United States Senate elections, 1994

United States Senate elections, 1994

1992 ← November 8, 1994 → 1996

Class I (33 of the 100 seats) in the United States Senate and two mid-term vacancies from Class II 51 seats needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Bob Dole Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Kansas South Dakota Last election 43 seats 57 seats Seats won 52 48 Seat change 9 9 Popular vote 28,613,349 25,234,942 Percentage 49.9% 44.0% Swing 5.5% 5.2%

Republican hold   Republican pickups   Democratic hold

Majority Leader before election George Mitchell Democratic Elected Majority Leader Bob Dole Republican

The U.S. Senate election, 1994 was an election held on November 8, in which the Republican Party was able to take control of the Senate from the Democrats. In a midterm election, the opposition Republicans held the traditional advantage. Congressional Republicans campaigned against the early presidency of Bill Clinton, including his unsuccessful health care plan.^{[citation needed]}

The Republicans captured eight seats from the Democrats, including the seats of sitting Sens. Harris Wofford (PA) and Jim Sasser (TN), as well as six open seats in Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Notably, since Sasser's defeat coincided with the special election to replace Al Gore (who had left the Senate to become Vice President), Tennessee's Senate delegation switched from entirely Democratic to entirely Republican in a single election.

This defeat changed control of the Senate from Democrats to Republicans for the first time since 1986. In combination with the first change of control in the House of Representatives since 1954 and the Republicans' net gain of twelve governorships; this is sometimes called the Republican revolution. Minority leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) became majority leader, while on the Democratic side, the new minority leader was Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), previous majority leader George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) having retired.

Initially, the balance was 52–48 in favor of the Republicans, but after the power change, Democrats Richard Shelby of Alabama and Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado switched parties, bringing the balance to 54–46 before the resignation of Bob Packwood of Oregon and his replacement by Democrat Ron Wyden finalized the balance at 53–47.

Results summary

Parties		Total Seats			Popular Vote
		1992	1994	+/-	Vote	%
	Republican Party	43	52	+9	28,613,349	49.93%
	Democratic Party	57	48	-9	25,234,942	44.04%
	Libertarian Party	-	-	-	666,183	1.16%
	Others	-	-	-	2,791,007	4.87%
Total		100	100	-	57,305,481	100.0%
Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Notable races

Republican gains

• Arizona: Three-term Democratic incumbent Dennis DeConcini retired after being a member of the Keating Five Scandal. Republican Congressman Jon Kyl defeated his Democratic opponent, fellow Congressman Sam Coppersmith by a comfortable margin.
• Maine: One of the Republicans' biggest prizes was the seat of retiring Majority Leader George Mitchell. Longtime Congresswoman Olympia Snowe gained the seat in a landslide victory over Democratic Congressman Thomas Andrews.
• Michigan: Democratic Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. retired after three terms. Former Michigan Republican Party Chairman Spencer Abraham defeated Democratic Congressman Milton Robert Carr in the race to succeed Riegle.
• Ohio: Senator Howard Metzenbaum retired and his son-in-law Joel Hyatt received the Democratic nomination to succeed him. Hyatt would go on to be badly defeated by Lieutenant Governor Mike DeWine.
• Oklahoma: The seat of Democrat David L. Boren opened up when he resigned to accept the Presidency of the University of Oklahoma. Republican Congressman Jim Inhofe defeated the Democratic nominee, Congressman Dave McCurdy.
• Pennsylvania: Democrat Harris Wofford was appointed to the Senate when three-term Republican Senator H. John Heinz III died in a 1991 plane crash. He won a special election to hold that seat later that year. In his tough re-election against Republican Congressman Rick Santorum, the pro-choice Wofford lost the endorsement of pro-life Democratic Governor Robert Casey. This contributed to his loss to Santorum by two percentage points.
• Tennessee (Class 1): One of the biggest upsets of the night was the defeat of three-term incumbent Senator Jim Sasser. Sasser had been the influential Chairman of the Budget Committee and was among the leading candidates to replace Mitchell as Democratic Floor Leader. Sasser, however, would be defeated by prominent Nashville heart surgeon Bill Frist by a margin of 14 points.
• Tennessee (Class 2): Less surprising was the Republican victory in the other Tennessee Senate contest. Harlan Matthews had held the seat since Al Gore's resignation to assume the Vice Presidency in 1993, but chose not to seek the Democratic nomination in the special election. The Republican nominee, actor and attorney Fred Thompson, defeated six-term Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper in an overwhelming landslide.

