1994 United States Senate elections

United States Senate elections, 1994

November 8, 1994
Class 1 (33 of the 100 seats) and two mid-term vacancies 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Bob Dole George Mitchell (retiring) Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Kansas Maine Seats before 44 56 Seats after 50 50 Seat change 6 6 Popular vote 28,613,349 25,234,942 Percentage 49.9% 44.0% Swing 5.5% 5.2% Seats up 13 20 Races won 19 14
Results of the 1994 general & special elections      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold
Majority leader before election George Mitchell Democratic Elected Majority leader Bob Dole Republican

The United States Senate elections, 1994 were elections held November 8, 1994, 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.

The Republicans successfully defended all of its seats and captured eight seats from the Democrats, including the seats of sitting Senators Harris Wofford (Pennsylvania) and Jim Sasser (Tennessee), as well as six open seats in Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Notably, since Sasser's defeat coincided with a Republican victory in the special election to replace Al Gore, Tennessee's Senate delegation switched from entirely Democratic to entirely Republican in a single election.

This election marked the first time Republicans controlled the Senate since January 1987, and coincided with the first change of control in the House of Representatives since January 1955 and a Republican net gain of ten governorships. Collectively, these Republican gains are known as the Republican Revolution. Minority leader Robert J. Dole became Majority Leader, while on the Democratic side, Tom Daschle became Minority Leader after the retirement of the previous Democratic leader, George J. Mitchell. This was also the first time since 1980 that Republicans made net gains in the Senate, but the last time the Republicans also made gains among class 1 senators.

Initially, the balance was 52–48 in favor of the Republicans, but after the power change, Democrats Richard Shelby and Ben Nighthorse Campbell switched parties, bringing the balance to 54–46. Democrat Ron Wyden won a 1996 special election to replace Republican Bob Packwood, leaving the balance at 53–47 before the next election cycle.

Results summary

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style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color; width:48%;" | 48	style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color; width:52%;" | 52
Democratic	Republican

#E81B23 #3333FF #FED105 #DDDDBB

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: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives (1995). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994".

Change in Senate 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	D29	D30
D40 Ran	D39 Ran	D38 Ran	D37 Ran	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 Ran	D42 Ran	D43 Ran	D44 Ran	D45 Ran	D46 Ran	D47 Ran	D48 Ran	D49 Ran	D50 Ran
Majority →									D51 Ran
R41 Ran	R42 Retired	R43 Retired	R44 Retired	D56 Retired	D55 Retired	D54 Retired	D53 Retired	D52 Ran
R40 Ran	R39 Ran	R38 Ran	R37 Ran	R36 Ran	R35 Ran	R34 Ran	R33 Ran	R32 Ran	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 general 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	D29	D30
D40 Ran	D39 Ran	D38 Ran	D37 Ran	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 Re-elected	D42 Re-elected	D43 Re-elected	D44 Re-elected	D45 Re-elected	D46 Re-elected	D47 Re-elected	D48 Re-elected	D49 Re-elected	D50 Re-elected
No Majority
R41 Re-elected	R42 Hold	R43 Hold	R44 Hold	R45 Gain	R46 Gain	R47 Gain	R48 Gain	R49 Gain	R50 Gain
R40 Re-elected	R39 Re-elected	R38 Re-elected	R37 Re-elected	R36 Re-elected	R35 Re-elected	R34 Re-elected	R33 Re-elected	R32 Re-elected	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 November 1994 special 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	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48	R52 Gain	R51 Gain
Majority →
R41	R42	R43	R44	R45	R46	R47	R48	R49	R50
R40	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 103rd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated between January 1, 1994 and January 2, 1995, sorted by election date, then state, then class.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Tennessee (Class 2)	Harlan Matthews	Democratic	1993 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected November 8, 1994. Republican gain.	√ Fred Thompson (Republican) 61% Jim Cooper (Democratic) 39%
Oklahoma (Class 2)	David L. Boren	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent resigned, effective with the election. New senator elected November 8, 1994. Republican gain.	√ James Inhofe (Republican) 55.2% Dave McCurdy (Democratic) 40% Danny Corn (Independent) 4.8%

