hawaii election

Nominee Daniel Inouye Crystal Young Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 315,252 70,964 Percentage 79.2% 17.8%

County results Inouye:      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Daniel Inouye Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Hawaii

See also: List of United States senators from Hawaii

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Inouye won re-election to a seventh term over Republican legislative aide Crystal Young.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Inouye (Incumbent)	315,252	79.2%
	Republican	Crystal Young	70,964	17.8%
	Libertarian	Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan	11,908	3.0%
Majority			244,288	61.4%
Turnout			398,124	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Idaho

Idaho election

Nominee Mike Crapo Bill Mauk Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 262,966 107,375 Percentage 69.5% 28.4%

County results Crapo:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Dirk Kempthorne Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mike Crapo Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Idaho

See also: List of United States senators from Idaho

Incumbent Republican Dirk Kempthorne decided to retire after one term to run for governor. Republican nominee Mike Crapo won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Mauk	22,503	100.00%
Total votes			22,503	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Crapo	110,205	87.27%
	Republican	Matt Lambert	16,075	12.73%
Total votes			126,280	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Crapo	262,966	69.54%	+13.01%
	Democratic	Bill Mauk	107,375	28.39%	−15.08%
	Natural Law	George J. Mansfeld	7,833	2.07%
Majority			155,591	41.14%	+28.10%
Turnout			378,174
	Republican hold

Illinois

Illinois election

Nominee Peter Fitzgerald Carol Moseley Braun Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,709,042 1,610,496 Percentage 50.4% 47.4%

County results Fitzgerald:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Braun:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Carol Moseley Braun Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois

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 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.

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.

Peter Fitzgerald, a State Senator, won the Republican primary, defeating Illinois Comptroller Loleta Didrickson with 51.8% of the vote, to Didrickson's 48.2%. Fitzgerald spent nearly $7 million in the Republican primary. He had a major financial advantage, as he was a multimillionaire. He ended up spending $12 million in his election victory.

In September, Moseley Braun created controversy again by using the word "nigger" to describe how she claims to be a victim of racism.

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 Lady Hillary 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.

Moseley Braun was narrowly defeated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. Moseley Braun only won five 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 was not quite enough to win.

1998 Illinois United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Peter Fitzgerald	1,709,041	50.35%	+7.4%
	Democratic	Carol Moseley Braun (Incumbent)	1,610,496	47.44%	−5.6%
	Reform	Don Torgersen	74,704	2.20%	0.00%
	US Taxpayers	Raymond Stalker	280	0.01%	0.00%
Majority			98,545	2.91%	0.00%
Turnout			3,394,521
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Indiana

Indiana election

Nominee Evan Bayh Paul Helmke Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,012,244 552,732 Percentage 63.7% 34.8%

County results Bayh:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80-90% Helmke:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election Dan Coats Republican Elected U.S. Senator Evan Bayh Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana

Incumbent Republican Dan Coats decided to retire instead of seeking a second full term. Democratic nominee, former Governor Evan Bayh won the open seat his father once held.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Evan Bayh	1,012,244	63.7%
	Republican	Paul Helmke	552,732	34.8%
	Libertarian	Rebecca Sink-Burris	23,641	1.5%
Majority			459,512
Turnout			1,588,617
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Iowa

Iowa election

Nominee Chuck Grassley David Osterberg Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 648,480 289,049 Percentage 68.41% 30.49%

County results Grassley:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Chuck Grassley Republican Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Iowa

See also: List of United States senators from Iowa

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.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Osterberg	86,064	99.45%
	Democratic	Write-ins	476	0.55%
Total votes			86,540	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley (Incumbent)	149,943	99.72%
	Republican	Write-ins	419	0.28%
Total votes			150,362	100.00%

