2000 United States Senate elections

For related races, see 2000 United States elections.

The 2000 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, 2000. The elections coincided with other federal and state elections, including the presidential election which was won by Republican George W. Bush. These elections took place six years after Republicans had won a net gain of eight seats in Senate Class 1. Despite George W. Bush's victory in the presidential election, the GOP lost 4 senate seats, the most a winning president's party has lost since the passage of the 17th amendment. This election marked the first election year since 1990 where Democrats made net gains in the Senate. Democrats defeated incumbent Republicans in Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington, and they won an open seat in Florida. In Missouri, the winner was elected posthumously. The Republicans defeated a Democratic incumbent in Virginia, and won an open seat in Nevada. Additionally, a Republican in Georgia died earlier in the year and a Democrat was appointed to replace him, who then went on to win the special election.

2000 United States Senate elections

← 1998 November 7, 2000 2002 →
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51^[a] seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Trent Lott Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader since June 12, 1996 January 3, 1995 Leader's seat Mississippi South Dakota Seats before 54 46 Seats after 50 + VP^[b] 50^[b] Seat change 4 4 Popular vote 36,725,431^[c] 36,780,875^[c] Percentage 46.96% 47.04% Seats up 19 15 Races won 15 19
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority leader before election Trent Lott Republican Elected Majority leader Trent Lott^[d] Republican

These elections resulted in an equal 50–50 split between Republicans and Democrats, with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking votes in the Senate. This was the second tied Senate, after the results in the 1880 elections. Democrats thereby won control of the Senate briefly for only 17 days, since Al Gore was still Vice President and President of the Senate at the beginning of the new term on January 3, 2001. The Republicans regained control of the chamber when the new Vice President Dick Cheney was inaugurated on January 20. However, the Republican majority would only last until June 6, 2001, when Republican Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont became an independent and caucused with the Democrats.

Until 2020, this was the last time that Democrats would win a Senate seat in Georgia. This is the last election cycle with only Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, and the last election cycle in which Republicans won seats in Rhode Island and Vermont.

Results summary

↓

50	50
Democratic	Republican

Summary of the 2000 United States Senate election results

Parties		Breakdown			Total seats		Popular vote		Total candidates
		Up	Elected	Not up	2000	+/-	Vote	%	General^[e]
	Democratic Party	15	19	31	50	4	36,780,875^[c]	47.039%	33
	Republican Party	19	15	35	50	4	36,725,431^[c]	46.968%	34
	Libertarian Party	-	-	-	-	-	1,036,684	1.326%	22
	Green Party	-	-	-	-	-	652,329	0.834%	8
	Independent	-	-	-	-	-	365,614	0.468%	24
	Constitution Party	-	-	-	-	-	286,816	0.367%	8
	Reform Party	-	-	-	-	-	190,509	0.244%	8
	Independence Party	-	-	-	-	-	183,764	0.235%	2
	Socialist Workers Party	-	-	-	-	-	15,996	0.020%	2
	Other parties	-	-	-	-	-	1,461,975	1.870%	12
	Write-in	-	-	-	-	-	324,295	0.415%	-
Total		34	34	66	100	-	78,191,797	100.0%	153

Source: Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 21, 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000" – via House.gov.

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the July 27, 2000, appointment in Georgia.

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 N.J. Retired	D39 Nev. Retired	D38 Neb. Retired	D37 Mass. Ran	D36 Md. Ran	D35 Hawaii Ran	D34 Ga. (sp) Ran	D33 Conn. Ran	D32 Calif. Ran	D31
D41 N.M. Ran	D42 N.Y. Retired	D43 N.D. Ran	D44 Va. Ran	D45 W.Va. Ran	D46 Wis. Ran	R54 Wyo. Ran	R53 Wash. Ran	R52 Vt. Ran	R51 Utah Ran
Majority →
R41 Mich. Ran	R42 Minn. Ran	R43 Miss. Ran	R44 Mo. Ran	R45 Mont. Ran	R46 Ohio Ran	R47 Pa. Ran	R48 R.I. Ran	R49 Tenn. Ran	R50 Texas Ran
R40 Maine Ran	R39 Ind. Ran	R38 Fla. Retired	R37 Del. Ran	R36 Ariz. Ran	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

After the elections

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 N.M. Re-elected	D39 N.J. Hold	D38 Neb. Hold	D37 Mass. Re-elected	D36 Md. Re-elected	D35 Hawaii Re-elected	D34 Ga. (sp) Elected^[f]	D33 Conn. Re-elected	D32 Calif. Re-elected	D31
D41 N.Y. Hold	D42 N.D. Re-elected	D43 W.Va. Re-elected	D44 Wis. Re-elected	D45 Del. Gain	D46 Fla. Gain	D47 Mich. Gain	D48 Minn. Gain	D49 Mo. Gain^[g]	D50 Wash. Gain
Majority (with Democratic vice president)^[d] ↑
R41 Ohio Re-elected	R42 Pa. Re-elected	R43 R.I. Elected^[f]	R44 Tenn. Re-elected	R45 Texas Re-elected	R46 Utah Re-elected	R47 Vt. Re-elected	R48 Wyo. Re-elected	R49 Nev. Gain	R50 Va. Gain
R40 Mont. Re-elected	R39 Miss. Re-elected	R38 Maine Re-elected	R37 Ind. Re-elected	R36 Ariz. Re-elected	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

Beginning of the first session

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
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48	D49	D50
Majority (with Independent in caucus) ↑
R41	R42	R43	R44	R45	R46	R47	R48	R49	I1 Vt. Changed
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 I# Independent, caucus with Democrats R# Republican

Gains and losses

Retirements

One Republican and four Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election. John Chafee of Rhode Island had previously announced his intent to retire at the end of his term, however, he died in office on October 24, 1999.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Florida	Connie Mack III	Bill Nelson
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Ben Nelson
Nevada	Richard Bryan	John Ensign
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg	Jon Corzine
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Hillary Clinton

Defeats

One Democrat and five Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Delaware	William Roth	Tom Carper
Michigan	Spencer Abraham	Debbie Stabenow
Minnesota	Rod Grams	Mark Dayton
Missouri	John Ashcroft	Mel Carnahan †
Virginia	Chuck Robb	George Allen
Washington	Slade Gorton	Maria Cantwell

Post-election changes

One Democratic senator-elect died on October 16, 2000, having been elected posthumously, and was replaced by a Democrat.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Missouri (Class 1)	Mel Carnahan^[h]	Jean Carnahan

Race summary

Special elections during the previous Congress

In this special election, the winner was seated between January 1, 2000, and January 2, 2001.