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1995; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Arizona	Dennis DeConcini	Democratic	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Jon Kyl (Republican) 53.7% Sam Coppersmith (Democratic) 39.5% Scott Grainger (Libertarian) 6.8%
California	Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	1992 (Special)	Incumbent 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	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Joe Lieberman (Democratic) 67% Jerry Labriola (Republican) 31% Gary R. Garneau (Constitution) 1.9%
Delaware	William Roth	Republican	1970 1971 (Appointed) 1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ William Roth (Republican) 55.8% Charles Oberly (Democratic) 42.5% John C. Dierick (Libertarian) 1.7%
Florida	Connie Mack III	Republican	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Connie Mack III (Republican) 70.5% Hugh Rodham (Democratic) 30.5%
Hawaii	Daniel Akaka	Democratic	1990 (Appointed) 1990 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Daniel Akaka (Democratic) 71.8% Maria Hustace (Republican) 24.2% Richard Rowland (Libertarian) 4%
Indiana	Richard Lugar	Republican	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Richard Lugar (Republican) 67.4% Jim Jontz (Democratic) 30.5% Barbara Bourland (Libertarian) 1.1% Mary Catherine Barton (NAP) 1%
Maine	George J. Mitchell	Democratic	1980 (Appointed) 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Olympia Snowe (Republican) 60.2% Thomas Andrews (Democratic) 36.4% Plato Truman (Independent) 3.4%
Maryland	Paul Sarbanes	Democratic	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Paul Sarbanes (Democratic) 59.1% Bill Brock (Republican) 40.9%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	1962 (Special) 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ted 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	1976 1976 (Appointed) 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Spencer Abraham (Republican) 51.9% Bob Carr (Democratic) 42.7% Jon Coon (Libertarian) 4.2% William Roundtree (Workers World) 0.7% Chris Wege (Natural Law) 0.5%
Minnesota	David Durenberger	Republican	1978 (Special) 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. 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	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Trent Lott (Republican) 68.8% Ken Harper (Democratic) 31.2%
Missouri	John Danforth	Republican	1976 1976 (Appointed) 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ John Ashcroft (Republican) 59.8% Alan Wheat (Democratic) 35.7% Bill Johnson (Libertarian) 4.6%
Montana	Conrad Burns	Republican	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Conrad Burns (Republican) 62.4% Jack Mudd (Democratic) 37.6%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Bob Kerrey (Democratic) 55% Jan Stoney (Republican) 45%
Nevada	Richard Bryan	Democratic	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Richard 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	1982 1982 (Appointed) 1988	Incumbent 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	1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jeff Bingaman (Democratic) 54% Colin McMillan (Republican) 46%
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democratic) 55% Bernadette Castro (Republican) 42.3% Henry F. Hewes (Right-to-Life) 1.8% Ismael Betancourt, Jr. (Independence (N.Y.)) 0.5% Norma Segal (Libertarian) 0.3% Naomi L. Craine (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
North Dakota	Kent Conrad	Democratic–NPL	1992 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kent Conrad (Democratic) 58% Ben Clayburgh (Republican) 42%
Ohio	Howard Metzenbaum	Democratic	1974 (Appointed) 1974 (Lost) 1974 (Resigned) 1976 1976 (Appointed) 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Mike DeWine (Republican) 53.4% Joel Hyatt (Democratic) 39.2% Joseph Slovenec (Independent) 7.3%
Pennsylvania	Harris Wofford	Democratic	1991 (Appointed) 1991 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. 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	1976 1976 (Appointed) 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John Chafee (Republican) 64% Linda Kushner (Democratic) 36%
Tennessee	Jim Sasser	Democratic	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Bill Frist (Republican) 56.4% Jim Sasser (D) 42.1%
Texas	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	1993 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican) 60.8% Richard W. Fisher (Democratic) 38.3% Pierre Blondeau (Libertarian) 0.8%
Utah	Orrin Hatch	Republican	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent 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	1988	Incumbent 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	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Chuck Robb (Democratic) 45.6% Oliver North (Republican) 42.9% J. Marshall Coleman (Independent) 11.4%
Washington	Slade Gorton	Republican	1980 1986 (Lost) 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Slade Gorton (Republican) 55.75% Ron Sims (Democratic) 44.25%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert Byrd (Democratic) 69% Stanley L. Klos (Republican) 31%
Wisconsin	Herb Kohl	Democratic	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Herb Kohl (Democratic) 58% Robert Welch (Republican) 40.7% James Dean (Libertarian) 1%
Wyoming	Malcolm Wallop	Republican	1976 1982 1988	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ Craig Thomas (Republican) 58.9% Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 39.3% Craig McCune (Libertarian) 1.8%

Special elections during the 104th Congress

There were no special elections in 1995 after January 3.

Arizona

Arizona election

Nominee Jon Kyl Sam Coppersmith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 600,999 442,510 Percentage 53.7% 39.5%   Nominee Scott Grainger Party Libertarian Popular vote 75,493 Percentage 6.8%

U.S. Senate election results map. Red denotes counties won by Kyl. Blue denotes those won by Coppersmith.

U.S. senator before election Dennis DeConcini Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jon Kyl Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Arizona, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Coppersmith	81,995	32.15%
	Democratic	Richard Mahoney	81,863	32.10%
	Democratic	Cindy Resnick	75,563	29.63%
	Democratic	David Moss	15,612	6.12%
Total votes			200,120	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Kyl	231,275	99.04%
	Republican	Write-ins	2,248	0.96%
Total votes			231,733	100.00%

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Scott Grainger	5,424	100.00%
Total votes			5,424	100.00%

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jon Kyl	600,999	53.71%	+12.65%
	Democratic	Sam Coppersmith	442,510	39.54%	-17.17%
	Libertarian	Scott Grainger	75,493	6.75%	+4.96%
	Write-ins		58	0.00%
Majority			158,489	14.16%	-1.50%
Turnout			1,119,060
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

California

California election

Nominee Dianne Feinstein Michael Huffington Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,979,152 3,817,025 Percentage 46.74% 44.83%

County results

U.S. senator before election Dianne Feinstein Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in California, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from California

Dianne Feinstein won a special election in 1992 to fill the seat of Governor Pete Wilson. She faced wealthy Republican Congressman Michael Huffington in her race for a full term. Feinstein emerged victorious by less than two points.

1994 United States Senate Democratic primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent)		1,635,837	74.20
Ted J. Andromedas		297,128	13.48
Daniel O'Dowd		271,615	12.32
Total votes		2,204,580	100.00

1994 United States Senate Republican primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Michael Huffington		1,072,358	53.79
William E. Dannemeyer		565,864	28.38
Kate Squires		202,950	10.18
James Peter Gough		58,853	2.95
Wolf G. Dalichau		58,307	2.92
John M. Brown		35,212	1.77
Total votes		1,993,544	100.00

1994 United States Senate Peace & Freedom primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Elizabeth Cervantes Barron		3,487	70.70
Larry D. Hampshire		1,445	29.30
Total votes		4,932	100.00

1994 United States Senate primary, California (Others)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Richard Benjamin Boddie	120,622	100.00%
	American Independent	Paul Meeuwenberg	13,596	100.00%
	Green	Barbara Blong	N/A	100.00%

After one term in the House representing Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, Huffington spent $8 million by the end of August and a total of $28 million during the entire campaign. He became wealthy off oil and gas. The race saw personal attacks on Huffington's wife, Arianna Huffington, who was very involved in the race (the media dubbed her the "Sir Edmund Hillary of social climbing," according to The Almanac of American Politics).

Huffington was called a hypocrite for supporting Proposition 187 and then breaking the law for employing illegal aliens, a story which came out in the race's final days. A grand total of $44 million was spent in the election. At the time, it was the most expensive campaign in a non-presidential election in American history. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post named the election one of the nastiest senate elections in modern history.

On election day it was a very close race, but Feinstein won Los Angeles County, which may have pulled her ahead. Her sizable win in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area may also be credited to her slim statewide victory.