1998 United States Senate election in Iowa

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley (Incumbent)	648,480	68.41%	−1.20%
	Democratic	David Osterberg	289,049	30.49%	+3.29%
	Natural Law	Susan Marcus	7,561	0.80%	−0.47%
	Socialist Workers	Margaret Trowe	2,542	0.27%	+0.16%
	Write-ins		275	0.03%
Majority			359,431	37.92%	−4.50%
Turnout			947,907
	Republican hold

Kansas

Kansas election

Nominee Sam Brownback Paul Feleciano Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 474,639 229,718 Percentage 65.3% 31.6%

County results Brownback:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Feleciano:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Sam Brownback Republican Elected U.S. Senator Sam Brownback Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Kansas

See also: List of United States senators from Kansas

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.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Feleciano, Jr.	58,097	58.73%
	Democratic	Todd Covault	40,825	41.27%
Total votes			98,922	100.00%

Republican Party primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Brownback (Incumbent)	255,747	100.00%
Total votes			255,747	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sam Brownback (Incumbent)	474,639	65.27%	+11.35%
	Democratic	Paul Feleciano, Jr.	229,718	31.59%	−11.74%
	Libertarian	Tom Oyler	11,545	1.59%
	Reform	Alvin Bauman	11,334	1.56%	−1.20%
Majority			244,921	33.68%	+23.10%
Turnout			727,236
	Republican hold

Kentucky

Kentucky election

Nominee Jim Bunning Scotty Baesler Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 569,817 563,051 Percentage 49.8% 49.2%

County results Bunning:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Baesler:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Wendell Ford Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Bunning Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky

Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator Wendell Ford decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican Representative Jim Bunning won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	194,125	34.16%
	Democratic	Charlie Owen	166,472	29.29%
	Democratic	Steve Henry	156,576	27.55%
	Democratic	Jim Brown	19,975	3.51%
	Democratic	David L. Williams	16,366	2.88%
	Democratic	Ken Buchanan Thompson	14,778	2.60%
Total votes			568,292	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bunning	152,493	74.28%
	Republican	Barry Metcalf	52,798	25.72%
Total votes			205,291	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Bunning	569,817	49.75%	+13.94%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	563,051	49.16%	−13.73%
	Reform	Charles R. Arbegust	12,546	1.10%
Majority			6,766	0.59%	−26.48%
Total votes			1,145,414	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Louisiana

Louisiana election

Nominee John Breaux Jim Donelon Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 620,502 306,616 Percentage 64.0% 31.6%

Parish results Breaux:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Donelon:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election John Breaux Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Breaux Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana

Incumbent Democrat John Breaux won re-election to a third term. As of 2022, this is the last time the Democrats have won the Class 3 Senate Seat from Louisiana.

1998 Louisiana United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Breaux (Incumbent)	620,502	64.0%
	Republican	Jim Donelon	306,616	31.6%
	Independent	Raymond Brown	12,203	1.3%
	Independent	Sam Houston Melton	9,893	1.0%
	Independent	Darryl Paul Ward	7,964	0.8%
	Independent	L. D. Knox	6,366	0.7%
	Independent	Jeffrey H. Diket	3,227	0.3%
	Independent	Martin A. Rosenthal	2,398	0.3%
Majority			313,886	32.4%
Turnout			969,169	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Maryland

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

Maryland election

Nominee Barbara Mikulski Ross Pierpont Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,062,810 444,637 Percentage 70.5% 29.5%

County results Mikulski:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Pierpont:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Barbara Mikulski Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Mikulski won re-election to a third term.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)	349,382	84.36%
	Democratic	Ann L. Mallory	43,120	10.41%
	Democratic	Kauko H. Kokkonen	21,658	5.23%
Total votes			414,160	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ross Z. Pierpont	32,691	18.40%
	Republican	John Taylor	22,855	12.87%
	Republican	Michael Gloth	19,926	11.22%
	Republican	Kenneth Wayman	16,505	9.29%
	Republican	Bradlyn McClanahan	16,439	9.25%
	Republican	Howard David Greyber	16,177	9.11%
	Republican	John Stafford	15,031	8.46%
	Republican	George Liebmann	14,440	8.13%
	Republican	Barry Steve Asbury	11,881	6.69%
	Republican	Thomas Scott	11,707	6.59%
Total votes			177,652	100.00%

