2016 United States Senate elections

← 2014 November 8, 2016 December 10 (Louisiana runoff) 2018 →
← 2010 Class 3 2022 →
34 of the 100 seats in theUnited States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mitch McConnell Harry Reid (retired) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 3, 2007 January 3, 2005 Leader's seat Kentucky Nevada Seats before 54 44 Seats after 52 46 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 40,841,717[1] 51,315,969[1][a] Percentage 42.2% 53.0%[a] Seats up 24 10 Races won 22 12   Third party   Party Independent Seats before 2[b] Seats after 2[b] Seat change Popular vote 626,763[1] Percentage 0.6% Seats up 0 Races won 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic hold     Democratic gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Mitch McConnell Republican ElectedMajority Leader Mitch McConnell Republican

The2016 United States Senate elections were held on November 8, 2016. Thepresidential election,House elections,14 gubernatorial elections, and manystate and local elections were held concurrently. In the elections, 34 of the 100 seats—allClass 3 Senate seats—were contested in regular elections; the winners served six-year terms until January 3, 2023. Class 3 had last been up for election in2010 when Republicans won a net gain of six seats.

In 2016, Democrats defended 10 seats, while Republicans defended 24 seats. Republicans, having won a majority of seats in the Senate in2014, held the Senate majority with 54 seats before this election. Although the Democrats made a net gain of two seats, Republicans retained control of the Senate for the115th United States Congress. The two Democratic gains came from the defeats of incumbentsKelly Ayotte inNew Hampshire andMark Kirk inIllinois byMaggie Hassan andTammy Duckworth, respectively.

Despite Republicans retaining control of the Senate, 2016 marked the first time since1986 where Democrats made a net gain of seats in Class 3. This is also the only election cycle since the popular-vote election of senators was mandated by the17th Amendment in 1913 that the winning party in every Senate election mirrored the winning party for their state in the presidential election.^[2][3] This feat had nearly been accomplished earlier in1920, which also involved the Class 3 Senate seats, and nearly repeated in2020; in both cases, every state, with the exception of Kentucky in 1920 andMaine in 2020, voted for the same party in the presidential election and their Senate election. In addition, this election marked the first time since2000 in which the party in opposition to the elected or reelected presidential candidate made net gains in the Senate; both cases involved the election of a Republican president and the Democrats making gains in the Senate.

With the retirement ofHarry Reid,Chuck Schumer became the Democratic leader after the elections, whileMitch McConnell retained his position asSenate Majority Leader. As of 2024, this is the last time Republicans won Senate races inArizona andGeorgia, and the last senate election cycle where there were no special elections.

All 34Class 3 senators were up for election in 2016; Class 3 consisted of 10 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Of the senators not up for election, 34 of the senators not up for election were Democrats, 30 senators were Republicans, and two senators were independents who caucused with theSenate Democrats.

Parties								Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Libertarian	Green	Other
Before these elections		44	54	2	—	—	—	100
Not up		34	30	2	—	—	—	66
	Class 1 (2012→2018)	23	8	2	—	—	—	33
	Class 2 (2014→2020)	11	22	0	—	—	—	33
Up		10	24	0	—	—	—	34
	Class 3 (2010→2016)	10	24	0	—	—	—	34
	Special: All classes	0	0	0	—	—	—	0
General election
Incumbent retired		3	2	—	—	—	—	5
	Held by same party	3	2	—	—	—	—	5
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	—	—	—	0
	Result	3	2	—	—	—	—	5
Incumbent ran		7	22	—	—	—	—	29
	Won re-election	7	20	—	—	—	—	27
	Lost re-election	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats		—	—	—	—	2
	Lost renomination but held by same party	0	0	—	—	—	—	0
	Result	9	20	—	—	—	—	29
Total elected		12	22	—	—	—	—	34
Net gain/loss		2	2					2
Nationwide vote		51,315,969	40,841,717	626,763	1,788,112	695,838	1,598,110	96,866,509
	Share	52.98%	42.16%	0.65%	1.85%	0.72%	1.65%	100%
Result		46	52	2	—	—	—	100

Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives^[1]

Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of theincumbent (if the incumbent is running for reelection) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state'sCook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.