State (linked to summary below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Georgia (Class 3)	Zell Miller	Democratic	2000 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 7, 2000.	▌ Y Zell Miller (Democratic) 58% ▌Mack Mattingly (Republican) 38%

Elections to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2001.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Arizona	Jon Kyl	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Jon Kyl (Republican) 79.3% ▌William Toel (Independent) 7.8% ▌Vance Hansen (Green) 7.8% ▌Barry Hess (Libertarian) 5.1%
California	Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	1992 (special) 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) 55.8% ▌Tom Campbell (Republican) 36.6% ▌Medea Benjamin (Green) 3.1% ▌Gail Lightfoot (Libertarian) 1.8% ▌Diane Beall Templin (American Ind.) 1.3% Others ▌Jose Camahort (Reform) 0.9% ▌Brian M. Rees (Natural Law) 0.6%
Connecticut	Joe Lieberman	Democratic	1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Joe Lieberman (Democratic) 63.2% ▌Philip Giordano (Republican) 34.1% ▌William Kozak (Concerned Citizens) 2% ▌Wildey J. Moore (Libertarian) 0.7%
Delaware	William Roth	Republican	1970 1971 (Appointed) 1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌ Y Tom Carper (Democratic) 55.5% ▌William Roth (Republican) 43.7% ▌Mark Dankof (Constitution) 0.3% ▌J. Burke Morrison (Libertarian) 0.3% ▌Robert Mattson (Natural Law) 0.2%
Florida	Connie Mack III	Republican	1988 1994	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌ Y Bill Nelson (Democratic) 51% ▌Bill McCollum (Republican) 46.2% ▌Willie Logan (Independent) 1.4% Others ▌Joe Simonetta (Natural Law) 0.4% ▌Darrell L. McCormick (Independent) 0.4% ▌Joel Deckard (Reform) 0.3% ▌Andy Martin (Independent) 0.3% ▌Nikki Oldaker (Independent) 0.1%
Hawaii	Daniel Akaka	Democratic	1990 (Appointed) 1990 (special) 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Daniel Akaka (Democratic) 72.7% ▌John Carroll (Republican) 24.5% ▌Lauri Clegg (Natural Law) 1.2% Others ▌Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌David Porter (Constitution) 0.7%
Indiana	Richard Lugar	Republican	1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Richard Lugar (Republican) 66.5% ▌David Johnson (Democratic) 31.9% ▌Paul Hager (Libertarian) 1.6%
Maine	Olympia Snowe	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Olympia Snowe (Republican) 68.9% ▌Mark Lawrence (Democratic) 31.1%
Maryland	Paul Sarbanes	Democratic	1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Paul Sarbanes (Democratic) 63.2% ▌Paul Rappaport (Republican) 36.7%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	1962 (special) 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Ted Kennedy (Democratic) 72.9% ▌Jack E. Robinson III (Republican) 12.9% ▌Carla Howell (Libertarian) 11.9% ▌Philip F. Lawler (Constitution) 1.62% ▌Dale Friedgen (Independent) 0.5%
Michigan	Spencer Abraham	Republican	1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌ Y Debbie Stabenow (Democratic) 49.4% ▌Spencer Abraham (Republican) 47.9% ▌Matthew Abel (Green) 0.9% ▌Michael Corliss (Libertarian) 0.7% Others ▌Mark Forton (Reform) 0.6% ▌John Mangopoulos (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.3% ▌William Quarton (Natural Law) 0.1%
Minnesota	Rod Grams	Republican	1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. DFL gain.	▌ Y Mark Dayton (DFL) 48.8% ▌Rod Grams (Republican) 43.3% ▌James Gibson (Independence) 5.8% Others ▌David Daniels (Grassroots) 0.9% ▌Rebecca Ellis (Socialist Workers) 0.5% ▌David Swan (Constitution) 0.4% ▌Erik D. Pakieser (Libertarian) 0.3%
Mississippi	Trent Lott	Republican	1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Trent Lott (Republican) 65.9% ▌Troy Brown (Democratic) 31.6% Others ▌Jim Giles (Independent) 0.9% ▌Lewis Napper (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌Shawn O'Hara (Reform) 0.7%
Missouri	John Ashcroft	Republican	1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected posthumously. Democratic gain. A different senator was appointed to begin the next term.	▌ Y Mel Carnahan †^[g] (Democratic) 50.4% ▌John Ashcroft (Republican) 48.4% Others ▌Evaline Taylor (Green) 0.5% ▌Grant Samuel Stauffer (Libertarian) 0.4% ▌Hugh Foley (Reform) 0.2% ▌Charles Dockins (Natural Law) 0.1%
Montana	Conrad Burns	Republican	1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Conrad Burns (Republican) 50.6% ▌Brian Schweitzer (Democratic) 47.2% ▌Gary Lee (Reform) 2.2%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	1988 1994	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y Ben Nelson (Democratic) 51% ▌Don Stenberg (Republican) 48.8%