1998 United States Senate election in Maryland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)	1,062,810	70.50%	−0.51%
	Republican	Ross Z. Pierpont	444,637	29.50%	+0.51%
Majority			618,173	41.01%	−1.02%
Total votes			1,507,447	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Missouri

Missouri election

Nominee Kit Bond Jay Nixon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 830,625 690,208 Percentage 52.7% 43.8%

County results Bond:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Nixon:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Kit Bond Republican Elected U.S. Senator Kit Bond Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri

Incumbent Republican Kit Bond won re-election to a third term.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kit Bond (Incumbent)	830,625	52.68%
	Democratic	Jay Nixon	690,208	43.77%
	Libertarian	Tamara Millay	31,876	2.02%
	Constitution	Curtis Frazier	15,368	0.98%
	Reform	James Newport	8,780	0.56%
Majority			140,417	8.90%
Turnout			1,576,857
	Republican hold

Nevada

Nevada election

Nominee Harry Reid John Ensign Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 208,621 208,220 Percentage 47.9% 47.8%

County results Reid:      50–60% Ensign:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Harry Reid Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harry Reid Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Nevada

See also: List of United States senators from Nevada

Incumbent Democrat Harry Reid won re-election to a third term.

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ensign	105,263	80.57%
	Republican	Ralph W. Stephens	13,679	10.47%
	Republican	None of these candidates	11,704	8.96%
Total votes			130,646	100.00%

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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harry Reid (Incumbent)	208,621	47.86%	−3.19%
	Republican	John Ensign	208,220	47.77%	+7.56%
	Libertarian	Michael Cloud	8,129	1.87%	+0.41%
	None of These Candidates		8,113	1.86%	-0.79%
	Natural Law	Michael E. Williams	2,781	0.64%	−0.83%
Majority			401	0.09%	−10.74%
Turnout			435,864
	Democratic hold

New Hampshire

New Hampshire election

Nominee Judd Gregg George Condodemetraky Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 213,477 88,883 Percentage 67.8% 28.2%

Gregg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Condodemetraky:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Judd Gregg Republican Elected U.S. Senator Judd Gregg Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire

Incumbent Republican Judd Gregg won re-election to his second term.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Judd Gregg (Incumbent)	213,477	67.8%
	Democratic	George Condodemetraky	88,883	28.2%
	Libertarian	Brian Christeson	7,603	2.4%
	Independent American	Roy Kendel	4,733	1.5%
Majority			124,594	39.6%
Turnout			314,696	100.0%
	Republican hold

New York

New York election

Nominee Chuck Schumer Al D'Amato Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,551,065 2,058,988 Percentage 54.6% 44.1%

County results Schumer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% D'Amato:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Al D'Amato Republican Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York

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.

Geraldine Ferraro, former U.S. Representative and nominee for Vice President in 1984, was well known for having been the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee and had also run but lost in the Democratic primary in the 1992 U.S. Senate election in New York. Mark Green, New York City Public Advocate, had been the Democratic nominee in the 1986 election, but lost in the general election to D'Amato.

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; indeed, December and January polls had her 25 percentage points ahead of Green in the race and even further ahead of Schumer. Unlike her previous campaigns, Ferraro's family finances never became an issue in 1998. However, she lost ground during the summer, with Schumer catching her in the polls by early August and then soon passing her. Schumer, a tireless fundraiser, outspent her by a five-to-one margin, and Ferraro failed to establish a political image current with the times. In the September 15, 1998, primary, she was beaten soundly by Schumer with a 51 percent to 26 percent margin. 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.

The primaries were held on September 15, 1998.