Democratic holds

• California: Dianne Feinstein won a special election in 1992 to fill the seat of Governor Pete Wilson. She faced liberal Republican Congressman Michael Huffington in her race for a full term. Feinstein emerged victorious by less than two points.
• Massachusetts: Ted Kennedy usually coasted to re-election, but in this election he faced an unusually tough challenge from Republican businessman Mitt Romney. Though the final result was a 17 point Kennedy victory, it marked the first time since his initial election in 1962 that Kennedy received less than 60% of the vote.
• Virginia: Democrat Chuck Robb received over 70% of the vote when first elected in 1988, but was not so fortunate when running for re-election. Furor over Robb's alleged affair with model Tai Collins provided plenty of momentum for the Republicans nominee, Iran-Contra figure Oliver North. A factor to Robb's advantage was the independent candidacy of attorney J. Marshall Coleman. North likely lost votes to Coleman especially when Virginia's other Senator, Republican John Warner, endorsed Coleman over North. Robb received 46% of the vote to North's 43% with Coleman garnering 11%.

Complete list of races

All races are for the Class 1 seat, unless otherwise indicated.

Winning candidates in bold

A bolded state name indicates an article about that state's election.

State	Incumbent	Party	Result	Candidates
Arizona	Dennis DeConcini	Democratic	Retired Republican pick-up	Jon Kyl (Republican) 53.7% Sam Coppersmith (Democratic) 39.5% Scott Grainger (Libertarian) 6.8%
California	Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	Re-elected	Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) 46.7% Michael Huffington (Republican) 44.8% Elizabeth Barron (Peace and Freedom) 3% Richard Boddie (Libertarian) 2.1% Paul Meeuwenberg (AIP) 1.7% Barbara Blong (Green) 1.7%
Connecticut	Joe Lieberman	Democratic	Re-elected	Joe Lieberman (Democratic) 67% Jerry Labriola (Republican) 31% Gary R. Garneau (Constitution) 1.9%
Delaware	William Roth	Republican	Re-elected	William Roth (Republican) 55.8% Charles Oberly (Democratic) 42.5% John C. Dierick (Libertarian) 1.7%
Florida	Connie Mack III	Republican	Re-elected	Connie Mack III (Republican) 70.5% Hugh Rodham (Democratic) 30.5% Ernie Mailhot (Write-in) 0.03%
Hawaii	Daniel Akaka	Democratic	Re-elected	Daniel Akaka (Democratic) 71.8% Maria Hustace (Republican) 24.2% Richard Rowland (Libertarian) 4%
Indiana	Richard Lugar	Republican	Re-elected	Richard Lugar (Republican) 67.4% Jim Jontz (Democratic) 30.5% Barbara Bourland (Libertarian) 1.1% Mary Catherine Barton (NAP) 1%
Maine	George Mitchell	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Olympia Snowe (Republican) 60.2% Thomas Andrews (Democratic) 36.4% Plato Truman (Independent) 3.4%
Maryland	Paul Sarbanes	Democratic	Re-elected	Paul Sarbanes (Democratic) 59.1% Bill Brock (Republican) 40.9%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	Re-elected	Edward M. Kennedy (Democratic) 58.1% Mitt Romney (Republican) 41% Lauraleigh Dozier (Libertarian) 0.7% William A. Ferguson, Jr. (LaRouche Was Right) 0.2%
Michigan	Donald W. Riegle, Jr.	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Spencer Abraham (Republican) 51.9% Bob Carr (Democratic) 42.7% Jon Coon (Libertarian) 4.2% William Roundtree (Workers World Party) 0.7% Chris Wege (Natural Law) 0.5%
Minnesota	David Durenberger	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Rod Grams (Republican) 49.1% Ann Wynia (DFL) 44.1% Dean Barkley (Reform) 5.4% Candice E. Sjostrom (Grassroots) 0.9% Stephen Johnson (Natural Law) 0.3% Chris Wege (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Mississippi	Trent Lott	Republican	Re-elected	Trent Lott (Republican) 68.8% Ken Harper (Democratic) 31.2%
Missouri	John Danforth	Republican	Retired Republican hold	John Ashcroft (Republican) 59.8% Alan Wheat (Democratic) 35.7% Bill Johnson (Libertarian) 4.6%
Montana	Conrad Burns	Republican	Re-elected	Conrad Burns (Republican) 62.4% Jack Mudd (Democratic) 37.6%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	Re-elected	Bob Kerrey (Democratic) 55% Jan Stoney (Republican) 45%
