United States Senate elections, 1988

November 8, 1988

33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate, plus 2 mid-term vacancies 51 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	George Mitchell	Bob Dole
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader's seat	Maine	Kansas
Last election	55 seats	45 seats
Seats before	54	46
Seats won	55	45
Seat change	1	1
Popular vote	35,137,786	31,151,251
Percentage	52.1%	46.2%
Swing	2.0%	1.4%
Seats up	18	15

Democratic hold

Democratic gain

Republican hold

Republican gain

Majority Leader before election

Robert Byrd
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

George Mitchell
Democratic

The United States Senate election, of November 8, 1988 was an election for the United States Senate in which, in spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. A total of seven seats changed hands, with four incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased from 54–46 to 55–45.

Results summary

Summary of the 1988 United States Senate election results

Parties		Total Seats				Popular Vote
Parties		1986 election	Before the election	This election	+/-	Vote	%
	Democratic Party	55	54	55	1	35,137,786	52.12%
	Republican Party	45	46	45	1	31,151,251	46.20%
	Libertarian Party	0	0	0		268,053	0.40%
	Conservative Party (New York)	0	0	0		189,226	0.28%
	Others	-	-	-		677,928	1.01%
Total		100	100	100	-	67,424,244	100.0%
Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Change in Senate composition

Senate composition before the elections

D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₆	D₄₇	D₄₈	D₄₉	D₅₀
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
Majority→									D₅₁
R₄₁	R₄₂	R₄₃	R₄₄	R₄₅	R₄₆	D₅₄	D₅₃	D₅₂
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

Senate composition as a result of the elections

D₄₁√	D₄₂√	D₄₃√	D₄₄√	D₄₅√	D₄₆√	D₄₇√	D₄₈√	D₄₉√	D₅₀√
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
Majority→									D₅₁O
R₄₁O	R₄₂O	R₄₃+	R₄₄+	R₄₅+	D₅₅+	D₅₄+	D₅₃+	D₅₂+
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

√	Incumbent re-elected or appointee elected to finish term
O	Party hold: New senator elected from same party
+	Party gain: New senator elected from different party

Gains and losses

The Democrats captured four Republican seats, which included an open seat in Virginia and the seats of three incumbents, Chic Hecht of Nevada, Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. of Connecticut, and David K. Karnes of Nebraska. These gains were partially offset by the Republican capture of open seats by Trent Lott in Mississippi and Connie Mack III in Florida, and the defeat of incumbent John Melcher of Montana to Conrad Burns.

Democratic gains

Connecticut: Democratic Attorney General Joe Lieberman narrowly defeated Sen. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R) in his bid for a fourth term. A liberal in an increasingly conservative party, Weicker found himself at odds with his fellow Republicans. This rift would lead many conservatives (such as National Review editor William F. Buckley, Jr.) to endorse Lieberman.
Nebraska: Sen. David Karnes (R) lost by a large margin to former Governor Bob Kerrey (D). Karnes had been appointed to the Senate following the death of Sen. Edward Zorinsky (D) and, though he survived a tough primary challenge from Rep. Hal Daub (R), he proved no match for the popular Kerrey in the general election.
Nevada: Sen. Chic Hecht (R) was narrowly defeated by Governor Richard Bryan (D). Hecht had been considered vulnerable for his undistinguished record and a series of verbal gaffes.
Virginia: Sen. Paul S. Trible, Jr. (R) retired rather than run a contentious re-election race against former Governor Chuck Robb (D). Robb would instead face Republican Maurice Dawkins, a black minister, and defeat him in a landslide.

Republican gains

Florida: Sen. Lawton Chiles (D) retired rather than run for a fourth term. Congressman Connie Mack III (R) overcame some concerns about his very conservative House record to defeat Rep. Buddy MacKay (D).
Mississippi: Senate President pro tempore John C. Stennis (D) retired after 41 years in the Senate. House Minority Whip Trent Lott (R) defeated Congressman Wayne Dowdy by a comfortable margin in the increasing Republican Mississippi.
Montana: Sen. John Melcher (D) was defeated by Republican Conrad Burns. A political novice, Burns would score an upset victory riding on the coattails of Bush's modest Montana victory.