Nevada	Richard Bryan	Democratic	1988 1994	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y John Ensign (Republican) 55.1% ▌Ed Bernstein (Democratic) 39.7% ▌None of These Candidates 1.9% ▌Kathy Rusco (Green) 1.7% Others ▌J. J. Johnson (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌Ernie Berghof (Independent American) 0.4% ▌Bill Grutzmacher (Citizens First) 0.3%
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg	Democratic	1982 1982 (Appointed) 1988 1994	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y Jon Corzine (Democratic) 50.1% ▌Bob Franks (Republican) 47.1% ▌Bruce Afran (Green) 1.1% Others ▌Pat DiNizio (Reform) 0.6% ▌Emerson Ellett (Libertarian) 0.2% ▌Dennis A. Breen (Independent) 0.2% ▌J. M. Carter (Trust in God) 0.2% ▌Lorraine LaNeve (NJ Conservative) 0.1% ▌Gregory Pason (Socialist) 0.1% ▌Nancy Rosenstock (Socialist Workers) 0.1% ▌George Gostigian (God Bless Jersey) 0.1%
New Mexico	Jeff Bingaman	Democratic	1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Jeff Bingaman (Democratic) 61.7% ▌Bill Redmond (Republican) 38.3%
New York	Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌ Y Hillary Clinton (Democratic) 55% ▌Rick Lazio (Republican) 43% Others ▌Jeffrey E. Graham (Independence) 0.6% ▌Mark J. Dunau (Green) 0.6% ▌John O. Adefope (Right to Life) 0.3% ▌John Clifton (Libertarian) 0.1% ▌Louis Wein (Constitution) 0.1% ▌Jacob Perasso (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
North Dakota	Kent Conrad	Democratic-NPL	1986 1992 (Retired) 1992 (special) 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Kent Conrad (Democratic-NPL) 61.4% ▌Duane Sand (Republican) 38.6%
Ohio	Mike DeWine	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Mike DeWine (Republican) 59.9% ▌Ted Celeste (Democratic) 35.9% ▌John McAlister (Libertarian) 2.6% ▌John Eastman (Natural Law) 1.6%
Pennsylvania	Rick Santorum	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Rick Santorum (Republican) 52.4% ▌Ron Klink (Democratic) 45.5% Others ▌John Featherman (Libertarian) 1% ▌Lester Searer (Constitution) 0.6% ▌Robert Domske (Reform) 0.5%
Rhode Island	Lincoln Chafee	Republican	1999 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	▌ Y Lincoln Chafee (Republican) 56.8% ▌Robert Weygand (Democratic) 41.1% ▌Christopher Young (Reform) 1% ▌Kenneth Proulx (Independent) 0.9%
Tennessee	Bill Frist	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Bill Frist (Republican) 65.1% ▌Jeff Clark (Democratic) 32.2% ▌Tom Burrell (Green) 1.3% Others ▌Charles F. Johnson (Independent) 0.5% ▌Robert Watson (Independent) 0.4% ▌David Jarrod Ownby (Independent) 0.2% ▌Joel Kinstle (Independent) 0.2%
Texas	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	1993 (special) 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican) 65% ▌Gene Kelly (Democratic) 32.3% ▌Doug Sandage (Green) 1.5% ▌Mary Ruwart (Libertarian) 1.1%
Utah	Orrin Hatch	Republican	1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Orrin Hatch (Republican) 65.6% ▌Scott Howell (Democratic) 31.5% ▌Carlton Edward Bowen (Ind. American) 1.6% ▌Jim Dexter (Libertarian) 1.4%
Vermont	Jim Jeffords	Republican	1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Jim Jeffords (Republican) 65.6% ▌Ed Flanagan (Democratic) 25.4% ▌Charles W. Russell (Constitution) 3.5% ▌Rick Hubbard (Independent) 1.9% ▌Billy Greer (Vermont Grassroots) 1.7% ▌Hugh Douglas (Libertarian) 1.3% ▌Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 0.5%
Virginia	Chuck Robb	Democratic	1988 1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌ Y George Allen (Republican) 52.3% ▌Chuck Robb (Democratic) 47.7%
Washington	Slade Gorton	Republican	1980 1986 (Lost) 1988 1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌ Y Maria Cantwell (Democratic) 48.7% ▌Slade Gorton (Republican) 48.6% ▌Jeff Jared (Libertarian) 2.6%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Robert Byrd (Democratic) 77.7% ▌David T. Gallaher (Republican) 20.2% ▌Joe Whelan (Libertarian) 2.1%
Wisconsin	Herb Kohl	Democratic	1988 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Herb Kohl (Democratic) 61.5% ▌John Gillespie (Republican) 37% Others ▌Tim Peterson (Libertarian) 0.8% ▌Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.4% ▌Robert R. Raymond (Constitution) 0.2%
Wyoming	Craig L. Thomas	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌ Y Craig L. Thomas (Republican) 73.7% ▌Mel Logan (Democratic) 22% ▌Margaret Dawson (Libertarian) 4.2%