1994 United States Senate election in California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent)	3,979,152	46.74%
	Republican	Michael Huffington	3,817,025	44.83%
	Peace and Freedom	Elizabeth Cervantes Barron	255,301	3.00%
	Libertarian	Richard Benjamin Boddie	179,100	2.10%
	American Independent	Paul Meeuwenberg	142,771	1.68%
	Green	Barbara Blong	140,567	1.65%
	No party	Write-ins	173	0.00
Invalid or blank votes			386,547	4.48%
Total votes			8,636,900	100.00%
Turnout			{{{votes}}}	46.98%
	Democratic hold

Connecticut

Connecticut election

Nominee Joe Lieberman Jerry Labriola Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 723,842 334,833 Percentage 67.0% 31.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joe Lieberman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Connecticut, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Connecticut

Freshman Democratic incumbent Joseph Lieberman easily won re-election over Republican physician Jerry Labriola.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Lieberman (Incumbent)	723,842 †	67.0%
	Republican	Jerry Labriola	334,833	31.0%
	Concerned Citizens	Gary R. Garneau	20,988	1.9%
	Write-In	Write-in candidates (3)	103	0.01%
Total votes			1,079,766	100.0%
	Democratic hold

† Includes 280,049 votes received on the line of A Connecticut Party, which cross-endorsed Lieberman.

Delaware

Delaware election

Nominee William Roth Charles Oberly Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 111,074 84,540 Percentage 55.8% 42.5%

U.S. senator before election William Roth Republican Elected U.S. Senator William Roth Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Delaware, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Delaware

Veteran Republican incumbent William Roth, seeking his fifth term, fended off a challenge from Charles Oberly, the state's three-term Democratic attorney general, beating him by 13 points.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William Roth (Incumbent)	111,074	55.82%	-6.25%
	Democratic	Charles Oberly	84,540	42.48%	+4.54%
	Libertarian	John Dierickx	3,386	1.70%
Majority			26,534	13.33%	-10.79%
Turnout			199,000
	Republican hold		Swing

Florida

Florida election

Nominee Connie Mack III Hugh Rodham Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,895,200 1,210,577 Percentage 70.5% 29.5%

U.S. Senators before election Connie Mack III Republican Elected U.S. Senators Connie Mack III Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Florida, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Florida

Republican incumbent Connie Mack III won a second term by scoring an easy re-election over attorney Hugh Rodham, brother of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Mack	Unopposed	100.0

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hugh Rodham	255,605	33.78
	Democratic	Mike Wiley	188,551	24.92
	Democratic	Ellis Rubin	161,386	21.33
	Democratic	A. Perez	151,121	19.97
Total votes			756,663	100

Democratic primary runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hugh Rodham	221,424	58.09
	Democratic	Mike Wiley	159,776	41.91
Total votes			381,200	100

Rodham left the public defenders office to run for the United States Senate in Florida in 1994. He won the Democratic Party nomination by defeating Mike Wiley in a runoff election, after earlier finishing first in a four-person primary field with 34 percent. After the first primary, the third-place finisher, flamboyant Miami lawyer and perennial losing candidate Ellis Rubin, joined forces with Rodham as a "senior executive consultant" and hatchet man. In the presence of Rodham at a press conference, Rubin levelled the accusation that Wiley was hiding his Jewish faith by changing his name from his birth name, Michael Schreibman, and that Wiley "changed his name before the campaign to deceive voters about his Jewish religion." Wiley accordingly refused to endorse Rodham after the runoff. Rodham then lost by a 70%-30% margin to incumbent Senator Republican Connie Mack III in the general election. Although Bill and Hillary Clinton both campaigned for him, his organization was unable to take advantage of their help, he had few funds, almost no television commercials, and little support from the Florida Democratic party establishment in a year that saw Republican gains everywhere. After the election, Rubin switched allegiance again and charged Rodham with election law violations in the first primary; the Federal Elections Commission eventually dismissed the allegations.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Connie Mack	2,895,200	70.50	+20.10
	Democratic	Hugh Rodham	1,210,577	29.48	-20.12
	Write-ins		1,039	0.02
Majority			1,684,623	41.02	+40.22
Turnout			5,856,731
	Republican hold		Swing

Hawaii

Hawaii election

Nominee Daniel Akaka Maria Hustace Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 256,189 86,320 Percentage 71.8% 24.2%

County Results

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

Main article: United States Senate election in Hawaii, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Hawaii

Democratic incumbent Daniel Akaka was first appointed to this seat April 1990 after the death of Senator Spark Matsunaga. He won his first full term by defeating Republican cattle rancher Mary Hustace in a landslide.

Hawaii United States Senate election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Akaka (Incumbent)	256,189	71.8%
	Republican	Maria Hustace	86,320	24.2%
	Libertarian	Richard Rowland	14,393	4.0%
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Indiana

Indiana election

Nominee Richard Lugar Jim Jontz Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,039,625 470,799 Percentage 67.4% 30.5%

County results

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

Main article: United States Senate election in Indiana, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Indiana

Three-term Republican incumbent Richard Lugar scored an overwhelming 37-point win against former Democratic Rep. Jim Jontz, who was attempting a comeback after losing re-election in 1992.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Lugar (Incumbent)	1,039,625	67.4%
	Democratic	Jim Jontz	470,799	30.5%
	Libertarian	Barbara Bourland	17,343	1.1%
	New Alliance	Mary Catherine Barton	15,801	1.0%
Majority			568,826
Turnout			1,543,568
	Republican hold		Swing

Lugar won 91 of Indiana's 92 counties, Jontz won only the Democratic stronghold of Lake County.