Democratic holds

New Jersey: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) won election to a second term over Republican Wall Street executive Pete Dawkins. Lautenberg's campaign, led by James Carville and Paul Begala, attacked the once favored Dawkins as a carpetbagger (he moved to New Jersey from New York to make his Senate run) and opportunist.
Wisconsin: Former state Democratic Party Chairman Herb Kohl defeated Republican State Senator Susan Engeleiter for the seat of retiring Sen. William Proxmire (D). Kohl capitalized on his popularity in the state as the heir to the department stores that bear his family's name and as owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team.

Republican holds

Washington: Former Sen. Slade Gorton (R) defeated Rep. Mike Lowry (D) for the seat of Sen. Daniel J. Evans (R). Gorton won the tight race despite having been voted out of the state's other Senate seat two years earlier.
Wyoming: Sen. Malcolm Wallop (R) defeated Democratic State Senator John Vinich by less than one percentage point. Wallop became vulnerable due to attacks on his partisan voting record.

Complete list of races

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

State	Incumbent	Party	Result	Opposing candidates
Arizona	Dennis DeConcini	Democratic	Re-elected	Dennis DeConcini (Democratic) 58.0% Keith DeGreen (Republican) 42.0% Rich Tompkins (Libertarian) 1.8%
California	Pete Wilson	Republican	Re-elected	Pete Wilson (Republican) 52.7% Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic) 44.0% Maria Elizabeth Muñoz (Peace & Freedom) 1.7% Jack Dean (Libertarian) 0.8% Merton D. Short (American Ind.) 0.7%
Connecticut	Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.	Republican	Lost re-election Democratic gain	Joe Lieberman (Democratic) 49.7% Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (Republican) 49.0% Howard Grayson (Libertarian) 0.9% Melissa Fisher (New Alliance) 0.3%
Delaware	William V. Roth, Jr.	Republican	Re-elected	William V. Roth, Jr. (Republican) 62.1% Shien Biau Woo (Democratic) 37.9%
Florida	Lawton Chiles	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Connie Mack III (Republican) 50.4% Buddy MacKay (Democratic) 49.6%
Hawaii	Spark Matsunaga	Democratic	Re-elected	Spark Matsunaga (Democratic) 76.5% Maria M. Hustace (Republican) 20.7% Ken Schoolland (Libertarian) 2.8%
Indiana	Richard Lugar	Republican	Re-elected	Richard Lugar (Republican) 67.7% Jack Wickes (Democratic) 32.3%
Maine	George J. Mitchell	Democratic	Re-elected	George J. Mitchell (Democratic) 81.1% Jasper S. Wyman (Republican) 18.9%
Maryland	Paul Sarbanes	Democratic	Re-elected	Paul Sarbanes (Democratic) 61.8% Alan Keyes (Republican) 38.2%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	Re-elected	Ted Kennedy (Democratic) 65.0% Joseph D. Malone (Republican) 33.9% Mary Fridley (New Alliance) 0.6% Freda Lee Nason (Libertarian) 0.5%
Michigan	Donald W. Riegle, Jr.	Democratic	Re-elected	Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (Democratic) 60.4% James Whitney Dunn (Republican) 38.5% Dick Jacobs (Libertarian) 0.8% Sally Bier (Workers Against Concessions) 0.3%
Minnesota	David Durenberger	Republican	Re-elected	David Durenberger (Republican) 56.2% Skip Humphrey (Democratic) 40.9% Polly Mann (Progressive Issues) 2.1% Derrick Grimmer (Grassroots) 0.4% Arlen Overvig (Libertarian) 0.2% Wendy Lyons (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Mississippi	John C. Stennis	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Trent Lott (Republican) 54.1% Wayne Dowdy (Democratic) 45.9%