Closest races

In ten races the margin of victory was under 10%

District	Winner	Margin
Washington	Democratic (flip)	0.09%^[1]
Michigan	Democratic (flip)	1.6%
Missouri	Democratic (flip)	2.1%
Nebraska	Democratic	2.3%
New Jersey	Democratic	3.0%
Montana	Republican	3.4% ^[i]
Virginia	Republican (flip)	4.6%
Florida	Democratic (flip)	4.8%
Minnesota	Democratic (flip)	5.5%
Pennsylvania	Republican	6.9%

Arizona

Arizona election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Jon Kyl William Toel Party Republican Independent Popular vote 1,101,196 109,230 Percentage 79.3% 7.8%       Nominee Vance Hansen Barry Hess Party Green Libertarian Popular vote 108,926 70,724 Percentage 7.8% 5.1%

U.S. Senate election results map. Red denotes counties won by Kyl.

U.S. senator before election Jon Kyl Republican Elected U.S. senator Jon Kyl Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Arizona

See also: List of United States senators from Arizona

Incumbent Republican Jon Kyl won re-election to a second term, as no candidate was nominated from the Democratic Party.^[2] Independent Bill Toel,^[3] Green party nominee Vance Hansen, and Libertarian party nominee Barry Hess each got more than 5% of the vote, a strong third party performance.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jon Kyl (Incumbent)	1,108,196	79.32	+25.62%
	Independent	William Toel	109,230	7.82
	Green	Vance Hansen	108,926	7.80
	Libertarian	Barry Hess	70,724	5.06	-1.68%
Majority			998,966	71.50	+57.34%
Turnout			1,397,076
	Republican hold		Swing

California

California election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Dianne Feinstein Tom Campbell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 5,932,522 3,886,853 Percentage 55.84% 36.59%

County results

U.S. senator before election Dianne Feinstein Democratic Elected U.S. senator Dianne Feinstein Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in California

See also: List of United States senators from California

The heavily financed and popular senator Dianne Feinstein (D) easily won re-election to her second full term defeating the underfunded and underdog candidate Representative Tom Campbell (R) by over 19 points. Campbell even lost his own congressional district by almost 15 points.

:

2000 U.S. Senate Democratic Party primary in California

Candidate		Votes	%
Dianne Feinstein		3,759,560	95.50
Michael Schmier		181,104	4.50
Total votes		3,940,664	100.00

2000 U.S. Senate Republican Party primary in California

Candidate		Votes	%
Tom Campbell		1,697,208	56.17
Ray Haynes		679,034	22.47
Bill Horn		453,630	15.01
John M. Brown		68,415	2.26
Linh Dao		64,559	2.14
James Peter Gough		58,853	1.95
Total votes		3,021,699	100.00

2000 U.S. Senate Green Party primary in California

Candidate		Votes	%
Medea Benjamin		99,716	73.95
Jan B. Tucker		35,124	26.05
Total votes		134,840	100.00

2000 U.S. Senate Reform Party primary in California

Candidate		Votes	%
Jose Luis Olivares Camahort		46,278	70.34
Valli "Sharp" Sharpe		19,516	29.66
Total votes		65,794	100.00

2000 U.S. Senate other primaries in California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Gail Lightfoot	120,622	100.00
	American Independent	Diane Beall Templin	38,836	100.00
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	26,382	100.00

Despite touting his service as a moderate Republican representing a strongly Democratic district, Campbell was underfunded and a decided underdog against the popular, heavily financed Feinstein. By February, he spent barely $1 million without any PAC money.^[4] Campbell has generally supported gay rights and abortion. He also opposes the War on Drugs and calls himself a "maverick", similar to U.S. senator John McCain.^[5] Campbell was badly defeated, losing by over 19 points.

2000 U.S. Senate election, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent)	5,932,522	55.84
	Republican	Tom Campbell	3,886,853	36.59
	Green	Medea Susan Benjamin	326,828	3.08
	Libertarian	Gail Lightfoot	187,718	1.77
	American Independent	Diane Beall Templin	134,598	1.27
	Reform	Jose Luis Olivares Camahort	96,552	0.91
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	58,537	0.55
Invalid or blank votes			519,233	4.66
Total votes			11,142,841	100.00
Turnout				51.92
	Democratic hold

Connecticut

Connecticut election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Joe Lieberman Philip Giordano Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 828,902 448,077 Percentage 63.2% 34.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joe Lieberman Democratic Elected U.S. senator Joe Lieberman Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut

Incumbent Democrat Joe Lieberman won re-election to a third term over Republican Philip Giordano, Mayor of Waterbury and former State Representative. While running for re-election, he was also Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential campaign. With Gore losing the presidency to George W. Bush, Lieberman returned to the Senate and remained there for another 13 years, when he retired. Had the Gore–Lieberman ticket won, Lieberman would have become U.S. Vice President and forced to resign his Senate seat, which would have led to a 2002 special election. It would also have led Republican Governor John G. Rowland to temporarily appoint an interim replacement.^[6]

Lieberman, a very popular^[7] centrist^[8] incumbent, focused on his vice presidential campaign. He refused to show up at the debates.^[9] Giordano was a heavy underdog, as he was ignored by the press and as he debated alone.^[10]

General election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Lieberman (Incumbent)	828,902	63.2
	Republican	Philip Giordano	448,077	34.2
	Concerned Citizens	William Kozak	25,509	2.0
	Libertarian	Wildey J. Moore	8,773	0.7
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

Delaware

Delaware election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Tom Carper William Roth Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 181,566 142,891 Percentage 55.5% 43.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election William Roth Republican Elected U.S. senator Tom Carper Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware

Incumbent Republican William Roth ran for re-election to a sixth term, but was defeated by Governor Tom Carper.

For 16 years the same four people had held the four major statewide positions. Because of term limits on the Governor's position Thomas Carper could not run again. Both he and U.S. Representative Michael Castle wanted to be U.S. senator. Roth would not retire, and fellow Republican Castle decided against a primary.

Roth, 79, was in the U.S. Senate for 30 years. He was the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Carper, 53, was a popular Governor and former U.S. Congressman of Delaware's At-large congressional district, who announced his major candidacy against Roth back in September 1999.^[12] Both candidates were moderates. Roth was one of the few Republicans to vote for the Brady Bill. Although Roth started the campaign with a 2-to-1 spending advantage, Carper went into the final month with more than $1 million on hand.^[13] In a contest between two popular and respected politicians, the issue seemed to be Roth's age versus Carper's relative youth.

Carper defeated Roth by over ten points. However, Roth received more votes than Presidential candidate George W. Bush, suggesting the strength of the Democratic turnout was a boon to Carper's candidacy and a key element of his victory. Many consider Roth's defeat due to his age and health, as he collapsed twice during the campaign, once in the middle of a television interview and once during a campaign event.^[14][15][16]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas Carper	181,566	55.53	+13.04%
	Republican	William Roth (Incumbent)	142,891	43.70	-12.12%
	Libertarian	J. Burke Morrison	1,103	0.34	-1.36%
	Constitution	Mark E. Dankof	1,044	0.32
	Natural Law	Robert Mattson	389	0.12
Majority			38,675	11.83	-1.51%
Turnout			326,993
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Florida

Florida election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Bill Nelson Bill McCollum Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,989,487 2,705,348 Percentage 51.0% 46.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Connie Mack III Republican Elected U.S. senator Bill Nelson Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Florida

See also: List of United States senators from Florida

Incumbent Republican Connie Mack III decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democrat Bill Nelson, State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative, won the open seat over Republican Congressman Bill McCollum.

