1988 United States Senate elections

← 1986 November 8, 1988 1990 →
← 1982 Class 1 1994 →
33 of the 100 seats in theUnited States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Byrd Bob Dole Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1977 January 3, 1985 Leader's seat West Virginia Kansas Seats before 54 46 Seats after 55 45 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 35,137,786 31,151,251 Percentage 52.1% 46.2% Seats up 18 15 Races won 19 14
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Republican gain     Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Robert Byrd Democratic ElectedMajority Leader George Mitchell Democratic

The1988 United States Senate elections were elections for theUnited States Senate. Held on November 8, 1988, the 33 seats ofClass 1 were contested in regular elections. In spite of theRepublican victory byGeorge H. W. Bush in thepresidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in theSenate. Seven seats changed parties, with four incumbents being defeated. TheDemocratic majority in the Senate increased by one to 55–45.

This is the last Senate election cycle in which California voted for a Republican, the last in which Texas and Maine voted for a Democrat,^[a] and the last time Arizona voted for a Democrat until 2018. This would also be the last Senate election cycle until1998 to not have at least one special election during that cycle.

This is also the last Senate election cycle in which no woman was elected to the Senate from either party, as all of the winners were men.

Summary of the 1988 United States Senate election results

Parties							Total
		Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Conservative	Other
Last elections (1986)		55	45	0	0	0	100
Before these elections		54	46	0	0	0	100
Not up		36	31	—	—	—	67
Up Class 1 (1982→1988)		18	15	—	—	—	33
Incumbent retired		3	3	—	—	—	6
	Held by same party	1	2	—	—	—	3
	Replaced by other party	1 Republican replaced by1 Democrat 2 Democrats replaced by2 Republicans		—	—	—	3
	Result	2	4	—	—	—	6
Incumbent ran		15	12[b]	—	—	—	27
	Won re-election	14	9	—	—	—	23
	Lost re-election	3 Republicans replaced by3 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by1 Republican		—	—	—	4
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	0	—	—	—	0
	Result	17	10	—	—	—	27
Total elected		19	14	—	—	—	33
Net gain/loss		1	1				1
Nationwide vote		35,137,786	31,151,251	268,053	189,226	677,928	67,424,244
	Share	52.11%	46.20%	0.40%	0.28%	1.01%	100%
Result		55	45	0	0	0	100

Source:Clerk of the United States House of Representatives."Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988"(PDF).U.S. Government Printing Office. RetrievedJuly 2, 2014.

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

Three Republicans and one Democrat sought re-election but lost in the general election.

One Republican resigned on January 3, 1989, while one Democrat died on May 16, 1990. Initially, they were replaced by appointees.

There were no special elections in 1988.

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1989; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

In eleven races the margin of victory was under 10%.

Ohio was the tipping point state, with a margin of 13.95%.

Arizona election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Dennis DeConcini Keith DeGreen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 660,403 478,060 Percentage 56.7% 41.1%

County results DeConcini:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Dennis DeConcini Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini Democratic

Incumbent DemocratDennis DeConcini was reelected to a third term over Republican Keith DeGreen, Marine veteran and financial advisor.

California election

← 1982 1992 (special) →

Nominee Pete Wilson Leo T. McCarthy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 5,143,409 4,287,253 Percentage 52.8% 44.0%

County results Wilson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% McCarthy:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Pete Wilson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pete Wilson Republican

Incumbent RepublicanPete Wilson won re-election to a second term over DemocratLeo T. McCarthy,lieutenant governor of California and formerSpeaker of the California State Assembly. As of 2020, this is the last Senate election in California won by a Republican.

Connecticut election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Joe Lieberman Lowell Weicker Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 688,499 677,903 Percentage 49.8% 49.0%

County results Municipality results Lieberman:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Weicker:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Tie:     40–50%

U.S. senator before election Lowell P. Weicker Jr. Republican Elected U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman Democratic

Incumbent RepublicanLowell P. Weicker Jr. ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Democratic candidateJoe Lieberman, theConnecticut attorney general and eventual2000 nominee forvice president of the United States, who would remain in office until his retirement in 2013.

