The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. This was seen as an even contest between the Republican Party and Democratic Party. While the Democrats had to defend more seats up for election, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains did not materialize. The Republicans picked up open seats in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois), but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato (New York) and Lauch Faircloth (North Carolina). The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans.

Quick Facts 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

1998 United States Senate elections

← 1996 November 3, 1998 2000 →
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Trent Lott Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader since June 12, 1996 January 3, 1995 Leader's seat Mississippi South Dakota Seats before 55 45 Seats after 55 45 Seat change Popular vote 25,346,613 26,768,699 Percentage 46.8% 49.5% Swing 2.7% 1.6% Seats up 16 18 Races won 16 18
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority leader before election Trent Lott Republican Elected Majority leader Trent Lott Republican

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

More information Parties, Total ...

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

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Source: Office of the Clerk^[1]

Eight races had a margin of less than 10%:

California was the tipping point state with a margin of 10.1%.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Alabama election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.^[2]

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Alaska election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.

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Arizona election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a third term over Democratic attorney Ed Ranger.^[5]

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Arkansas election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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

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California election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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

Although the race was predicted^{[by whom?]} 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.

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Colorado election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.^[8][9] In fact, throughout the entire campaign, Lamm mostly sent out negative attack advertisements about Campbell.^[10]

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Connecticut election

← 1992 2004 →

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

County results Municipality results Dodd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Franks:      40–50%      50–60%

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

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

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Florida election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Georgia election

← 1992 2000 (special) →

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

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

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

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Incumbent Republican Paul Coverdell won re-election to a second term.^[4]

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Hawaii election

← 1992 2004 →

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

County results Inouye:      70–80%

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

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Incumbent Democrat Daniel Inouye won re-election to a seventh term over Republican legislative aide Crystal Young.^[12]

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Idaho election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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

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Illinois election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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Incumbent Democrat Carol Moseley Braun decided to run for re-election, despite the number of controversies that she had in her first term. Republican State Senator Peter Fitzgerald won his party's primary with a slim margin of victory.

He ended up defeating the incumbent, with a margin of victory of approximately 3%. Peter Fitzgerald won all but five counties.

During Moseley Braun's term as U.S. Senator, she was plagued by several major controversies. Moseley Braun was the subject of a 1993 Federal Elections Commission investigation over $249,000 in unaccounted-for campaign funds. The agency found some small violations, but took no action against Moseley Braun, citing a lack of resources. Moseley Braun only admitted to bookkeeping errors. The Justice Department turned down two requests for investigations from the IRS.^[14]

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.^[15]

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%.^[16] Fitzgerald spent nearly $7 million in the Republican primary.^[17] He had a major financial advantage, as he was a multimillionaire. He ended up spending $12 million in his election victory.^[18]

In September, Moseley Braun created controversy again by using the word "nigger" to describe how she claims to be a victim of racism.^[18]

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.^[19]

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.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

Indiana election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.

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Iowa election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.

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Kansas election

← 1996 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.

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Kentucky election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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

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Louisiana election

← 1992 2004 →

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

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

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

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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.