Democratic primary for the 1998 United States Senate election in New York

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chuck Schumer	388,701	50.84%
	Democratic	Geraldine Ferraro	201,625	26.37%
	Democratic	Mark Green	145,819	19.07%
	Democratic	Eric Ruano-Melendez	28,493	3.73%

Independence Party primary for the 1998 United States Senate election in New York

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independence	Chuck Schumer	2,562	58.04%
	Independence	Mark Green	1,852	41.96%

Right to Life Party primary for the 1998 United States Senate election in New York

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Right to Life	Al D'Amato	3,798	63.07%
	Right to Life	Thomas Drolesky	2,224	36.93%

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.

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"). The senator later apologized.

In the last days of the campaign, D'Amato campaigned with popular Governor George Pataki, who was also running for re-election, and was also supported by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Mayor Ed Koch (a Democrat) Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton personally campaigned for Schumer, as D'Amato was a prominent critic of President Bill Clinton who led the investigation into Whitewater. Though the Republican party was well organized, the Democratic party benefited from robocalls from President Clinton and mobilization from two big unions, United Federation of Teachers and 1199.

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. Also, Schumer was a tenacious fund-raiser and was aggressive in his attacks. The candidates spent $30 million during the race.

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.

1998 United States Senate election in New York

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chuck Schumer	2,386,314
	Independence	Chuck Schumer	109,027
	Liberal	Chuck Schumer	55,724
	Total	Chuck Schumer	2,551,065	54.62%
	Republican	Al D'Amato	1,680,203
	Conservative	Al D'Amato	274,220
	Right to Life Party (New York)	Al D'Amato	104,565
	Total	Al D'Amato (Incumbent)	2,058,988	44.08%
	Marijuana Reform Party	Corinne Kurtz	34,281	0.73%
	Green	Joel Kovel	14,735	0.32%
	Libertarian	William McMillen	8,223	0.18%
	Socialist Workers	Rose Ana Berbeo	3,513	0.08%
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic gain from Republican

Per New York State law, Schumer and D'Amato totals include minor party line votes: Independence Party and Liberal Party for Schumer, Right to Life Party for D'Amato.

North Carolina

North Carolina election

Nominee John Edwards Lauch Faircloth Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,029,237 945,943 Percentage 51.15% 47.01%

County results Edwards:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Faircloth:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Lauch Faircloth Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Edwards Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina

Incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth decided to seek re-election to a second term, but was unseated by Democrat John Edwards.

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.

1998 North Carolina United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Edwards	1,029,237	51.15%
	Republican	Lauch Faircloth (Incumbent)	945,943	47.01%
	Libertarian	Barbara Howe	36,963	1.84%
Majority			83,294	4.14%
Turnout			2,012,143
	Democratic gain from Republican

North Dakota

North Dakota election

Nominee Byron Dorgan Donna Nalewaja Party Democratic–NPL Republican Popular vote 134,747 75,013 Percentage 63.2% 35.2%

County results Dorgan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election Byron Dorgan Democratic–NPL Elected U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan Democratic–NPL

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in North Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from North Dakota

Incumbent NPL–Democrat Byron Dorgan won re-election to a second term.

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 Mark Andrews.

1998 United States Senate election, North Dakota

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic–NPL	Byron Dorgan (Incumbent)	134,747	63.16%
	Republican	Donna Nalewaja	75,013	35.16%
	Reform	Harley McLain	3,598	1.69%
Majority
Turnout			213,358
	Democratic hold

Ohio

Ohio election

Nominee George Voinovich Mary Boyle Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,922,087 1,482,054 Percentage 56.5% 43.5%

County results Voinovich:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Boyle:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election John Glenn Democratic Elected U.S. Senator George Voinovich Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio

Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator John Glenn decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican Governor George Voinovich won the open seat.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George V. Voinovich	1,922,087	56.5%
	Democratic	Mary Boyle	1,482,054	43.5%
Majority			440,033	13.0%
Turnout			3,404,141	100.0%
	Republican hold

Oklahoma

Oklahoma election

Nominee Don Nickles Don Carroll Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 570,682 268,898 Percentage 66.4% 31.3%

County results Nickles:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Carroll:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Don Nickles Republican Elected U.S. Senator Don Nickles Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

See also: List of United States senators from Oklahoma

Incumbent Republican Don Nickles won re-election to his fourth term.