Delaware election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee William Roth Shien Biau Woo Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 151,115 92,378 Percentage 62.1% 37.9%

County results Roth:     50–60%     60–70%

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

Incumbent RepublicanWilliam Roth won re-election to a fourth term, beating DemocratShien Biau Woo,lieutenant governor of Delaware.

Florida election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Connie Mack III Buddy MacKay Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,051,071 2,016,553 Percentage 50.4% 49.6%

County results Mack:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% MacKay:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Lawton Chiles Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Connie Mack III Republican

Incumbent DemocratLawton Chiles decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican U.S. RepresentativeConnie Mack III won the open seat over Democratic CongressmanBuddy Mackay.^[1]

This senate election was heavily targeted by both parties. U.S. Representative Mack had announced his candidacy in October 1987.^[5] PresidentRonald Reagan endorsed Mack in June 1988^[6] to allow Mack to focus on the general election, and easily won the September 6 Republican primary against U.S. Attorney Robert Merkle.^[7] In May 1988, then-Congressman MacKay announced he would run for the open seat,^[8] and defeated Insurance CommissionerBill Gunter in a close October 4 runoff election.^[9]

The general election soon became nasty, with Mackay portraying Mack as "extremist."^[10] Mack also attacked his opponent in television ads by connecting him to liberalMassachusetts governor and Democratic presidential nomineeMichael Dukakis.^[11] Mack had help from vice presidential candidateDan Quayle.^[12] The election was so close that there was a recount until Mackay conceded eight days after election day.^[13]

Hawaii election

← 1982 1990 (special) →

Nominee Spark Matsunaga Maria Hustace Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 247,941 66,987 Percentage 76.6% 20.7%

County results Matsunaga:     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election Spark Matsunaga Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga Democratic

Incumbent DemocratSpark Matsunaga won re-election to a third term, beating Republican cattle rancher Maria Hustace.^[16][17]

Indiana election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Richard Lugar Jack Wickes Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,430,525 668,778 Percentage 68.1% 31.9%

County results Lugar:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90% Wickes:     50–60%

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

Incumbent RepublicanRichard Lugar was re-elected to a third term over Democratic attorney Jack Wickes.^[19][20]

Lugar, a popular incumbent, had token opposition in this election. An April 1988 poll showed that Lugar lead 65% to 23%. By June, Lugar raised over $2 million, while Wickes raised just over $100,000.^[21] Lugar agreed to debate Wickes on September 10, 1988.^[22]

Lugar won overall with two-thirds of the vote and won 91 ofIndiana's 92 counties, Wickes won only the Democratic stronghold ofLake County.

Maine election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee George Mitchell Jasper Wyman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 452,581 104,164 Percentage 81.3% 18.7%

County results Mitchell:     70–80%     80–90%

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

Incumbent DemocratGeorge J. Mitchell won re-election to a second full term over Republican Jasper Wyman, leader of Maine Christian Civic League and businessman.^[24] As of 2020, this is the last Senate election in Maine won by a Democrat.

Maryland election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Paul Sarbanes Alan Keyes Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 999,166 617,537 Percentage 61.8% 38.2%

County results Sarbanes:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Keyes:     50–60%

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

Incumbent DemocraticPaul Sarbanes was reelected to a third term over RepublicanAlan Keyes, formerAssistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

Massachusetts election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Ted Kennedy Joseph D. Malone Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,693,344 884,267 Percentage 65.0% 33.9%

County results Municipality results County results Kennedy:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     90–100% Malone:     40–50%     50–60% Tie:     40–50%

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

Incumbent DemocratTed Kennedy won re-election to his sixth (his fifth full) term over RepublicanJoseph D. Malone.

Michigan election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Don Riegle James Whitney Dunn Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,116,865 1,348,216 Percentage 60.4% 38.5%

County results Riegle:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Dunn:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Don Riegle Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Don Riegle Democratic

Incumbent DemocratDon Riegle won re-election to a third term over Republican U.S. CongressmanJames Whitney Dunn.

Minnesota election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee David Durenberger Skip Humphrey Party Ind.-Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 1,176,210 856,694 Percentage 56.2% 40.9%

County results Durenberger:     50–60%     60–70% Humphrey:     50–60%

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

Incumbent RepublicanDavid Durenberger won re-election to his second full term, beating DemocratSkip Humphrey, theMinnesota attorney general and former state senator.