Republican primary^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill McCollum	660,592	81.13
	Republican	Hamilton A. S. Bartlett	153,613	18.87
Total votes			814,205	100

Democratic primary^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Nelson	692,147	77.48
	Democratic	Newall Jerome Daughtrey	105,650	11.83
	Democratic	David B. Higginbottom	95,492	10.69
Total votes			893,289	100

This election was in conjunction to the presidential election, where Bush narrowly defeated Gore after an intense recount. The senate election was evenly matched with two U.S. Congressmen named Bill in their mid-50s. Both parties heavily targeted this senate seat.^[18] The election became very nasty as Nelson called his opponent "an extremist who would sacrifice the elderly, the poor, and the working class to coddle the rich." McCollum called the Democrat "a liberal who would tax everything that moves, and some things that don't." The election advertisements were very negative, as both candidates talked more about each other than themselves.^[19]

Nelson raised only soft money,^[20] but had help from President Bill Clinton and VP Al Gore.^[21] Two days before the election, McCollum predicted he would win by a 6-point margin.^[22] On election day, he lost by a 5-point margin.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Nelson	2,989,487	51.04
	Republican	Bill McCollum	2,705,348	46.19
	Independent	Willie Logan	80,830	1.38
	Natural Law	Joe Simonetta	26,087	0.45
	Independent	Darrell L. McCormick	21,664	0.37
	Reform	Joel Deckard	17,338	0.30
	Independent	Andy Martin	15,889	0.27
	Write-in	Nikki Oldaker	88	0.00
Majority			284,139	4.85
Turnout			5,856,731
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Georgia (special)

Georgia special election

← 1998 2004 →

Nominee Zell Miller Mack Mattingly Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,413,224 920,478 Percentage 58.1% 37.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Zell Miller Democratic Elected U.S. senator Zell Miller Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

Incumbent Democrat Zell Miller, who was appointed by Democrat Governor Roy Barnes to replace the late Republican Paul Coverdell, won re-election to serve the remainder of the term, beating Republican Mack Mattingly, former Ambassador to Seychelles and former U.S. senator. Until 2020, when Raphael Warnock won this seat, and Jon Ossoff won the other Senate seat, this is the last Senate election in Georgia won by a Democrat and also until 2020, this is the last time the Democrats have won the Class III Senate seat from Georgia.

One of the biggest campaign issues was Social Security. Miller attacked Mattingly for supporting a raise in the retirement age.^[23] The Republican fought back by connecting him to liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and on his vote to block legislation aimed at protecting Social Security. Mattingly said he would vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush for president, who was very popular in the state and led Vice President Al Gore in many Georgia polls. Mattingly then asked Miller who he was supporting in the presidential election. Miller conceded he would vote for Gore because he helped him when he was governor including drought relief, welfare reform, and the Atlanta Olympics. "That does not mean I agree with all of his policies," he concluded.^[24] In early October, a poll showed Miller leading with 59% of the vote, despite the fact that Bush was leading Gore by a double-digit margin.^[25]

Note: This election was a non-partisan election due to it being a special election. Each candidate ran without a party. The parties below reflect which party label each candidate would have run under if given the option.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Zell Miller (incumbent)	1,413,224	58.19
	Republican	Mack Mattingly	920,478	37.90
	Libertarian	Paul Robert MacGregor	25,942	1.07
	Republican	Ben Ballenger	22,975	0.95
	Green	Jeff Gates	21,249	0.88
	Republican	Bobby Wood	12,499	0.51
	Independent	Winnie Walsh	11,875	0.49
Majority			492,746	20.29
Turnout			2,428,242

Hawaii

Hawaii election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Daniel Akaka John Carroll Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 251,215 84,701 Percentage 72.7% 24.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election Daniel Akaka Democratic Elected U.S. senator Daniel Akaka Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Hawaii

See also: List of United States senators from Hawaii

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Akaka won re-election to his second full term, over Republican John Carroll, former State senator and former State Representative.^[26]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Daniel Akaka (Incumbent)	251,215	72.6
	Republican	John Carroll	84,701	24.5
	Natural Law	Lauri A. Clegg	4,220	1.2
	Libertarian	Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan	3,127	0.9
	Constitution	David Porter	2,360	0.7
Majority			166,514	48.1
Turnout			245,263	100.00
	Democratic hold		Swing

Indiana

Indiana election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Richard Lugar David L. Johnson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,427,944 683,273 Percentage 66.5% 31.9%

County results

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

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana

Incumbent Republican Richard Lugar was re-elected to his fifth six-year term over Democrat David Johnson.

Lugar easily won re-election taking 66.5% one of the largest margins in a statewide race in Indiana history. Johnson only took one county, Lake County, a Democratic stronghold which borders Chicago.

General election^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Richard Lugar (Incumbent)	1,427,944	66.5
	Democratic	David L. Johnson	683,273	31.9
	Libertarian	Paul Hager	33,992	1.6
Majority
Turnout			2,145,209	55
	Republican hold		Swing

Maine

Maine election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Olympia Snowe Mark Lawrence Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 437,689 197,183 Percentage 68.94% 31.06%

County results

U.S. senator before election Olympia Snowe Republican Elected U.S. senator Olympia Snowe Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine

Incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe was re-elected to a second term, defeating Democratic candidate Mark Lawrence, former President of the Maine State Senate.