Most election predictors used:

• "tossup": no advantage
• "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
• "lean": slight advantage
• "likely" or "favored": significant, but surmountable, advantage
• "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

Where a site gives a percentage probability as its primary indicator of expected outcome, the chart below classifies a race as follows:

• Tossup: 50-55%
• Tilt: 56-60%
• Lean: 61-75%
• Likely: 76-93%
• Safe: 94-100%

TheNew York Times'sUpshot gave the Democrats a 60% chance of winning the Senate on August 24, 2016;^[4] on September 23, their model gave Republicans a 58% chance to maintain control.^[5]

This table shows the primary dates for regularly scheduled elections. It also shows thetype of primary.

• "Open" primary: any registered voter can vote in any party's primary
• "Closed" primary, only voters registered with a specific party can vote in that party's primary.
• "Top-two" primary, all candidates run against each other regardless of party affiliation, and the top two candidates advance to the second round of voting. (In Louisiana, a candidate can win the election by winning a majority of the vote in the first round.)
• All of the various other primary types are classified as "hybrid." Alaska in 2008 provides one example of a hybrid primary: The Democratic Party allowed unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary, while the Republican Party only allowed party members to vote in its primary.^[13]

^RIndicates a state that requires primaryrun-off elections under certain conditions.

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

Two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election.

One Republican died during the 115th Congress. Two Republicans and one Democrat resigned. All were replaced by appointees. In Alabama, a2017 special election was held prior to the2018 Senate elections for the remainder of the Class 2 term, where Democrat Doug Jones won the special election to succeed Republican appointee Luther Strange, who lost nomination to finish the term.

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2017; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

Nine races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Alabama election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee Richard Shelby Ron Crumpton Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,335,104 748,709 Percentage 64.0% 35.9%

Shelby:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Crumpton:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

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

Incumbent RepublicanRichard Shelby won re-election to a sixth term in office. The primaries were held on March 1. Ron Crumpton, a marijuana legalization activist, was the Democratic nominee.^[16] Shelby won re-election with 63.9% of the vote.

Shelby was first elected to the Senatein 1986 as a Democrat and was easily re-electedin 1992 as such. He switched his party affiliation to Republican on November 9, 1994, one day after the Republicans won control of both houses in themidterm elections. He won his first full term as a Republican in1998 by a large margin and faced no significant opposition in2004 or2010.

If Shelby had decided to retire, numerous high-profile Alabama Republicans were speculated to run, including U.S. representativesRobert Aderholt,Mo Brooks,Bradley Byrne,Gary Palmer,Martha Roby, andMike Rogers, State TreasurerYoung Boozer, State SpeakerMike Hubbard, Lieutenant GovernorKay Ivey, State Senate President Pro TemporeDel Marsh, Secretary of StateJohn Merrill, U.S. Appeals Court JudgeWilliam H. Pryor Jr., former governorBob Riley, and Attorney GeneralLuther Strange.^[63][64][65] Shelby announced in January 2015 that he would run for re-election.^[66]

Alaska election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee Lisa Murkowski Joe Miller Party Republican Libertarian Popular vote 138,149 90,825 Percentage 44.4% 29.2%   Nominee Margaret Stock Ray Metcalfe Party Independent Democratic Popular vote 41,194 36,200 Percentage 13.2% 11.6%

State house district results Borough and census area results Murkowski:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Miller:     40–50%     50–60%

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

Two-term senatorLisa Murkowski (Republican) was appointed in 2002 and elected to a full term in 2004. She was defeated in the Republican primary in 2010 byJoe Miller. She later ran as a write-in candidate in the 2010 general election and was re-elected to a second full term with 40% of the vote, making her one of two senators in US history to win election via write-in votes. She was 59 years old in 2016. She ran for re-election.^[17]