OK U.S. Senate Election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Nickles (Incumbent)	570,682	66.4%
	Democratic	Don Carroll	268,898	31.3%
	Independent	Mike Morris	15,516	1.8%
	Independent	Argus W. Jr. Yandell	4,617	0.4%
Majority			301,784	35.1%
Turnout			859,713	100.0%
	Republican hold

Oregon

Oregon election

Nominee Ron Wyden John Lim Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 682,425 377,739 Percentage 61.1% 33.8%

County results Wyden:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Lim:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Ron Wyden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon

See also: List of United States senators from Oregon

Incumbent Democratic Ron Wyden won re-election to his first full term, defeating Republican nominee John Lim, a state senator.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ron Wyden (Incumbent)	682,425	61.05%	+13.27%
	Republican	John Lim	377,739	33.79%	−12.47%
	Pacific Green	Karyn Moskowitz	22,024	1.97%	+1.37%
	Libertarian	Jim Brewster	18,221	1.63%	+0.32%
	Natural Law	Michael A. Campbell	8,372	0.75%	+0.75%
	Socialist	Dean M. Braa	7,553	0.68%	+.02%
	Write-In	Misc.	1,413	0.13%	−1.12%
Majority			304,686	27.26%	+25.74
Turnout			1,117,747
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

Nominee Arlen Specter Bill Lloyd Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,814,180 1,028,839 Percentage 61.3% 34.8%

County results Specter:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Lloyd:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Arlen Specter Republican Elected U.S. Senator Arlen Specter Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania

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, who was a well-respected party leader but who had almost zero statewide name recognition, was considered 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Arlen Specter (Incumbent)	1,814,180	61.3%
	Democratic	Bill Lloyd	1,028,839	34.8%
	Constitution	Dean Snyder	68,377	2.3%
	Libertarian	Jack Iannantuono	46,103	1.6%
Majority			785,341	26.5%
Turnout			2,957,499	100.0%
	Republican hold

South Carolina

South Carolina election

Nominee Ernest Hollings Bob Inglis Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 563,377 488,238 Percentage 52.70% 45.67%

County results Hollings:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Inglis:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Ernest Hollings Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina

Incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings won re-election to his sixth full term. As of 2023, this is the last time Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in South Carolina.

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election Primary, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Inglis	115,029	74.6%
	Republican	Stephen Brown	33,530	21.7%
	Republican	Elton Legrand	5,634	3.7%

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 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 Governor David Beasley at the top of the ticket who would go on to lose his re-election campaign to Jim Hodges.

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (Incumbent)	563,377	52.7%	+2.6%
	Republican	Bob Inglis	488,238	45.7%	−1.2%
	Libertarian	Richard T. Quillian	16,991	1.6%	−0.3%
	No party	Write-Ins	457	0.0%	−0.1%
Majority			75,139	7.0%	+3.8%
Turnout			1,069,063	52.8%
	Democratic hold

South Dakota

South Dakota election

Nominee Tom Daschle Ron Schmidt Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 162,884 95,431 Percentage 62.1% 36.4%

County results Daschle:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Schmidt:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Tom Daschle Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Tom Daschle Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in South Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from South Dakota

Incumbent Democrat Tom Daschle won re-election to a third term. As of 2023, this was the last time the Democrats have won the Class 3 Senate Seat from South Dakota.