Maine

Maine election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Olympia Snowe Tom Andrews Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 308,244 186,042 Percentage 60.24% 36.36%

County results

U.S. senator before election George J. Mitchell Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Maine, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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, a stark contrast to retiring Senator Mitchell's landslide win six years prior.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Andrews	82,339	99.83
	Democratic	Write-ins	140	0.17
Total votes			82,479	100.00

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Olympia Snowe	79,953	99.88
	Republican	Write-ins	93	0.12
Total votes			80,046	100.00

United States Senate election in Maine, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Olympia Snowe	308,244	60.24%	+41.53%
	Democratic	Tom Andrews	186,042	36.36%	-44.94%
	Independent	Plato Truman	17,205	3.36%
	Write-ins		242	0.05%
Majority			122,202	23.88%	-38.70%
Turnout			511,733
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Maryland

Maryland election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Paul Sarbanes Bill Brock Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 809,125 559,908 Percentage 59.1% 40.9%

U.S. senator before election Paul S. Sarbanes Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Maryland, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Maryland

Democratic incumbent Paul Sarbanes won a third term by soundly defeating Republican Bill Brock, a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1971–77), RNC chairman (1977-81), U.S. Trade Representative (1981–85) and U.S. Secretary of Labor (1985–87).

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Sarbanes	809,125	59.1
	Republican	Bill Brock	559,908	40.9
	Independent	Terri Tilghman Deakyne (Write In)	71	0.0

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

Nominee Ted Kennedy Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,265,997 894,000 Percentage 58.1% 41.0%

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Mitt Romney, blue indicates towns carried by Ted Kennedy.

U.S. senator before election Ted Kennedy Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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.

Romney defeated his closest competitor, John Lakian, to win the Republican primary with over 80% of the vote. He campaigned as a political moderate and Washington outsider, and posed the greatest challenge ever made against Kennedy for the Senate seat since he first took office in 1962. Democratic congressmen across the country were struggling to maintain their seats, and Kennedy in particular was damaged by character concerns and an ongoing divorce controversy. The contest became very close.

Kennedy launched ads criticizing Romney's tenure as the leader of the company known as Bain Capital, accusing him of treating workers unfairly and taking away jobs, while also criticizing what were widely considered to be Romney's shifting political views. Romney also performed inadequately in the debates between the two candidates, and made a number of poorly received statements that reduced his standing in the polls.

In the closest Senate election of his career since after 1962, Kennedy won by a reasonably comfortable margin, despite a series of losses for Democrats around the country.

After reestablishing residence in Utah and nearly 23 years after the loss, Romney was reported to have considered a possible U.S. Senate run for the state of Utah, should long-time incumbent Orrin Hatch retire prior to the 2018 Senate election in Utah.

Romney was initially behind businessman John Lakian in the battle to win the Massachusetts Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate. However, after using his personal wealth to advertise heavily on television, he gained overwhelming support at the state party convention.

Romney then defeated Lakian easily in the September 1994 Republican Party primary with over 80 percent of the vote.

Massachusetts United States Senate Republican primary, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mitt Romney	188,280	82.04
	Republican	John Lakian	40,898	17.82
		Others	318	0.14
Total votes			229,496	100

In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious re-election challenger of his career in the younger, telegenic, and very well-funded Romney. Romney ran as a successful entrepreneur and Washington outsider with a strong family image and moderate stands on social issues. After two decades out of public view, his father George re-emerged during the campaign. George Romney had urged Mitt to enter the race and moved into his son's house for its duration, serving as an unofficial advisor.

Kennedy was more vulnerable than usual in 1994, in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole and also because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which Kennedy had taken some public relations hits regarding his character. Kennedy was saddled not only with his recent past but the 25th anniversary of the Chappaquiddick incident and his first wife Joan Bennett Kennedy seeking a renegotiated divorce settlement.

Some early polls showed Romney close to Kennedy. By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race to be even. One Boston Herald/WCVB-TV poll taken after the September 20, 1994 primary showed Romney ahead 44 percent to 42 percent, within the poll's sampling margin of error. In another September poll, Romney had a 43 to 42 percent lead. President Bill Clinton traveled to Massachusetts to campaign for Kennedy.

Religion became an issue for a while, after Kennedy's campaign said it was fair to ask Romney about his LDS Church's past policy of not allowing blacks into the priesthood. Romney accused Kennedy of having violated Senator John F. Kennedy's famous September 1960 pledge not to allow his own Catholic doctrine to inform policy, made during his ultimately victorious presidential campaign. George Romney forcefully interjected during his son's press conference, "I think it is absolutely wrong to keep hammering on the religious issues. And what Ted is trying to do is bring it into the picture."

After Romney touted his business credentials and his record at creating jobs within his company, Kennedy ran campaign ads showing an Indiana company, Ampad, bought out by Romney's firm, Bain Capital. They showed interviews with its union workers who had been fired and who criticized Romney for the loss of their jobs, with one saying, "I don’t think Romney is creating jobs because he took every one of them away." Romney claimed that 10,000 jobs were created because of his work at Bain, but private detectives hired by Kennedy found a factory bought by Bain Capital that had suffered a 350-worker strike after Bain had cut worker pay and benefits. Kennedy's charges were effective, as more voters decided that Romney was interested in profits more than people.

Kennedy's attack ads also focused both on Romney's shifting political views; although both Kennedy and Romney supported the abortion rights established under Roe v. Wade, Kennedy accused Romney of being "multiple choice" on the issue, rather than "pro choice." Romney said his stance dated back to his mother, Lenore Romney, and her position during her 1970 U.S. Senate campaign: "My mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that." Nevertheless, women's groups and Democrats viewed Romney's position with suspicion. (In subsequent years, Romney became pro-life and opposed Roe.)

Kennedy's campaign ran short on money, and belying his image as endlessly wealthy, he was forced to take out a second mortgage on his Virginia home. Romney spent over $7 million of his own money, with Kennedy spending more than $10 million from his campaign fund, mostly in the last weeks of the campaign (this was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the Dianne Feinstein–Michael Huffington Senate race in California). Kennedy's new wife Vicki Reggie Kennedy proved to be a strong asset in campaigning.