Thomas Lamb, a candidate for the state House in2006, and Bob Lochner filed to run against Murkowski.^[69] Other potential Republican primary challengers included 2010 nominee and 2014 candidateJoe Miller, State SenatorMike J. Dunleavy, former lieutenant governorMead Treadwell, and former mayor ofAnchorageDan Sullivan.^[70]

The only person to file for the Democratic primary as of May 20 was writer and satiristRichard Grayson, who previously sought election to Wyoming's House seat in 2014.^{[71][72][73][69]} Potential Democratic candidates included State SenatorDennis Egan, State RepresentativeAndy Josephson, State SenatorBill Wielechowski, State SenatorHollis French and State Senate Minority LeaderJohnny Ellis.^[74] Former senatorMark Begich was mentioned as a possible candidate,^[75] but he declined to run.^[76]

Murkowski won her primary on August 16, 2016 with 72 percent of the vote. Joe Miller received the Libertarian nomination and ran against Murkowski in the general election. Anchorage attorney and veteranMargaret Stock ran as an Independent candidate.^[77]

Murkowski won re-election with 44% of the vote, compared to Miller with 30% and Metcalfe with 11%. 15% went to other candidates. Murkowski has been re-elected three times now with 48% in 2004, 39.5% in 2010 and 44% in 2016, never having won a majority.

Arizona election

← 2010 2020 (special) →

Nominee John McCain Ann Kirkpatrick Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,359,267 1,031,245 Percentage 53.7% 40.8%   Nominee Gary Swing Party Green Popular vote 138,634 Percentage 5.5%

McCain:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Kirkpatrick:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

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

Five-term senator and Republican presidential candidate in 2008John McCain was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2010. He was 80 years old in 2016. Despite speculation that he might retire,^[80] McCain ran for re-election.^[18]

McCain faced primary challenges fromFair Tax activist Alex Meluskey,^{[citation needed]} businessman David Pizer,^[81] talk radio host Clair Van Steenwyk,^[82] and State SenatorKelli Ward.^[83] David Pizer later dropped out of the race. RepresentativesMatt Salmon andDavid Schweikert were both mentioned as possible candidates,^[84] but both chose not to run.^[85][86] Other potential Republican candidates included formergovernorJan Brewer,^[87] businesswoman and2014 gubernatorial candidateChristine Jones,^[88] formergovernor of Alaska and2008 vice presidential candidateSarah Palin,^[89] former U.S. representativeJohn Shadegg,^[90] and former Arizona attorney generalGrant Woods.^[90]

CongresswomanAnn Kirkpatrick^[19] and teacher Lennie Clark^[91] ran for the Democratic nomination. Lennie Clark dropped out and Ann Kirkpatrick became the Democratic nominee. Other potential Democratic candidates included U.S. representativeRuben Gallego, formerSurgeon General and 2012 nomineeRichard Carmona, 2014 gubernatorial nomineeFred DuVal, Phoenix MayorGreg Stanton, and retired astronautMark Kelly, the husband of ex-CongresswomanGabby Giffords.^[64][92]

Sen. McCain won re-election with 53% to Kirkpatrick's 41%.

Arkansas election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee John Boozman Conner Eldridge Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 661,984 400,602 Percentage 59.8% 36.2%

County results Boozman:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Eldridge:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

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

One-term senatorJohn Boozman (Republican) defeated two-term senatorBlanche Lincoln with 58% of the vote in 2010. He was 65 years old in 2016. Despite speculation that he might retire following health problems,^[95][96] Boozman ran for re-election.^[20] Fellow Republican Curtis Coleman, who ran against Boozman in 2010 but came in fifth place, ran again.^[97]

Conner Eldridge, the former U.S. Attorney for theWestern District of Arkansas, was the only Democrat who met the filing deadline.^[98]

Frank Gilbert was the candidate for the Libertarian Party,^{[99][100][101]} and Jason Tate was running a write-in campaign.^[102]

IncumbentRepublican SenatorJohn Boozman won re-election to a second term in office, becoming the first Republican senator re-elected in the history of the state.

Sen. Boozman won re-election with 60% to Eldridge's 36%.