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Schmidt	26,540	52.01%
	Republican	Alan Aker	19,200	37.62%
	Republican	John M. Sanders	5,292	10.37%
Total votes			51,032	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Daschle (Incumbent)	162,884	62.14%	−2.76%
	Republican	Ron Schmidt	95,431	36.41%	+3.90%
	Libertarian	Byron Dale	3,796	1.45%	+0.15%
Majority			67,453	25.73%	−6.66%
Turnout			262,111
	Democratic hold

Utah

Utah election

Nominee Bob Bennett Scott Leckman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 316,652 177,459 Percentage 64.0% 33.0%

County results Bennett:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Leckman:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Bob Bennett Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bob Bennett Republican

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Utah

See also: List of United States senators from Utah

Incumbent Republican Bob Bennett won re-election to a second term.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Bennett (Incumbent)	316,652	63.98%	+8.60%
	Democratic	Scott Leckman	163,172	32.97%	−6.74%
	Independent American	Gary Van Horn	15,073	3.05%
	Write-ins		12	0.00%
Majority			153,480	31.01%	+15.34%
Turnout			494,909
	Republican hold

Vermont

Vermont election

Nominee Patrick Leahy Fred Tuttle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 154,567 48,051 Percentage 72.2% 22.5%

Leahy:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Tuttle:      40-50%      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Patrick Leahy Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont

Incumbent Democrat Patrick Leahy won re-election to a fifth term.

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.

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick Leahy (Incumbent)	18,643	96.65%
	Democratic	Write-ins	647	3.35%
Total votes			19,290	100.00%

Grassroots Party primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Grassroots	Bob Melamede	137	59.57%
	Grassroots	Write-ins	93	40.43%
Total votes			230	100.00%

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fred Tuttle	28,355	53.69%
	Republican	Jack McMullen	23,321	44.16%
	Republican	Write-ins	1,137	2.15%
Total votes			52,813	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Patrick Leahy (Incumbent)	154,567	72.22%	+18.05%
	Republican	Fred Tuttle	48,051	22.45%	−20.90%
	Libertarian	Hugh Douglas	4,199	1.96%
	Independent	Barry Nelson	2,893	1.35%
	Grassroots	Robert Melamede	2,459	1.15%
	Liberty Union	Jerry Levy	1,238	0.58%	−1.21%
	Write-ins		629	0.29%
Majority			106,516	49.77%	+38.95%
Turnout			214,036
	Democratic hold

Washington

Washington election

Nominee Patty Murray Linda Smith Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,103,184 785,377 Percentage 58.4% 41.6%

County results Murray:      50–60%      60–70% Smith:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Patty Murray Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Patty Murray Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Washington

See also: List of United States senators from Washington

Incumbent Democrat Patty Murray won re-election to a second term.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (Incumbent)	1,103,184	58.4%
	Republican	Linda Smith	785,377	41.6%
Total votes			1,888,561	100.00%
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin

Wisconsin election

Nominee Russ Feingold Mark Neumann Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 890,059 852,272 Percentage 50.5% 48.4%

Feingold:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Neumann:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Russ Feingold Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Russ Feingold Democratic

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

See also: List of United States senators from Wisconsin

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. 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.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Russ Feingold (Incumbent)	890,059	50.55%
	Republican	Mark Neumann	852,272	48.40%
	U.S. Taxpayers	Robert R. Raymond	7,942	0.45%
	Libertarian	Tom Ender	5,591	0.32%
	Independent	Eugene A. Hem	4,266	0.24%
		Write-in votes	706	0.04%
Majority			37,787	2.15%
Turnout			1,760,836
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1998 United States elections
  • 1998 United States gubernatorial elections
  • 1998 United States House of Representatives elections
• 105th United States Congress
• 106th United States Congress

External links

• JoinCalifornia 1998 General Election
• SmartVoter.org page on the California Senate race.
• 1998 North Dakota U.S. Senate Election results
• Crowley, Candy (October 27, 1998). "S.C. Senate race pits old South against new". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
• Crowley, Candy; Stuart Rothenberg (November 3, 1998). "Incumbent Hollings wins close race in South Carolina". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
• Plotz, David (October 22, 1998). "Foghorn Leghorn Meets an Owl". Slate. Retrieved January 30, 2008.