By early October, Kennedy was ahead by 49 to 44 percent in a Boston Globe poll. In their first televised debate, held at Faneuil Hall on October 25, Kennedy came out charging with his aging but still booming voice; regarding the Ampad deal, he said to Romney, "I don't know why you wouldn't meet with the strikers with that flimflam deal of yours out there in Indiana." Romney charged that Kennedy had benefited from a real-estate deal that had been done on a no-bid basis, but Kennedy responded with a rehearsed line: "Mr. Romney, the Kennedys are not in public service to make money. We have paid too high a price in our commitment to the public service of this country." Each candidate was asked to discuss one of their own failings. In a dramatic moment, Kennedy indirectly referred to his personal problems and acknowledged that he was "painfully aware" that on such occasions he had let his supporters down. By contrast, Romney mentioned work for several local charities he was engaged with on a near daily basis. When the moderator reminded him of the question, Romney responded "I guess what I regret is that I'm not able to provide even more help for those less fortunate than myself.... I wish I could do even more." Kennedy won this key debate as he reconnected with his traditional bases of support: two polls of voters conducted afterwards both showed Kennedy as the victor in the debate. One post-debate October general election poll showed Kennedy leading 50 percent to 32, and another by 56 to 36 percent. A second debate, held two days later at Holyoke Community College, focused more on policy details and lacked the intensity of the first one; Romney failed to gain any traction from it.

In the November general election, despite a very bad result for Democrats overall, Kennedy won re-election by a 58 percent to 41 percent margin, the closest re-election race of his career; only his initial victory in the 1962 Senate special election in Massachusetts was closer.

Massachusetts United States Senate election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edward M. Kennedy (Incumbent)	1,265,997	58.07	–6.90
	Republican	Mitt Romney	894,000	41.01	+7.08
	Libertarian	Lauraleigh Dozier	14,484	0.66	+0.15
	LaRouche Was Right	William A. Ferguson, Jr.	4,776	0.22	+0.22
		Others	688	0.03	+.02
Total votes			2,179,945	71.54

Michigan

Michigan election

Nominee Spencer Abraham Bob Carr Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,578,770 1,300,960 Percentage 51.9% 42.8%

U.S. senator before election Don Riegle Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Michigan, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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.

Riegle, a three-term incumbent, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats in the 1994 mid-term elections, due to the unpopularity of President Bill Clinton and his being involved as a member of the Keating Five, a group of five United States Senators who were accused of corruption. After months of speculation, Riegle announced he would not seek a 4th term in a speech on the Senate floor.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Spencer Abraham	1,578,770	51.9
	Democratic	Bob Carr	1,300,960	42.8
	Libertarian	Jon Coon	128,393	4.2
	Workers World	William Roundtree	20,010	0.7
	Natural Law	Chris Wege	14,746	0.5

Minnesota

Minnesota election

Nominee Rod Grams Ann Wynia Party Ind.-Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 869,653 781,860 Percentage 49.1% 44.1%   Nominee Dean Barkley Party Independence Popular vote 95,400 Percentage 5.4%

U.S. senator before election David Durenberger Ind.-Republican Elected U.S. Senator Rod Grams Ind.-Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Minnesota

Incumbent Republican David Durenberger decided to retire instead of seeking a third full term. Republican Rod Grams won the open seat. After surviving a messy Republican primary, former TV news anchor and one-term Rep. Rod Grams defeated his Democratic opponent, former state assembly minority leader Ann Wynia by five points for the seat being vacated by incumbent Republican Dave Durenberger.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Grams	869,653	49.1
	Democratic	Ann Wynia	781,860	44.1
	Independence	Dean Barkley	95,400	5.4
	Independent	Candice E. Sjostrom	15,920	0.9
	Natural Law Party (United States)	Stephen Johnson	5,054	0.3
	Socialist Workers	Marea Himelgrin	2,428	0.1

Mississippi

Mississippi election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Trent Lott Ken Harper Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 418,333 189,752 Percentage 68.8% 31.2%

U.S. senator before election Trent Lott Republican Elected U.S. Senator Trent Lott Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Mississippi, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Mississippi

Republican incumbent Trent Lott won a second term by easily defeating former Democratic state senator Ken Harper.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Lott (Incumbent)	418,333	68.8
	Democratic	Ken Harper	189,752	31.2

Missouri

Missouri election

Nominee John Ashcroft Alan Wheat Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,060,149 633,697 Percentage 59.7% 35.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election John Danforth Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Ashcroft Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Missouri, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Missouri

Republican Senator John Danforth retired after three terms. Former Republican Gov. John Ashcroft defeated his Democratic opponent, six-term Rep. Alan Wheat by more than twenty points.

Missouri United States Senate election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ashcroft	1,060,149	59.72
	Democratic	Alan Wheat	633,697	35.70
	Libertarian	Bill Johnson	81,264	4.58
		Write-In Votes	6	0.0
Majority			426,452	24.02
Turnout			1,775,116

Montana

Montana election

Nominee Conrad Burns Jack Mudd Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 218,542 131,845 Percentage 62.4% 37.6%

U.S. senator before election Conrad Burns Republican Elected U.S. Senator Conrad Burns Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Montana, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Montana

Democrat Jack Mudd, former dean of the University of Montana law school, defeated former U.S. Senator John Melcher in the Democratic primary and then went on to lose to Republican incumbent Conrad Burns, who was seeking a second term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Mudd	58,371	47.20
	Democratic	John Melcher	39,607	32.03
	Democratic	Becky Shaw	25,688	20.77
Total votes			123,666	100.00

Republican Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Conrad Burns (Incumbent)	82,827	100.00
Total votes			82,827	100.00

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Conrad Burns (Incumbent)	218,542	62.37%	+10.50%
	Democratic	Jack Mudd	131,845	37.63%	-10.50%
Majority			86,697	24.74%	21.01%
Turnout			350,387

Nebraska

Nebraska election

November 3, 1994

Nominee Bob Kerrey Jan Stoney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 317,297 260,668 Percentage 55% 45%

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

Main article: United States Senate election in Nebraska, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Nebraska

Freshman Democrat Bob Kerrey won re-election over Republican Jan Stoney, Vice President of Personnel at Northwestern Bell, by ten points.

