How many U.S. Senate seats changed party in 1998?

6 seats changed party in the 1998 Senate elections: Illinois (Democrat to Republican), Indiana (Republican to Democrat), Kentucky (Democrat to Republican), New York (Republican to Democrat), North Carolina (Republican to Democrat), Ohio (Democrat to Republican).

Which new senators were elected in 1998?

8 new senators won seats in 1998: Blanche Lincoln (Democrat-AR), Mike Crapo (Republican-ID), Peter Fitzgerald (Republican-IL), Evan Bayh (Democrat-IN), James Bunning (Republican-KY), Chuck Schumer (Democrat-NY), John Edwards (Democrat-NC), George Voinovich (Republican-OH).

1998 U.S. Senate Elections: Results

34 Senate seats were decided on Tuesday, November 3, 1998: the 34 Class III seats. 26 incumbents kept their seats, 8 new senators were elected, and 6 seats changed party.

All cycles 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Seats on the ballot

34 Class III

Held going in

18 Democrat · 16 Republican

New senators

26 incumbents re-elected

Seats that changed party

IL, IN, KY, NY, NC, OH

Every Seat on the 1998 Ballot

Incumbent is whoever held the seat on election day; the result is who was sworn in for it afterwards.

State ▲	Incumbent ↕	Party ↕	Seat ↕	Since ↕	Age on Election Day ↕	Result ↕
Alabama	Richard Shelby Since 1987	Republican	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Alaska	Frank Murkowski Since 1981	Republican	Class III	1981		Re-elected
Arizona	John McCain, III Since 1987	Republican	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Arkansas	Dale Bumpers Since 1975	Democrat	Class III	1975		Blanche Lincoln (Democrat)
California	Barbara Boxer Since 1993	Democrat	Class III	1993		Re-elected
Colorado	Ben Campbell Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		Re-elected
Connecticut	Christopher Dodd Since 1981	Democrat	Class III	1981		Re-elected
Florida	Bob Graham Since 1987	Democrat	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Georgia	Paul Coverdell Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		Re-elected
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye Since 1963	Democrat	Class III	1963		Re-elected
Idaho	Dirk Kempthorne Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		Mike Crapo (Republican)
Illinois	Carol Moseley Braun Since 1993	Democrat	Class III	1993		Peter Fitzgerald (Republican) Party change
Indiana	Daniel Coats Since 1989	Republican	Class III	1989		Evan Bayh (Democrat) Party change
Iowa	Chuck Grassley Since 1981 · age 65	Republican	Class III	1981	65	Re-elected
Kansas	Sam Brownback Since 1996	Republican	Class III	1996		Re-elected
Kentucky	Wendell Ford Since 1974	Democrat	Class III	1974		James Bunning (Republican) Party change
Louisiana	John Breaux Since 1987	Democrat	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Maryland	Barbara Mikulski Since 1987	Democrat	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Missouri	Kit Bond Since 1987	Republican	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Nevada	Harry Reid Since 1987	Democrat	Class III	1987		Re-elected
New Hampshire	Judd Gregg Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		Re-elected
New York	Alfonse D'Amato Since 1981	Republican	Class III	1981		Chuck Schumer (Democrat) Party change
North Carolina	Lauch Faircloth Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		John Edwards (Democrat) Party change
North Dakota	Byron Dorgan Since 1992	Democrat	Class III	1992		Re-elected
Ohio	John Glenn, Jr. Since 1974	Democrat	Class III	1974		George Voinovich (Republican) Party change
Oklahoma	Donald Nickles Since 1981	Republican	Class III	1981		Re-elected
Oregon	Ron Wyden Since 1996 · age 49	Democrat	Class III	1996	49	Re-elected
Pennsylvania	Arlen Specter Since 1981	Republican	Class III	1981		Re-elected
South Carolina	Fritz Hollings Since 1966	Democrat	Class III	1966		Re-elected
South Dakota	Thomas Daschle Since 1987	Democrat	Class III	1987		Re-elected
Utah	Bob Bennett Since 1993	Republican	Class III	1993		Re-elected
Vermont	Patrick Leahy Since 1975	Democrat	Class III	1975		Re-elected
Washington	Patty Murray Since 1993 · age 48	Democrat	Class III	1993	48	Re-elected
Wisconsin	Russell Feingold Since 1993	Democrat	Class III	1993		Re-elected

New Senators Elected in 1998

Blanche Lincoln

Democrat · Arkansas

Succeeded Dale Bumpers

Mike Crapo

Republican · Idaho

Succeeded Dirk Kempthorne

Peter Fitzgerald

Republican · Illinois

Succeeded Carol Moseley Braun (Democrat)

Evan Bayh

Democrat · Indiana

Succeeded Daniel Coats (Republican)

James Bunning

Republican · Kentucky

Succeeded Wendell Ford (Democrat)

Chuck Schumer

Democrat · New York

Succeeded Alfonse D'Amato (Republican)

John Edwards

Democrat · North Carolina

Succeeded Lauch Faircloth (Republican)

George Voinovich

Republican · Ohio

Succeeded John Glenn, Jr. (Democrat)

About this page

Seats, incumbents and results are derived from the Senate's service records (via the congress-legislators dataset): the seats on a year's ballot are the class whose terms end the following January, plus any seat held by appointment pending a special election, and a result is recorded when the winner is sworn in. Incumbent status and candidates for the next election come from FEC candidate filings; a seat is listed as open when the FEC tags its candidates as running for a seat with no incumbent. Election day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. See every cycle since 1990, the seniority list and the voting analysis.