California election

← 2010 2022 →

Candidate Kamala Harris Loretta Sanchez Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 7,542,753 4,701,417 Percentage 61.6% 38.4%

Harris:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Sanchez:     50–60%     60–70%

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

Four-term senatorBarbara Boxer (Democrat) was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 2010. Boxer declined to run for re-election.^[105]California Attorney GeneralKamala Harris and U.S. representativeLoretta Sanchez, both Democrats, finished first and second, respectively,^[106] inCalifornia's nonpartisan blanket primary, and contested the general election. As such, Boxer's successor was guaranteed to be a Democrat.^[107] This marked a historic first such occasion in California, ever since the Senate elections began in 1914.

Other Democrats on the primary ballot included "President" Cristina Grappo, Massie Munroe, Herbert Peters, Emory Rogers, and Steve Stokes.^[108] Among the potential candidates who declined to run wereGovernorJerry Brown,Lieutenant GovernorGavin Newsom, U.S. representativesXavier Becerra andAdam Schiff, andLos Angeles MayorEric Garcetti.

Former state Republican Party chairs Tom Del Beccaro^[109] and Duf Sundheim,^[110] and former state senatorPhil Wyman^[111][112] ran, along with Don Krampe,^[113] Tom Palzer,^[114] Karen Roseberry,^[115] Greg Conlon, Von Huogo, Jerry Laws, Ron Unz, Jarrell Williamson, and George Yang.^[108] State AssemblymenRocky Chavez was running as well,^[116] but withdrew from the race.^[117] Republicans who were once considered potential candidates but ruled out runs includedSan Diego MayorKevin Faulconer, formerAssistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability and2014 gubernatorial nomineeNeel Kashkari, U.S. representativeDarrell Issa, and businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senatein 2010Carly Fiorina.^[118]

Independent Mike Beitiks ran on a single-issueclimate change platform.^[119]

Polling conducted by the SurveyUSA from March 30, 2016 to April 3, 2016 indicated that Harris was ahead with 26%, compared to Rep. Sánchez with 22%, Del Beccaro with 8%, Wyman with 8%, and Sundheim with 3%; 7% of those polled were supporting other candidates, and 24% were undecided.^[120]

Harris won the election with 62% of the vote to Sanchez's 38%.

Colorado election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee Michael Bennet Darryl Glenn Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,370,710 1,215,318 Percentage 50.0% 44.3%

Bennet:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Glenn:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Michael Bennet Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet Democratic

One-term senatorMichael Bennet (Democrat) was appointed in 2009 and elected to a full term with 48% of the vote in 2010. He was 51 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.^[21]

Businessman Robert Blaha,^[123] formerAurora councilman Ryan Frazier,^[124]El Paso CountyCommissioners Darryl Glenn,^[22] andPeggy Littleton,^[125] formerColorado State University Athletic Director Jack Graham,^[126]State RepresentativeJon Keyser,^[127] formerSBA director Greg Lopez,^[128]State SenatorTim Neville,^[129] andJefferson CountyCommissioner Donald Rosier^[130][131] ran for the Republican nomination. Glenn, Graham, Blaha, Keyser, and Frazier actually competed in the primary.^[132]

Darryl Glenn won the Republican nomination with 37% of the vote against four other opponents.^[132]

Bennet won re-election with 50% of the vote to Glenn's 44%.

Connecticut election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee Richard Blumenthal Dan Carter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,008,714 552,621 Percentage 63.2% 34.6%

County results Municipality results Blumenthal:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Carter:     40–50%     50–60%

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

One-term senatorRichard Blumenthal (Democrat) was elected with 55% of the vote in 2010. He was 70 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.^[23]

State RepresentativeDan Carter,^[24] apparel company CEO and2004 Senate nomineeJack Orchulli,^[135] and former Olympic athleteAugust Wolf^[136] ran for the Republican nomination. Another potential candidate was formerWest Hartford Town Councilor Joe Visconti, who ran forCT-01 in2008 and ran as an independent for governor in2014.^[137] FormerU.S. Comptroller General and 2014 candidate forLieutenant GovernorDavid M. Walker,^[138][139] former U.S. representative and 2010 candidateRob Simmons,^[140] and economist and formerCNBC television hostLawrence Kudlow declined to run.^[141][142]

Blumenthal won re-election with 63% of the vote to Carter's 35%.