1994 Nebraska U.S. Senate Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Kerrey	317,297	54.78%
	Republican	Jan Stoney	260,668	45%
	Independent	Write Ins	1,240	0.21%
Majority
Turnout

Nevada

Nevada election

November 3, 1994

Nominee Richard Bryan Hal Furman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 193,804 156,020 Percentage 50.9% 41.0%

U.S. senator before election Richard Bryan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Richard Bryan Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Nevada, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Nevada

Democratic incumbent Richard H. Bryan scored a ten-point win over Republican Hal Furman, a water policy advisor for the Interior Department.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Bryan (Incumbent)	193,804	50.9%
	Republican	Hal Furman	156,020	41.0%
	Independent	None of the Above	12,626	3.3%
	Independent	Anna Nevenic	6,666	1.8%
	Libertarian	Bob Days	5,964	1.6%
	Independent	Neal A. Grasteit	5,450	1.4%

New Jersey

New Jersey election

Nominee Frank Lautenberg Chuck Haytaian Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,033,487 966,244 Percentage 50.3% 47.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election Frank Lautenberg Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in New Jersey, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from New Jersey

Two-term Democratic incumbent Frank Lautenberg narrowly defeated his Republican opponent, state assembly speaker Chuck Haytaian by three points.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank Lautenberg	1,033,487	50.3%
	Republican	Chuck Haytaian	966,244	47.0%

New Mexico

New Mexico election

November 3, 1994

Nominee Jeff Bingaman Colin McMillan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 249,989 213,025 Percentage 54.0% 46.0%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Jeff Bingaman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in New Mexico, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from New Mexico

Two-term Democratic incumbent Jeff Bingaman defeated his Republican opponent, former George H. W. Bush Assistant Secretary of Defense Colin McMillan by eight points.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Bingaman (Incumbent)	165,148	100.00
Total votes			165,148	100.00

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Colin R. McMillan	65,119	72.57
	Republican	Bill Turner	13,178	14.69
	Republican	Robin Dozier Otten	11,439	12.75
Total votes			89,736	100.00

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jeff Bingaman (Incumbent)	249,989	53.97%	-9.34%
	Republican	Colin R. McMillan	213,025	45.99%	+9.31%
	Write-ins		182	0.04%
Majority			36,964	7.98%	-18.64%
Turnout			463,196
	Democratic hold		Swing

New York

New York election

Nominee Pat Moynihan Bernadette Castro Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,646,541 1,988,308 Percentage 55.3% 41.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election Pat Moynihan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Pat Moynihan Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in New York, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from New York

Veteran Democratic incumbent Daniel Patrick Moynihan easily defeated his Republican opponent, businesswoman Bernadette Castro.

1994 was significant for the Republican Revolution, mostly as a referendum against President Bill Clinton and his health care plan, and was seen as a tough year for Democratic incumbents. Moynihan, however, was New York State's most popular politician at the time, and ran ahead of all other Democrats competing statewide.

Republican Castro was running for office for the first time and had trouble raising funds due to being seen as unlikely to win; at times during the race she trailed by up to 30 percentage points. She portrayed herself as a fiscally conservative, socially moderate Republican in the mold of Governor of New Jersey Christie Todd Whitman, and attempted to portray Moynihan as excessively liberal and prone to government spending. But Moynihan repeated his past strong performance among upstate voters, in addition to the usual Democratic strongholds in New York City.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Incumbent)	2,646,541	55.3
	Republican	Bernadette Castro	1,988,308	41.5
	Right to Life	Henrey Hewes	95,954	2.0
	Independence Fusion	Ismael Betancourt, Jr.	26,650	0.6
	Libertarian	Norma Segal	17,991	0.4
	Socialist Workers	Naomi Craine	14,892	0.3

North Dakota

North Dakota election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Kent Conrad Ben Clayburgh Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 137,157 99,390 Percentage 58.0% 42.0%

U.S. senator before election Kent Conrad Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Kent Conrad Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in North Dakota, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from North Dakota

Incumbent Dem-NPL-er Kent Conrad won re-election to his first full term as Senior Senator, although technically his second term in the position, having served the end of Quentin Burdick's term after his death. Conrad also had served an additional term as senator, but as Junior Senator from 1986 to 1992.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kent Conrad (Incumbent)	137,157	57.98
	Republican	Ben Clayburgh	99,390	42.02

Ohio

Ohio election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Mike DeWine Joel Hyatt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,836,556 1,348,213 Percentage 53.4% 39.2%   Nominee Joseph Slovenec Party Independent Popular vote 252,031 Percentage 7.3%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Howard Metzenbaum Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mike DeWine Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Ohio, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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.

Ohio United States Senate Election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike DeWine	1,836,556	53.4	+10.1%
	Democratic	Joel Hyatt	1,348,213	39.2	-17.2%
	Independent	Joe Slovenec	252,031	7.3	+0.00%
Majority			488,343
Turnout			3,436,800

Oklahoma (Special)

United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, 1994

Nominee Jim Inhofe Dave McCurdy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 542,390 392,488 Percentage 55.2% 40.0%

County Results

U.S. senator before election David L. Boren Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe Republican

Main article: United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Oklahoma

Incumbent Democrat David L. Boren decided to resign his position to accept the position as President of the University of Oklahoma, which prompted a special election. Republican Congressman Jim Inhofe defeated the Democratic Congressman Dave McCurdy.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Inhofe	542,390	55.21%
	Democratic	Dave McCurdy	392,488	39.95%
	Independent	Danny Corn	47,552	4.84%
Majority			149,902	15.26%
Turnout			982,430

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

Nominee Rick Santorum Harris Wofford Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,735,691 1,648,481 Percentage 49.4% 46.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Harris Wofford Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Rick Santorum Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from 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.