Mississippi election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Trent Lott Wayne Dowdy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 510,380 436,339 Percentage 53.9% 46.1%

County results Lott:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Dowdy:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election John C. Stennis Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Trent Lott Republican

Incumbent DemocratJohn C. Stennis decided to retire instead of seeking an eighth term (and his seventh full term). RepublicanTrent Lott won the open seat, beating DemocratWayne Dowdy, U.S. congressman from the4th district.

Missouri election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee John Danforth Jay Nixon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,407,416 660,045 Percentage 67.7% 31.8%

County results Danforth:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90% Nixon:     50–60%

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

Incumbent RepublicanJohn Danforth won re-election over Democratic state senator and futuregovernorJay Nixon.^[30]

Montana election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Conrad Burns John Melcher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 189,445 175,809 Percentage 51.9% 48.1%

County results Burns:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Melcher:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election John Melcher Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Conrad Burns Republican

IncumbentJohn Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in1976 and was re-elected in1982, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he facedYellowstone County CommissionerConrad Burns in the general election, and in the general election a grueling campaign followed. Ultimately, Melcher was narrowly defeated in his bid for re-election by Burns.

Nebraska election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Bob Kerrey David Karnes Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 378,717 278,250 Percentage 56.71% 41.66%

County results Kerrey:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Karnes:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Tie:     40–50%

U.S. senator before election David Karnes Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey Democratic

RepublicanDavid Karnes decided to seek election to his first complete term after being appointed to the seat of the lateEdward Zorinsky in March 1987, but was soundly defeated by Democratic former governorBob Kerrey in the November general election.^[32]

Nevada election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Richard Bryan Chic Hecht Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 175,548 161,336 Percentage 50.2% 46.1%

County results Bryan:     40–50%     50–60% Hecht:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Chic Hecht Republican Elected U.S. Senator Richard Bryan Democratic

Incumbent RepublicanChic Hecht ran for re-election to a second term, but lost to Democratic governorRichard Bryan.

New Jersey election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Frank Lautenberg Pete Dawkins Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,599,905 1,349,937 Percentage 53.55% 45.18%

Lautenberg:     50–60%     60–70% Dawkins:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

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

Incumbent DemocratFrank Lautenberg won re-election to a second term with a margin of 8.37% over RepublicanPete Dawkins, military veteran and CEO ofPrimerica Financial Services, Inc.

The campaign was full of politicalmudslinging, with Lautenberg accusing Dawkins of being a carpetbagger, noting his very brief residency in the state,^[34] and accusing Dawkins' campaign of lying about his war record.^[35] Dawkins accused Lautenberg of running a smear campaign, called him a "swamp dog",^[36] and criticized him for saying he voted eight times against a senatorial pay raise without mentioning the fact that he did vote once for the pay raise.^[35]

New Mexico election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Jeff Bingaman Bill Valentine Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 321,983 186,579 Percentage 63.3% 36.7%

County results Bingaman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Valentine:     50–60%

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

Incumbent DemocratJeff Bingaman won re-election to a second term, beating RepublicanNew Mexico State Senator Bill Valentine.

New York election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Pat Moynihan Robert McMillan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,048,649 1,875,784 Percentage 67.0% 31.1%

County results Moynihan:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% McMillan:     50–60%

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

Incumbent DemocratDaniel Patrick Moynihan won re-election to a third term, over Republican Robert R. McMillan, business executive ofAvon Products andReagan Administration advisor.^[38]

North Dakota election

← 1982 1992 (special) →

Nominee Quentin Burdick Earl Strinden Party Democratic–NPL Republican Popular vote 171,899 112,937 Percentage 59.45% 39.06%

County results Burdick:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Strinden:     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. Senator before election Quentin Burdick Democratic ElectedU.S. Senator Quentin Burdick Democratic

The incumbent,Quentin Burdick of theNorth Dakota Democratic NPL Party, sought and received re-election to his sixth term, defeatingRepublican candidateEarl Strinden.^[1]

Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate wasEarl Strinden ofGrand Forks, North Dakota, president of theUniversity of North Dakota Alumni Association. As in Burdick's previous re-election campaign, the senator's age became an issue for voters, as he was 80 years old during the campaign. However, challenger Strinden commented that he did not want to raise the age issue. Burdick and Strinden won the primary elections for their respective parties.