Snowe, a popular moderate incumbent, outpolled and outspent Lawrence.^[28] The two candidates agreed to debate on October 15 and 25.^[29]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Olympia Snowe (Incumbent)	437,689	68.94	+8.70%
	Democratic	Mark W. Lawrence	197,183	31.06	-5.30%
Majority			240,506	37.88	+14.00%
Turnout			634,872
	Republican hold		Swing

Maryland

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

Maryland election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Paul Sarbanes Paul Rappaport Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,230,013 715,178 Percentage 63.2% 36.7%

County results

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

Incumbent Democrat Paul Sarbanes won re-election to a fifth term over Republican Paul Rappaport, former Howard County police chief and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1994.^[30][31]

Rappaport won the Republican primary against S. Rob Sobhani, Ross Zimmerman Pierpont, Robin Ficker, Kenneth R. Timmerman, Kenneth Wayman and John Stafford^[32] through a grassroots movement with a plurality of just 23%.^[33] Rappaport, a major underdog, pushed for three debates. The four term incumbent actually agreed to one debate on October 26.^[34]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul Sarbanes (Incumbent)	1,230,013	63.2
	Republican	Paul Rappaport	715,178	35.7
	Other	Write-ins	1,594	0.1
	Independent	Corrogan R. Vaughn (write-in)	113
Turnout			1,946,898	100.0
	Democratic hold		Swing

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Ted Kennedy Jack E. Robinson III Carla Howell Party Democratic Republican Libertarian Popular vote 1,889,494 334,341 308 860 Percentage 72.7% 12.9% 11.9%

Municipal results

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

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his eighth (his seventh full) term. The election was notable for a strong third-party performance from Libertarian Carla Howell, who finished less than a percent behind Republican Jack E. Robinson.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ted Kennedy (Incumbent)	1,889,494	72.69
	Republican	Jack E. Robinson	334,341	12.86
	Libertarian	Carla Howell	308,860	11.88
	Constitution	Philip F. Lawler	42,113	1.62	+1.62
	Independent	Dale E. Friedgen	13,687	0.53	N/A
	Timesizing Not Downsizing	Philip Hyde III	8,452	0.33	+0.33
	Others	All others	2,473	0.10
Total votes			2,734,006	100
	Democratic hold		Swing

Michigan

Michigan election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Debbie Stabenow Spencer Abraham Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,061,952 1,994,693 Percentage 49.5% 47.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Spencer Abraham Republican Elected U.S. senator Debbie Stabenow Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan

Incumbent Republican Spencer Abraham ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

Abraham, who was first elected in the 1994 Republican Revolution despite never running for public office before, was considered vulnerable by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Major issues in the campaign included prescription drugs for the elderly.^[35] By September 4, Abraham still had failed to reach 50% in polls despite having spent over $6 million on television ads.^[36] In mid-October, he came back and reached 50% and 49% in two polls respectively.^[37]

The election was very close with Stabenow prevailing by just over 67,000 votes. Stabenow was also likely helped by the fact that Al Gore won Michigan on the presidential level. Ultimately, Stabenow pulled out huge numbers of the Democratic stronghold of Wayne County, which covers the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Stabenow also performed well in other heavily populated areas such as Ingham County home to the state's capital of Lansing, and the college town of Ann Arbor. Abraham did not concede right after major news networks declared Stabenow the winner; He held out hope that the few outstanding precincts could push him over the edge. At 4:00 am, Abraham conceded defeat. Senator Abraham called Stabenow and congratulated her on her victory. A historic election, Stabenow became the first woman to represent Michigan in the United States Senate.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Debbie Stabenow	2,061,952	49.47
	Republican	Spencer Abraham (Incumbent)	1,994,693	47.86
	Green	Matthew Abel	37,542	0.90
	Libertarian	Michael Corliss	29,966	0.72
	Reform	Mark Forton	26,274	0.63
	Constitution	John Mangopoulos	11,628	0.28
	Natural Law	William Quarton	5,630	0.14
Majority			67,259	1.61
Turnout			4,165,685
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	-4.02

Minnesota

Minnesota election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Mark Dayton Rod Grams Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 1,181,553 1,047,474 Percentage 48.8% 43.3%   Nominee James Gibson Party Independence Popular vote 140,583 Percentage 5.81%

County results

U.S. senator before election Rod Grams Republican Elected U.S. senator Mark Dayton Democratic (DFL)

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Minnesota

See also: List of United States senators from Minnesota

The race pitted incumbent Republican senator Rod Grams against former Minnesota State Auditor Mark Dayton.

General election^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Mark Dayton	1,181,553	48.83	+4.73%
	Republican	Rod Grams (Incumbent)	1,047,474	43.29	-5.76%
	Independence	James Gibson	140,583	5.81	+0.43%
	Grassroots	David Daniels	21,447	0.89	-0.01%
	Socialist Workers	Rebecca Ellis	12,956	0.54	+0.40%
	Constitution	David Swan	8,915	0.37	n/a
	Libertarian	Erik D. Pakieser	6,588	0.27	n/a
	Write-in	Ole Savior	4	0.00	n/a
Majority			134,079	5.54
Turnout			2,419,520	74.10

Mississippi

Mississippi election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Trent Lott Troy D. Brown Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 654,941 314,090 Percentage 65.9% 31.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Trent Lott Republican Elected U.S. senator Trent Lott Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi

Incumbent Republican Trent Lott won re-election to a third term over perennial Democratic candidate Troy Brown.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Trent Lott (Incumbent)	654,941	65.9
	Democratic	Troy D. Brown	314,090	31.6
	Independent	Jim Giles	9,344	0.9
	Libertarian	Lewis Napper	8,454	0.9
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	7,315	0.7
	Republican hold		Swing

Missouri

Missouri election

← 1994 2002 (special) →

Nominee Mel Carnahan † John Ashcroft Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,191,812 1,142,852 Percentage 50.5% 48.4%

County results

U.S. senator before election John Ashcroft Republican Elected U.S. senator Mel Carnahan † Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri

Incumbent Republican John Ashcroft lost the election to Governor Mel Carnahan, despite Carnahan's death three weeks before election day.

In 1998, Ashcroft briefly considered running for president. On January 5, 1999, he announced that he would not seek the presidency and would instead defend his Senate seat in the 2000 election.^[39] Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan announced he would contest the Senate election as a Democrat.