Wofford's campaign was hurt from the outset by his strong connection with President Bill Clinton's failed healthcare reform proposals; Wofford had made working toward universal healthcare a crucial issue in his prior campaign and was one of the executive's strongest allies on the issue. After this failure, however, the senator ran a relatively passive campaign. He instead attempted to focus attention on his challenger, an arch-conservative who did not attempt to moderate his views after the primary election. The polarizing Santorum took strong positions against abortion, gay rights, and affirmative action, and he even clashed with some of the traditional fixtures of the state's moderate Republican establishment. Early in the campaign and with little statewide name recognition, Santorum made a critical error by attacking Social Security, and Wofford appeared to be in relatively safe position. However, Santorum ran an effective grassroots campaign and specifically targeted many union Democrats who had reservations about the liberal social values advocated by many of their party's leaders.[1]

In the closing weeks of the campaign, Santorum was greatly helped by strong Republican enthusiasm because of anger over Clinton's failed initiatives. He solidified his status by running a series of positive ads that attempted to define his character strengths and to contrast with Wofford's negative commercials. Santorum eventually received a close victory by performing well (and nearly winning) his home in the suburban Pittsburgh region and through particularly low turnout in Democratic strongholds, such as Philadelphia, Scranton, and Pittsburgh cities.[2]

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Rick Santorum	1,735,691	49.40%	+4.41%
	Democratic	Harris Wofford (Incumbent)	1,648,481	46.92%	-8.09%
	Patriot Party	Diane G. Blough	69,825	1.99%	+1.99%
	Libertarian	Donald Ernsberger	59,115	1.68%	+1.68%
	N/A	Write-In Votes	249	0.01%	+0.01%
Majority			87,210	2.48%	-7.53%
Totals			3,513,361	100.00%	align=right

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

Nominee John Chafee Linda Kushner Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 222,856 122,532 Percentage 65% 35%

County results

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

Main article: United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Rhode Island

Moderate Republican incumbent John Chafee, seeking a fourth term, defeated Democratic state representative Linda Kushner by 28-points.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Chafee (Incumbent)	27,906	69.03
	Republican	Robert A. Post, Jr.	12,517	30.97
Total votes			40,423	100.00

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Chafee (Incumbent)	222,856	64.52%	+9.93%
	Democratic	Linda Kushner	122,532	35.48%	-9.93%
Majority			100,324	29.05%	+19.86%
Turnout			345,388
	Republican hold		Swing

Tennessee

Tennessee election

Nominee Bill Frist Jim Sasser Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 834,226 623,164 Percentage 56.4% 42.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Jim Sasser Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Bill Frist Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Tennessee, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Tennessee and United States Senate special election in Tennessee, 1994

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 14 points.

There were two unforeseen events that affected the campaign. One was the large scale of discontent that the American people seemed to have toward the first two years of the Clinton administration, especially the proposal for a national healthcare system largely put together and advocated by Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton. The other was the somewhat unexpected nomination of Nashville heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist for the seat by the Republicans.

Frist, who had never voted until he was 36, was a political unknown and a total novice at campaigning, but was from one of Nashville's most prominent and wealthiest medical families, which gave him some name recognition, as well as adequate enough resources to match the campaign war chest built up by the three-term incumbent, a challenge most "insurgent" candidates find to be impossible. A further factor working to Frist's advantage was a simultaneous Republican campaign by actor and attorney Fred Thompson for the other Tennessee Senate seat, which was open due to Al Gore resigning to become Vice President of the United States. Another factor in Frist's favor was that Sasser was never seen as possessing much charisma of his own. During the campaign Nashville radio stations were derisive towards Sasser to the point of stating that he could only win "a Kermit The Frog lookalike contest." In one of the largest upsets in a night of political upsets in the November 1994 U.S. general elections, Frist defeated the incumbent Sasser by approximately 14 percentage points.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Frist	834,226	56.35
	Democratic	Jim Sasser (Incumbent)	623,164	42.10
	Independent	John Jay Hooker	13,244	0.90
	Independent	Charles F. Johnson	6,631	0.45
	Independent	Philip Kienlen	3,087	0.21
		Write-In Candidates	39	0.00
Majority			211,062	14.26
Turnout			1,480,391

Tennessee (Special)

Tennessee special election

Nominee Fred Thompson Jim Cooper Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 885,998 565,930 Percentage 60.4% 38.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Harlan Mathews Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Fred Thompson Republican

Main article: United States Senate special election in Tennessee, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Tennessee and United States Senate election in Tennessee, 1994

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 actor and attorney Fred Thompson, defeated six-term Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper in an overwhelming landslide.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Fred Thompson	885,998	60.44%	+30.63%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper	565,930	38.61%	-29.12%
	Independent	Charles N. Hancock	4,169	0.28%
	Independent	Charles Moore	2,219	0.15%
	Independent	Terry Lytle	1,934	0.13%
	Independent	Kerry Martin	1,719	0.12%
	Independent	Jon Walls	1,532	0.10%
	Independent	Hobart Lumpkin	1,184	0.08%
	Independent	Don Schneller	1,150	0.08%
	Write-ins		27	0.00%
Majority			320,068	21.83%	-16.08%
Turnout			1,465,862
	Republican gain from Democratic

Texas

Texas election

Nominee Kay Bailey Hutchison Richard W. Fisher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,604,218 1,649,615 Percentage 60.7% 38.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election Kay Bailey Hutchison Republican Elected U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Texas, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Texas

Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, having just won a special election the previous June for the seat vacated by Democrat Lloyd Bentsen, easily defeated Democrat Richard W. Fisher, an investment banker.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kay Bailey Hutchison	2,604,218	60.71
	Democratic	Richard W. Fisher	1,649,615	38.45
	Libertarian	Pierre Blondeau	36,107	0.84
Majority			954,603	22.25
Turnout			4,289,940

Utah

Orrin Hatch (R) was re-elected.

Main article: United States Senate election in Utah, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Utah

Veteran Republican incumbent Orrin Hatch delivered a 40-point defeat to his Democratic opponent, attorney Patrick Shea.

Vermont

Vermont election

Nominee Jim Jeffords Jan Backus Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 106,505 85,868 Percentage 50.3% 40.6%   Nominee Gavin T. Mills Party Independent Popular vote 12,465 Percentage 5.9%

U.S. senator before election Jim Jeffords Republican Elected U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords Independent

Main article: United States Senate election in Vermont, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Vermont

Moderate Republican Jim Jeffords won a second term, defeating Democratic state senator Jan Backus and independent Gavin Mills. He won every county in the state.

