1998 United States Senate elections

Results summary

Source: Office of the Clerk

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

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

Defeats

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

Post-election changes

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

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the elections

|}

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.

Closest races

Eight races had a margin of less than 10%:

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

Alabama

Shelby:
Suddith:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Alaska

Murkowski:
Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Arizona

McCain:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Arizona

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

Arkansas

Lincoln:
Boozman:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Arkansas

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

California

Boxer:

Fong:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in California

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

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.

Colorado

Nighthorse Campbell:

Lamm:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Colorado

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

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.

Connecticut

|County results |220px |Municipality results}} Franks:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Connecticut

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

Florida

Crist:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Florida

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

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

Georgia

Coverdell:
Coles:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Georgia

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

Hawaii

Inouye:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Hawaii

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

Idaho

Crapo:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Idaho

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

Illinois

Fitzgerald:
Braun:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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 Election 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.

Indiana

Bayh:
Helmke:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Iowa

Grassley:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

results" /}}

Kansas

Brownback:
Feleciano:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Kentucky

Bunning:
Baesler:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Louisiana

Breaux:

Donelon:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Maryland

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Maryland

Mikulski:
Pierpont:

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

Missouri

Bond:
Nixon:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Missouri

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

Nevada

Reid: Ensign:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Nevada

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

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.

New Hampshire

|x245px |County results |x245px |Municipality results}} Condodemetraky:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

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

New York

Schumer:
D'Amato:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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. 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. 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.

: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

Edwards:
Faircloth:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

North Dakota

Dorgan:
Tie:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Ohio

Voinovich:

Boyle:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Oklahoma

Nickles:
Carroll:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

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

Oregon

Wyden:
Lim:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon

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

|access-date=August 21, 2009

Pennsylvania

Lloyd:
Tie:
Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

South Carolina

Hollings:
Inglis:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

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 Dakota

Daschle:
Schmidt:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in South Dakota

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

Utah

Bennett:
Leckman:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Utah

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

Vermont

|x220px |County results |x220px |Municipality results}} Tuttle:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Washington

Murray:

Smith:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in Washington

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

Wisconsin

Neumann:

Main article: 1998 United States Senate election in 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.

Notes

References

References

1. "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search".
2. "STATISTICS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 3, 1998". United States House of Representatives.
3. (October 30, 1998). "Election Summary Report State of Alaska Primary '98 OFFICIAL RESULTS". Alaska Division of Elections.
4. (January 3, 1999). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998". [[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]].
5. Lewin, Tamar. (November 4, 1998). "The 1998 Elections: State by State -- West; Arizona". The New York Times.
6. "1998 Senatorial Democratic Primary Election Results - Arkansas".
7. "United States Senate Results - 1998".
8. (October 18, 1998). "CAMPBELL FOR U.S. SENATE THE ISSUE: BEN CAMPBELL VS. DOTTIE LAMM OUR VIEW: BOTH ARE HARD TO PIN DOWN IN SOME WAYS, YET CAMPBELL IS CONSISTENT ON KEY WESTERN ISSUES.(Editorial)". Rocky Mountain News.
9. "Archives : The Rocky Mountain News".
10. "Denver Post: Archive Results".
11. "Florida Department of State - Election Results".
12. "GOP gubernatorial candidate believes crossover support helped her cause - AP Online {{!}} HighBeam Research".
13. "98 Primary - Senate".
14. ''[[Slate (magazine). Slate]]'', [http://www.slate.com/id/2078924 Is Carol Moseley-Braun a Crook?"], February 19, 2003
15. ''[[NPR]]'', [https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/braun.html "2004 Democratic Presidential Candidates: Carol Moseley Braun"], Npr.org, May 6, 2003
16. link. (November 30, 2016 , [[Illinois State Board of Elections]]. Retrieved October 30, 2016.)
17. (March 19, 1998). "Moseley-Braun's Rich Foe May Be Surprisingly Strong". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
18. (September 8, 1998). "Archives: Chicago Tribune - Senator Apologizes For Epithet Moseley-Braun Uses Slur In Calling Columnist Racist". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
19. Belluck, Pam. (November 3, 1998). "THE 1998 CAMPAIGN - ILLINOIS - Moseley-Braun, Trailing, Pushes Hard". [[The New York Times]].
20. Pear, Robert. (November 4, 1998). "THE 1998 ELECTIONS - STATE BY STATE - MIDWEST - ILLINOIS". [[The New York Times]].
21. link. (November 7, 2017 Retrieved October 17, 2015.)
22. "US Senate US Reps.PDF".
23. "Official 1998 Kansas Primary Election Results".
24. "1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities - Office of the Clerk".
25. "Archived copy".
26. "Archived copy".
27. [http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/1998/results_1998/pasen.html Maryland State Board of Elections]. Elections.state.md.us (October 24, 2000). Retrieved on June 17, 2011.
28. "Archived copy".
29. "Our Campaigns - NH US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1998".
30. "Schumer topples D'Amato in New York Senate race". CNN.
31. Nagourney, Adam. (January 4, 1998). "Friends Say Ferraro Will Seek D'Amato's Seat". [[The New York Times]].
32. Waldman, Amy. (September 17, 1998). "The Farewell: For Ferraro, Early Promise, Lopsided Loss". [[The New York Times]].
33. Schumer, Chuck. (2007). "Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time". [[Rodale Books]].
34. Schumer, ''Positively American'', p. 31.
35. Schumer, ''Positively American'', pp. 18, 30.
36. Schumer, ''Positively American'', pp. 33, 39.
37. "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998".
38. "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - IDP Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998".
39. "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - RTL Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998".
40. "Online NewsHour: 98 Election - The New York Wrap-up - November 4, 1998".
41. "Online NewsHour: New York Senate Race - October 28, 1998".
42. "New York Senate race an old-fashioned street fight". CNN.
43. Nagourney, Adam. (November 4, 1998). "THE 1998 ELECTIONS: NEW YORK STATE -- THE SENATE; Schumer Uses D'Amato's Tactics To Win Senate Election Handily". [[The New York Times]].
44. "New York State Board of Elections General Election Results".
45. "State Board of Elections".
46. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998".
47. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1998".
48. "Our Campaigns - OK US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1998".
49. (January 6, 1998). "Demo Lawmaker Wants Specter's Job". Allentown Morning Call.
50. Kennedy, John J.. (2006). "Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004". United Press of America.
51. "1998 Statewide Primary Returns".
52. "1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities - Office of the Clerk".
53. "1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities - Office of the Clerk".
54. "VT US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1998". Our Campaigns.
55. Martin, Douglas. (October 7, 2003). "Fred Tuttle, 84, Farmer and Celebrity, Dies". The New York Times.
56. William Senning. (May 9, 2017). "Elections | Home | Vermont Secretary of State". Vermont-elections.org.
57. "1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities - Office of the Clerk". Clerk.house.gov.
58. "Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State". Washington Secretary of State.
59. "Online NewsHour: Political Wrap - October 30, 1998".
60. "Projects - Internet Scout".
61. (August 15, 2003). "JS Online: GOP edges into Democratic region".