In the general election for the state's seat in the U.S. Senate, Ashcroft was facing then-Governor Mel Carnahan in a "tight" race, despite the senator having a larger budget than Carnahan, a war chest that included significant contributions from corporations such as Monsanto Company,^[40] headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, which gave five times more to Ashcroft's campaign fund than to the fund of any other congressional hopeful at the time.^[41]

Carnahan was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the November election date. Nonetheless, Carnahan's name remained on the ballot due to Missouri's election laws. Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson became Governor upon Carnahan's death, to serve the remaining term of Carnahan's governorship. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning on the day of the plane crash in light of the tragedy and resumed it eight days before the election date.^[42]

The voters of Missouri, by a margin of approximately fifty thousand votes,^[43] chose for the U.S. Senate Mel Carnahan, their Governor who had died two weeks before the election. No one had ever posthumously won election to the Senate, though voters on at least three other occasions had until then chosen deceased candidates for the House of Representatives: Clement Woodnutt Miller (D) in California in 1962; Nick Begich (D) in Alaska, 1972; and Hale Boggs (D) in Louisiana, 1972. Hence, John Ashcroft became the first U.S. Senate candidate to be defeated by a dead opponent.^[44]

Governor Roger B. Wilson appointed Carnahan's 66-year-old widow, Jean Carnahan, to fill her husband's vacant seat until the next cycle of Senate elections when a successor could be elected to serve out the remaining four years of the deceased Carnahan's would-be term.^[45] Ashcroft stated that he hoped the appointment would be "a matter of comfort for Mrs. Carnahan."

General election^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mel Carnahan †^[g]	1,191,812	50.5
	Republican	John Ashcroft (Incumbent)	1,142,852	48.4
	Green	Evaline Taylor	10,612	0.5
	Libertarian	Grant Samuel Stauffer	10,198	0.4
	Reform	Hugh Foley	4,166	0.2
	Natural Law	Charles Dockins	1,933	0.1
	Write-ins	Write-in candidates	13
Turnout			2,361,586
	Democratic gain from Republican

Montana

Montana election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Conrad Burns Brian Schweitzer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 208,082 194,430 Percentage 50.6% 47.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Conrad Burns Republican Elected U.S. senator Conrad Burns Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Montana

See also: List of United States senators from Montana

Incumbent Republican Conrad Burns won re-election to a third term.

Democratic primary^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer	59,189	66.18
	Democratic	John Driscoll	30,242	33.82
Total votes			89,431	100.00

Republican primary^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Conrad Burns (Incumbent)	102,125	100.00
Total votes			102,125	100.00

Reform primary^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Sam Rankin	1,110	100.00
Total votes			1,110	100.00

Though Sam Rankin won the Reform Party's nomination for the United States Senate, he dropped out of the race over the summer and was replaced by Gary Lee.^[47]

Conrad, in a poll released September 21, was leading Schweitzer 48% to 39%^{[citation needed]} that went down from 49% in November 1999^{[citation needed]}. Schweitzer had his polls go up by 11 points.

Burns faced a surprisingly difficult re-election campaign in 2000. In February 1999, he announced that he would break his 1988 promise to only hold office for two terms, claiming "Circumstances have changed, and I have rethought my position."^[48] Later that same month, while giving a speech about U.S. dependence on foreign oil to the Montana Equipment Dealers Association, he referred to Arabs as "ragheads". Burns soon apologized, saying he "became too emotionally involved" during the speech.^[49]

Burns faced Brian Schweitzer, a rancher from Whitefish, Montana. While Burns attempted to link Schweitzer with presidential candidate Al Gore, whom Schweitzer never met, Schweitzer "effectively portrayed himself as nonpolitical".^[50] Schweitzer primarily challenged Burns on the issue of prescription drugs, organizing busloads of senior citizens to take trips to Canada and Mexico for cheaper medicine.^[51] Burns charged that Schweitzer favored "Canadian-style government controls"^[50] and claimed that senior citizens went to doctors to have "somebody to visit with. There's nothing wrong with them."^[51] Burns also faced trouble regarding deaths from asbestos in Libby, Montana. While he initially supported a bill to limit compensation in such cases, he withdrew his support for the bill, under public criticism, and added $11.5 million for the town to an appropriations bill.^[50][52]

Burns spent twice as much money as Schweitzer on the election^[50] and only defeated him by a slim margin, 51-47 percent, while the state voted 58-33 percent for Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush. Schweitzer went on to become governor in 2004.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Conrad Burns (Incumbent)	208,082	50.55	-11.82%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer	194,430	47.24	+9.61%
	Reform	Gary Lee	9,089	2.2
Majority			13,652	3.32	-21.43%
Turnout			411,601
	Republican hold		Swing

Nebraska

Nebraska election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Ben Nelson Don Stenberg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 353,093 337,977 Percentage 51.0% 48.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Bob Kerrey Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ben Nelson Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Nebraska

See also: List of United States senators from Nebraska

Incumbent Democrat Bob Kerrey decided to retire. Democrat Ben Nelson won the open seat, beating Don Stenberg, the Republican Attorney General of Nebraska.

Democratic primary^[53]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson	105,661	92.12
	Democratic	Al Hamburg	8,482	7.39
	Democratic	Write-ins	558	0.49
Total votes			114,701	100.00

Republican primary^[54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Stenberg	94,394	49.99
	Republican	Scott Moore	41,120	21.77
	Republican	David Hergert	32,228	17.07
	Republican	George Grogan	8,293	4.39
	Republican	John DeCamp	7,469	3.96
	Republican	Elliott Rustad	5,317	2.82
	Republican	Write-ins	21	0.01
Total votes			188,842	100.00

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson	353,093	51.00	-3.78%
	Republican	Don Stenberg	337,977	48.82	+3.81%
	Write-ins		1,280	0.18
Majority			15,116	2.18	-7.59%
Turnout			692,350
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nevada

Nevada election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee John Ensign Ed Bernstein Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 330,687 238,260 Percentage 55.1% 39.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election Richard Bryan Democratic Elected U.S. senator John Ensign Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Nevada

See also: List of United States senators from Nevada

Incumbent Democrat Richard Bryan decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee John Ensign won the open seat over Democratic attorney Ed Bernstein.