The Burdick campaign hired high-profile Washington, D.C. campaign consultant Bob Squire of Squire Eskew Communications. To counter the potential age issue, Burdick successfully focused the message on the clout he had earned over decades in the Senate, as well as his chairmanship of Senate Agricultural Appropriations sub-committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Oneindependent candidate, Kenneth C. Gardner, also filed before the deadline, officially calling himself alibertarian. Gardner had previously run forNorth Dakota's otherUnited States Senate seat as an independent in1974, challengingMilton Young. He only received 853 votes in that election.

Ohio election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Howard Metzenbaum George Voinovich Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,480,038 1,872,716 Percentage 56.97% 42.31%

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

U.S. senator before election Howard Metzenbaum Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum Democratic

Incumbent DemocratHoward Metzenbaum won re-election overGeorge Voinovich,mayor of Cleveland and formerlieutenant governor of Ohio.^[40]

Pennsylvania election

← 1982 1991 (special) →

Nominee John Heinz Joseph Vignola Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,901,715 1,416,764 Percentage 66.5% 32.5%

County results Heinz:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90% Vignola:     70–80%

U.S. senator before election H. John Heinz III Republican Elected U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III Republican

Incumbent RepublicanH. John Heinz III successfully sought re-election to another term, defeating Democratic nomineeJoe Vignola,PhiladelphiaCity Controller.

Vignola was not expected by Democratic Party leaders to have a substantial chance at defeating the popular incumbent Heinz, even predicting that Vignola would become "Heinz's 58th variety,"^[41] referring to an advertising slogan of theH. J. Heinz Company. Heinz, knowing this, ran a low-profile re-election campaign and was safely ahead in polling. Vignola traveled across Pennsylvania promoting an increase in domestic spending, including education and healthcare, while decreasing the defense budget to compensate. Vignola ran a positive campaign, in contrast withCyril Wecht six years previously, although many Democratic ward leaders and committee members had given up on the campaign and had stopped campaigning for Vignola.^[41]

Heinz easily defeated Vignola to win the election and another term in the Senate, carrying every Pennsylvania county exceptPhiladelphia, Vignola's home town, and by a comfortable 1.49 million vote margin. Heinz performed well in suburban areas, as well as the central, southwestern and northeastern portions of the state. Outside of Philadelphia, Vignola's best county-wide showing was inMercer County, where he won 36% of the vote, and his poorest county-wide performance was inSnyder County, where he won 12% of the vote. Although Heinz's landslide victory was largely expected among Democratic leaders, he won by a wide margin despite the Democrats' 551,000-voter registration advantage statewide.^[41]

Heinzdied in an airplane crash on April 4, 1991, inLower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.^[42] DemocratHarris Wofford was appointed on May 8 to fill the vacancy caused by Heinz's death, and subsequently won aspecial election in November 1991. In the1994 election, however, Wofford was defeated by RepublicanRick Santorum.^[43][44]

Rhode Island election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee John Chafee Richard Licht Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 217,273 180,717 Percentage 54.6% 45.4%

County results Municipality results Chafee:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Licht:     50–60%     60–70%

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

Incumbent RepublicanJohn Chafee won re-election to a third term, beating Democraticlieutenant governor and former state senatorRichard Licht.

Tennessee election

← 1982 1994 →

Nominee Jim Sasser Bill Anderson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,020,061 541,033 Percentage 65.09% 34.52%

County results Sasser:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Andersen:     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Jim Sasser Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Sasser Democratic

Incumbent DemocratJim Sasser won re-election to a third term over RepublicanBill Anderson.

Texas election

← 1982 1993 (special) →

Nominee Lloyd Bentsen Beau Boulter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,149,806 2,129,228 Percentage 59.2% 40.0%

Bentsen:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%      80–90%     >90% Boulter:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Lloyd Bentsen Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen Democratic