Nevada	Richard H. Bryan	Democratic	Re-elected	Richard H. Bryan (Democratic) 50.9% Hal Furman (Republican) 41% Anna Nevenich (Independent) 1.8% Bob Days (Libertarian) 1.6% Neal A. Grasteit (Independent American) 1.4%
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg	Democratic	Re-elected	Frank Lautenberg (Democratic) 50.4% Chuck Haytaian (Republican) 47% Michael P. Kelly (Keep America First) 0.7% Ben Grindlinger (Libertarian) 0.7% Richard J. Pezzullo (Conservative) 0.4% Andrea Lippi (Jobs, Property Rights) 0.3% George Patrick Predham (Damn Drug Dealers) 0.2% Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) 0.2% Arlene Gold (Natural Law Party) 0.2%
New Mexico	Jeff Bingaman	Democratic	Re-elected	Jeff Bingaman (Democratic) 54% Colin McMillan (Republican) 46%
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	Re-elected	Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democratic) 55% Bernadette Castro (Republican) 42.3% Henry F. Hewes (Right-to-Life) 1.8% Ismael Betancourt, Jr. (Independence Party of New York) 0.5% Norma Segal (Libertarian) 0.3% Naomi L. Craine (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
North Dakota	Kent Conrad	Democratic	Re-elected	Kent Conrad (Democratic) 58% Ben Clayburgh (Republican) 42%
Ohio	Howard Metzenbaum	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Mike DeWine (Republican) 53.4% Joel Hyatt (Democratic) 39.2% Joseph Slovenec (Independent) 7.3%
Oklahoma Special: Class 2	David L. Boren	Democratic	Resigned Republican gain	James Inhofe (Republican) 55.2% Dave McCurdy (Democratic) 40% Danny Corn (Independent) 4.8%
Pennsylvania	Harris Wofford	Democratic	Defeated, 46.9% Republican gain	Rick Santorum (Republican) 49.4% Harris Wofford (Democratic) 46.9% Diane Blough (Patriot) 2% Donald C. Ernsberger (Libertarian) 1.7%
Rhode Island	John Chafee	Republican	Re-elected	John Chafee (Republican) 64% Linda Kushner (Democratic) 36%
Tennessee	Jim Sasser	Democratic	Defeated, 43% Republican gain	Bill Frist (Republican) 56.4% Jim Sasser (D) 42.1%
Tennessee Special: Class 2	Harlan Matthews	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Fred Thompson (Republican) 61% Jim Cooper (Democratic) 39%
Texas	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	Re-elected	Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican) 60.8% Richard W. Fisher (Democratic) 38.3% Pierre Blondeau (Libertarian) 0.8%
Utah	Orrin Hatch	Republican	Re-elected	Orrin Hatch (Republican) 68.8% Patrick Shea (Democratic) 28.3% Craig Oliver (Independent) 1.8% Gary R. Van Horn (American) 0.5% Nelson Gonzalez (Socialist Workers) 0.3% Lawrence Rey Topham (Independent American) 0.3%
Vermont	Jim Jeffords	Republican	Re-elected	Jim Jeffords (Republican) 50.3% Jan Backus (Democratic) 40.6% Gavin T. Mills (Independent) 5.9% Matthew S. Mulligan (Independent) 1.4% Bob Melamede (Grassroots) 0.7% Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 0.6% Joseph Victor Pardo (Natural Law Party) 0.3%
Virginia	Chuck Robb	Democratic	Re-elected	Chuck Robb (Democratic) 45.6% Oliver North (Republican) 42.9% J. Marshall Coleman (Independent) 11.4%
Washington	Slade Gorton	Republican	Re-elected	Slade Gorton (Republican) 55.75% Ron Sims (Democratic) 44.25%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	Re-elected	Robert Byrd (Democratic) 69% Stanley L. Klos (Republican) 31%
Wisconsin	Herb Kohl	Democratic	Re-elected	Herb Kohl (Democratic) 58% Robert Welch (Republican) 40.7% James Dean (Libertarian) 1%
Wyoming	Malcolm Wallop	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Craig Thomas (Republican) 58.9% Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 39.3% Craig McCune (Libertarian) 1.8%

Senate composition before and after elections

Senate composition before the elections D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Senate composition in the next Congress D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Key:	D=Democratic	R=Republican
	Majority
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See also

• United States House elections, 1994
• United States gubernatorial elections, 1994

External links

• Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994, Office of the Clerk U.S. House of Representatives