Democratic Primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jan Backus	16,217	53.65
	Democratic	Doug Costle	13,139	43.46
	Democratic	Write-ins	873	2.89
Total votes			30,229	100.00

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Jeffords (Incumbent)	24,795	91.56
	Republican	Write-ins	2,285	8.44
Total votes			27,080	100.00

Liberty Union primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberty Union	Jerry Levy	289	90.03
	Liberty Union	Write-ins	32	9.97
Total votes			321	100.00

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Jeffords (Incumbent)	106,505	50.32%	-17.65%
	Democratic	Jan Backus	85,868	40.57%	+10.80%
	Independent	Gavin T. Mills	12,465	5.89%
	Independent	Matthew S. Mulligan	3,141	1.48%
	Grassroots	Bob Melamede	1,416	0.67%
	Liberty Union	Jerry Levy	1,376	0.65%	-0.40%
	Natural Law	Joseph Victor Pardo	709	0.33%
	Write-ins		192	0.09%
Majority			20,637	9.75%	-28.45%
Turnout			211,672
	Republican hold		Swing

Virginia

Virginia election

Turnout	43.6% (voting eligible)
Nominee Chuck Robb Oliver North Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 938,376 882,213 Percentage 45.6% 42.9%   Nominee J. Marshall Coleman Party Independent Popular vote 235,324 Percentage 11.4%
U.S. Senate election results map. Blue denotes counties/districts won by Robb. Red denotes those won by North.
U.S. senator before election Chuck Robb Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Robb Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Virginia

Democrat Chuck Robb received over 70% of the vote when first elected in 1988, but struggled to win re-election. Furor over Robb's alleged affair with model Tai Collins provided plenty of momentum for the Republican 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%.

Oliver North was a very controversial figure as he was involved in the Iran-Contra Affair, a scandal during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Marshall Coleman attempted to seize the middle ground between Robb and North. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia endorsed Marshall Coleman. On the eve of the election, former first lady Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president, effectively eviscerating him. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.

In his failed bid to unseat Robb, North raised $20.3 million in a single year through nationwide direct mail solicitations, telemarketing, fundraising events, and contributions from major donors. About $16 million of that amount was from direct mail alone. This was the biggest accumulation of direct mail funds for a statewide campaign to that date, and it made North the top direct mail political fundraiser in the country in 1994.

Douglas Wilder, the first black Governor of Virginia, who served from 1990-1994, originally entered the Senate race as an independent before dropping out.

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chuck Robb (Incumbent)	938,376	45.61%	-25.64%
	Republican	Oliver North	882,213	42.88%	+14.18%
	Independent	J. Marshall Coleman	235,324	11.44%
	Independent	L. Douglas Wilder	113	0.01%
	Write-ins		1,437	0.07%	+0.01%
Majority			56,163	2.73%	-39.83%
Turnout			2,057,463
	Democratic hold		Swing

Washington

Washington election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Slade Gorton Ron Sims Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 947,821 752,352 Percentage 55.8% 44.3%

County results

U.S. senator before election Slade Gorton Republican Elected U.S. Senator Slade Gorton Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Washington, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Washington

Republican incumbent Slade Gorton, seeking his third non-consecutive term, defeated his Democratic opponent, King County Councilman Ron Sims.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Slade Gorton (Incumbent)	947,821	55.8%	+4.71%
	Democratic	Ron Sims	752,352	44.3%	-4.61%
Majority			195,469	11.5%	+155,293
Turnout			1,700,173		-148,369

West Virginia

West Virginia election

November 7, 1994

Nominee Robert Byrd Stanley L. Klos Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 290,495 130,441 Percentage 69.0% 31.0%

U.S. senator before election Robert Byrd Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Robert Byrd Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from West Virginia

Democratic incumbent Robert Byrd, first elected in 1958, easily defeated his Republican opponent State Committee Finance Chairman Stanley L. Klos.

Klos campaigned as a "sacrificial lamb" against Robert C. Byrd participating in the Republican U.S. Senatorial Committee’s strategy to re-capture a majority in the United States Senate in 1994. Byrd spent $1,550,354 to Klos' $267,165. Additionally the Democratic Party invested over $1 million in that State's U.S. Senatorial Campaign to the Republican Party's $15,000. The GOP captured a majority in the U.S. Senate. The highlights of the campaign included the hiring of an actor to play Robert C. Byrd who toured in staged Statewide Debates when the incumbent refused Klos's invitation for a series of formal Senatorial Debates. The campaign also organized successful demonstrations against the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Health Care Bus as it traveled through West Virginia in the summer of 1994. Senator Byrd, while the bill was being debated on the Senate floor rose suggesting the brakes be put on approving National Health Care measure while the bus was completing its tour in WV. To Klos's credit, the campaign did not implement the "Death by a Thousand Cuts" plan proposed by strategists which was later acknowledged in speeches given and letters written by U.S. Senator Byrd.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Byrd (Incumbent)	290,495	69.0%
	Republican	Stan Klos	130,441	31.0%

Wisconsin

Wisconsin election

November 3, 1994

Nominee Herb Kohl Bob Welch Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 912,662 636,989 Percentage 58.3% 40.7%

U.S. senator before election Herb Kohl Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Herb Kohl Democratic

Main article: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Wisconsin

Democratic incumbent Herb Kohl had little trouble winning a second term over former Republican state assemblyman Robert Welch.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herb Kohl (Incumbent)	912,662	58.3%
	Republican	Robert T. Welch	636,989	40.7%
	Libertarian	James R. Dean	15,439	1.0%

Wyoming

Wyoming election

November 3, 1994

Nominee Craig L. Thomas Mike Sullivan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 118,754 79,287 Percentage 58.87% 39.31%

County results

U.S. senator before election Malcolm Wallop Republican Elected U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas Republican

Main article: United States Senate election in Wyoming, 1994

See also: List of United States Senators from Wyoming

Republican incumbent Malcolm Wallop retired after three terms. Republican Rep. Craig Thomas trounced Mike Sullivan, the state's two-term Democratic governor by twenty points.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig L. Thomas	118,754	58.87
	Democratic	Mike Sullivan	79,287	39.31
	Libertarian	Craig Alan McClune	3,669	1.82
Majority			39,467	19.57
Turnout			201,710

See also

• United States elections, 1994
  • United States gubernatorial elections, 1994
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1994
• 103rd United States Congress
• 104th United States Congress

External links

• Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives (1995). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994".
• California: From the Secretary of State of California
  • JoinCalifornia 1994 General Election