United States Senate election, 1994
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The U.S. Senate election, 1994 was an election in which the Republican Party was able to take control of the Senate from the Democrats by mobilizing voters discontented with congressional incumbents and the early presidency of Bill Clinton.
The Republicans captured eight seats from the Democrats, including the seats of sitting Sens. Harris Wofford (D-Pa.) and James R. Sasser (D-Tenn.), as well as six open seats in Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Notably, since Sasser's defeat coincided with the special election to replace Albert A. Gore Jr. (who had left the Senate to become vice president), the delegation of Tennessee changed from two Democrats to two Republicans in one election.
This defeat changed control of the Senate from Democrats to Republicans for the first time since 1986. In combination with the first change of control in the United States House of Representatives since 1954 and the Republicans' net gain of twelve governor's seats, this is sometimes called the Republican revolution. Minority leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) became majority leader, while on the Democratic side, the new minority leader was Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), previous majority leader George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) having left the Senate.
Initially, the balance was 52-48 in favor of Republicans, but after the power change, Democrats Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado switched parties, bringing the balance to 54-46 before the resignation of Robert W. Packwood and his replacement by a Democrat returned the balance to 53-47.
Senate contests in 1994
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Dennis DeConcini | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 54 - 40 - 7 | Jon Kyl (Republican) Sam Coppersmith (Democrat) Scott Grainger (Libertarian) |
| California | Dianne G. B. Feinstein | Democrat | Re-elected, 47 - 45 | Michael Huffington (Republican) |
| Connecticut | Joseph I. Lieberman | Democrat | Re-elected, 67 - 31 | Jerry Labriola (Republican) |
| Delaware | William Roth | Republican | Re-elected, 56 - 43 | Charles Oberly (Democrat) |
| Florida | Connie Mack | Republican | Re-elected, 70 - 30 | Hugh Rodham (Democrat) |
| Hawaii | Daniel K. Akaka | Democrat | Re-elected, 72 - 24 | Maria Hustace (Republican) |
| Indiana | Richard G. Lugar | Republican | Re-elected, 67 - 31 | Jim Jontz (Democrat) |
| Maine | George J. Mitchell | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 60 - 37 | Olympia J. Snowe (Republican) Thomas Andrews (Democrat) |
| Maryland | Paul S. Sarbanes | Democrat | Re-elected, 59 - 41 | William Brock (Republican) |
| Massachusetts | Edward M. Kennedy | Democrat | Re-elected, 58 - 41 | W. Mitt Romney (Republican) |
| Michigan | Donald W. Riegle Jr. | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 52 - 43 | Spencer Abraham (Republican) Milton R. Carr (Democrat) |
| Minnesota | David Durenberger | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 49 - 44 - 5 | Rod Grams (Republican) Ann Wynia (Democrat) Dean Barkley (Reform) |
| Mississippi | C. Trent Lott Jr. | Republican | Re-elected, 69 - 31 | Ken Harper (Democrat) |
| Missouri | John Danforth | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 60 - 36 | John D. Ashcroft (Republican) Alan Wheat (Democrat) |
| Montana | Conrad R. Burns | Republican | Re-elected, 62 - 38 | Jack Mudd (Democrat) |
| Nebraska | D. Robert Kerrey | Democrat | Re-elected, 55 - 45 | Jan Stoney (Republican) |
| Nevada | Richard H. Bryan | Democrat | Re-elected, 53 - 43 | Hal Furman (Republican) |
| New Jersey | Frank R. Lautenberg | Democrat | Re-elected, 50 - 47 | Garabed Haytaian (Republican) |
| New Mexico | Jesse F. "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. | Democrat | Re-elected, 54 - 46 | Colin McMillan (Republican) |
| New York | Daniel Patrick Moynihan | Democrat | Re-elected, 55 - 42 | Bernadette Castro (Republican) |
| North Dakota | Kent Conrad | Democrat | Re-elected, 58 - 42 | Ben Clayburgh (Republican) |
| Ohio | Howard M. Metzenbaum | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53 - 39 - 8 | R. Michael DeWine (Republican) Joel Z. Hyatt (Democrat) Joseph Slovenec |
| Oklahoma1 | David L. Boren | Democrat | Resigned: Republican victory, 55 - 40 | James Inhofe (Republican) Dave McCurdy (Democrat) |
| Pennsylvania2 | Harris Wofford | Democrat | Defeated, 49 - 47 | Richard J. Santorum (Republican) |
| Rhode Island | John H. Chafee | Republican | Re-elected, 64 - 36 | Linda Kushner (Democrat) |
| Tennessee | James R. Sasser | Democrat | Defeated, 57 - 42 | William H. Frist (Republican) |
| Tennessee3 | Harlan Mathews | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 61 - 39 | Fred Thompson (Republican) Jim Cooper (Democrat) |
| Texas4 | Kay Bailey Hutchison | Republican | Re-elected, 61 - 38 | Richard Fisher (Democrat) |
| Utah | Orrin G. Hatch | Republican | Re-elected, 69 - 28 | Patrick Shea (Democrat) |
| Vermont | James M. Jeffords | Republican | Re-elected, 50 - 41 | Jan Backus (Democrat) |
| Virginia | Charles S. Robb | Democrat | Re-elected, 46 - 43 - 11 | Oliver North (Republican) J. Marshall Coleman |
| Washington | T. Slade Gorton III | Republican | Re-elected, 55 - 45 | Ron Sims (Democrat) |
| West Virginia | Robert C. Byrd | Democrat | Re-elected, 69 - 31 | Stan Klos (Republican) |
| Wisconsin | Herbert H. Kohl | Democrat | Re-elected, 58 - 41 | Robert Welch (Republican) |
| Wyoming | Malcolm Wallop | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 58.7 - 39.5 | Craig Thomas (Republican) Mike Sullivan (Democrat) |
1 special election held due to resignation of David L. Boren (D-Okla.) -- next regular election held in 1996.
2 Wofford was appointed on May 8, 1991, and elected in a special election on November 5, 1991, following the death of H. John Heinz III (R-Penn.)
3 special election held due to resignation of Albert A. Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) to become Vice-President -- next regular election held in 1996.
4 Hutchison was elected in a special election on June 5, 1993, following the resignation of Lloyd Bentsen to become Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton.
See also
Senate composition before and after elections
| 103rd Congress Senate Composition | 104th Congress Senate Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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