Missouri	John Danforth	Republican	Re-elected	John Danforth (Republican) 67.7% Jay Nixon (Democratic) 31.7% John Guze (Libertarian) 0.6%
Montana	John Melcher	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Conrad Burns (Republican) 51.9% John Melcher (Democratic) 48.1%
Nebraska	David Karnes	Republican	Interim appointee lost election to finish term Democratic gain	Bob Kerrey (Democratic) 56.7% David Karnes (Republican) 41.7% Ernie Chambers (New Alliance) 1.6%
Nevada	Chic Hecht	Republican	Lost re-election Democratic gain	Richard Bryan (Democratic) 51.3% Chic Hecht (Republican) 47.1% James Frye (Libertarian) 1.6%
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg	Democratic	Re-elected	Frank Lautenberg (Democratic) 53.5% Pete Dawkins (Republican) 45.2% Joseph Job (Independent) 0.7% Jerry Zeldin (Libertarian) 0.4% Thomas Fiske (Socialist Workers) 0.2%
New Mexico	Jeff Bingaman	Democratic	Re-elected	Jeff Bingaman (Democratic) 63.2% Bill Valentine (Republican) 36.8%
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	Re-elected	Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democratic) 67.3% Robert R. McMillan (Republican) 31.6%
North Dakota	Quentin N. Burdick	Democratic	Re-elected	Quentin N. Burdick (Democratic) 59.5% Earl Strinden (Republican) 39.1% Kenneth C. Gardner (Libertarian) 1.5%
Ohio	Howard Metzenbaum	Democratic	Re-elected	Howard Metzenbaum (Democratic) 56.9% George Voinovich (Republican) 43.1%
Pennsylvania	H. John Heinz III	Republican	Re-elected	H. John Heinz III (Republican) 66.4% Joseph C. Vignola (Democratic) 32.4% Darcy Richardson (Consumer) 0.6% Henry Haller (Libertarian) 0.3% Samuel Cross (Populist) 0.1% Sam Blancato (New Alliance) 0.1%
Rhode Island	John Chafee	Republican	Re-elected	John Chafee (Republican) 54.3% Richard A. Licht (Democratic) 45.7%
Tennessee	Jim Sasser	Democratic	Re-elected	Jim Sasser (Democratic) 65.1% Bill Anderson (Republican) 34.5% Khalil-Ullah Al-Muhaymin (Independent) 0.4%
Texas	Lloyd Bentsen	Democratic	Re-elected	Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic) 59.2% Beau Boulter (Republican) 40.0% Jeff Daiell (Libertarian) 0.8%
Utah	Orrin Hatch	Republican	Re-elected	Orrin Hatch (Republican) 67.1% Brian Moss (Democratic) 31.7% Robert J. Smith (American) 0.9% William M. Arth (Socialist Workers) 0.2%
Vermont	Robert Stafford	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Jim Jeffords (Republican) 67.9% William Gray (Democratic) 29.8% Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 1.1% King Milne (Independent) 1.0%
Virginia	Paul S. Trible, Jr.	Republican	Retired Democratic gain	Chuck Robb (Democratic) 71.2% Maurice A. Dawkins (Republican) 28.8%
Washington	Daniel J. Evans	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Slade Gorton (Republican) 50.7% Mike Lowry (Democratic) 49.3%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	Re-elected	Robert Byrd (Democratic) 63.2% M. Jay Wolfe (Republican) 36.8%
Wisconsin	William Proxmire	Democratic	Retired Democratic hold	Herb Kohl (Democratic) 52.2% Susan Engeleiter (Republican) 47.8%
Wyoming	Malcolm Wallop	Republican	Re-elected	Malcolm Wallop (Republican) 50.4% John Vinich (Democratic) 49.6%