Florida election

← 2010 2022 →

Nominee Marco Rubio Patrick Murphy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 4,835,191 4,122,088 Percentage 52.0% 44.3%

Rubio:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Murphy:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Marco Rubio Republican Elected U.S. Senator Marco Rubio Republican

One-term senatorMarco Rubio (Republican) was elected in a three-way race with 49% of the vote in 2010. In April 2014, Rubio stated that he would not run for both the Senate and President in 2016, as Florida law prohibits a candidate from appearing twice on a ballot.^[144] In April 2015, he announced that he would run forPresident and would not seek re-election.^[145] After suspending his campaign on March 15, 2016, Rubio announced on June 22, 2016 that he had changed his mind and would run for re-election.^[25]

U.S. representativeRon DeSantis, combat veteran Todd Wilcox,^[146] real estate developer Carlos Beruff,^[147] retired college lecturer Ilya Katz,^[148] and Donald J. DeRenzo ran for the Republican nomination.^[149][150]Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and candidate forpresident in2016, was also mentioned as a potential candidate.^[151] On June 17, 2016, U.S. representativeDavid Jolly withdrew from the race to run for re-election to his House seat, four days after Rubio began openly considering reversing his decision to not run for re-election.^[152]

U.S. representativePatrick Murphy^[26] defeated fellow representativeAlan Grayson, as well as Pam Keith, Lateresa Jones, Richard Coleman, Sam Brian Gibbons, and Josh Larose, for the Democratic nomination. Murphy lost to incumbentMarco Rubio in the November general election on November 8.^[153]

Sen. Rubio won re-election with 52% of the vote, compared to Murphy's 44%.

Georgia election

← 2010 2020–21 (special) →

Nominee Johnny Isakson Jim Barksdale Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,135,806 1,599,726 Percentage 54.8% 41.0%

Isakson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Barksdale:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election Johnny Isakson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson Republican

Two-term senatorJohnny Isakson (Republican) was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2010. He was 71 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.^[27] In 2015, Isakson announced he was being treated forParkinson's disease, but stated that his treatment would not interfere with his re-election campaign or his ability to serve another term.^[156]

Mary Kay Bacallao, college professor, formerFayette County Board of Education member, and candidate forState Superintendent of Schools in2014^[157] and Derrick Grayson, candidate for the state's other Senate seat in 2014,^[158] challenged Isakson for the Republican nomination. Isakson won the Republican nomination with more than three quarters of the vote.^[159]

Investment firm executive Jim Barksdale,^[28] project manager Cheryl Copeland,^[160] and businessman John Coyne^[161] ran for the Democratic nomination. USAF veteran Jim Knox was running but dropped out of the race.^[162] Barksdale defeated Copeland in a close race to win the Democratic nomination.^[159]

Sen. Isakson won re-election with 55% to Barksdale's 41%.

Hawaii election

← 2014 2022 →

Nominee Brian Schatz John Carroll Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 306,604 92,653 Percentage 73.6% 22.2%

County results Schatz:     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Brian Schatz Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Brian Schatz Democratic

In 2012, Hawaii governorNeil Abercrombie appointed Lieutenant GovernorBrian Schatz (Democrat) to take the place of deceased nine-term senatorDaniel Inouye. Schatz won a2014 special election to serve the remainder of Inouye's term. Schatz ran for re-election.^[23]

Former U.S. representative and2014 Senate candidateColleen Hanabusa considered challenging Schatz in the primary again,^[165] while U.S. representativeTulsi Gabbard declined to seek the Democratic nomination for the seat.^[166]

Charles Collins, a Republican who ran for the Senate in2012 and for governor in2014, was seeking the nomination again,^[167] but withdrew from the race.^[168]

Sen. Schatz won re-election with 74% of the vote, compared to Carroll's 22%.