Republican primary^[55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ensign	95,904	88.03
	Republican	Richard Hamzik	6,202	5.69
	Republican	None of these candidates	5,290	4.86
	Republican	Fernando Platin, Jr.	1,543	1.42
Total votes			108,939	100.00

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Ensign	330,687	55.09	+14.09%
	Democratic	Edward M. Bernstein	238,260	39.69	-11.24%
	None of These Candidates		11,503	1.92	-1.40%
	Green	Kathryn Rusco	10,286	1.71
	Libertarian	J. J. Johnson	5,395	0.90	-0.67%
	Independent American	Ernie Berghof	2,540	0.42	-1.01%
	Citizens First Party	Bill Grutzmacher	1,579	0.26
Majority			92,427	15.40	+5.47%
Turnout			600,250
	Republican gain from Democratic

New Jersey

New Jersey election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Jon Corzine Bob Franks Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,511,237 1,420,267 Percentage 50.1% 47.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Frank Lautenberg Democratic Elected U.S. senator Jon Corzine Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey

Incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg decided to retire, rather than seeking a fourth term. The Democratic nominee, former CEO of Goldman Sachs Jon Corzine, defeated the Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Bob Franks, in a close election.

Senator Lautenberg, first elected to the Senate in 1982 in an upset victory over Rep. Millicent Fenwick (R-Bergen), had always been an underdog in all three bids for Senate. He beat Pete Dawkins in 1988 by a 54%-46% margin and held back a challenge from Chuck Haytaian by a smaller margin of 50%-47%. However, popular Governor Christine Todd Whitman was expected to challenge Lautenberg, and opinion polls showed Lautenberg losing by a large margin. He retired but later regretted his decision because Gov. Whitman and Former Governor Tom Kean both declined to run for the Senate. Lautenberg would be elected to the state's other Senate Seat in 2002.

Corzine spent $35 million of his own money into the Democratic primary election alone^[56][57] when running against Jim Florio, who served as the 49th Governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. Governor Florio was unpopular during his tenure in office. Most notably, he signed a $2.8 Billion tax increase in 1990. It caused his party to lose control of the state government for a decade, and cost the Governor his re-election bid in 1993.

Corzine, running as an outsider, was endorsed by State senator Raymond Zane (D-Gloucester), State senator Wayne Bryant (D-Camden), State senator John Adler (D-Camden), U.S Representative Bob Menendez (D-Hudson) and U.S senator Bob Torricelli (D-NJ). Florio was endorsed by the State Party, Assemblyman Joe Doria (D-Hudson) and senator John Lynch (D-Middlesex).

Corzine defeated Florio in the primary and then defeated Bob Franks in the general election.

2000 New Jersey U.S. Senate Democratic primary election^[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jon Corzine	251,216	58.0
	Democratic	James Florio	182,212	42.0

2000 New Jersey U.S. Senate Republican primary election^[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Franks	98,370	35.7
	Republican	William Gormley	94,010	34.1
	Republican	James W. Treffinger	48,674	17.7
	Republican	Murray Sabrin	34,629	12.6

Franks, a moderate Republican,^[59] attacked Corzine for "trying to buy the election and of advocating big-government spending programs that the nation can ill afford." Corzine accused Franks of wanting to dismantle the Social Security system because he supported Governor George W. Bush's partial privatization plan.^[60]

During the campaign, Corzine refused to release his income tax return records. He claimed an interest in doing so, but he cited a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs. Skeptics argued that he should have followed the example of his predecessor Robert Rubin, who converted his equity stake into debt upon leaving Goldman.^[61]

Corzine campaigned for state government programs including universal health care, universal gun registration, mandatory public preschool, and more taxpayer funding for college education.^[62][63] He pushed affirmative action and same-sex marriage.^[64] David Brooks considered Corzine so liberal that although his predecessor was also a Democrat, his election helped shift the Senate to the left.^[65]

During Corzine's campaign for the United States Senate, he made some controversial off-color statements. When introduced to a man with an Italian name who said he was in the construction business, Corzine quipped: "Oh, you make cement shoes!" according to Emanuel Alfano, chairman of the Italian-American One Voice Committee. Alfano also reported that when introduced to a lawyer named David Stein, Corzine said: "He's not Italian, is he? Oh, I guess he's your Jewish lawyer who is here to get the rest of you out of jail."^[66] Corzine denied mentioning religion, but did not deny the quip about Italians, claiming that some of his own ancestors were probably Italian,^[67] or maybe French.^[68]

Also in 2000, Corzine denied having paid off African-American ministers, when in fact the foundation controlled by him and his wife had paid one influential black church $25,000.^[69] Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, director of the Black Ministers Council, had campaigned against a form of racial profiling whereby police officers stop minority drivers and had gotten New Jersey state police superintendent, Carl A. Williams, fired. Corzine had donated to Jackson prior to getting what appears to be a reciprocal endorsement.^[70]

Franks generally trailed Corzine in the polls until the very last week, when he pulled even in a few polls. Corzine spent $63 million, while Franks spent only $6 million.^[71] Despite being heavily outspent, Franks lost by only three percentage points, doing better that year than Republican Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election, who obtained just 40% of the vote in the state.^[72]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jon Corzine	1,511,237	50.11
	Republican	Bob Franks	1,420,267	47.10
	Green	Bruce Afran	32,841	1.09
	Reform	Pat DiNizio	19,312	0.64
	Libertarian	Emerson Ellett	7,241	0.24
	Independent	Dennis A. Breen	6,061	0.20
	Trust in God	J. M. Carter	5,657	0.19
	Conservative	Lorraine LaNeve	3,836	0.13
	Socialist	Gregory Pason	3,365	0.11
	Socialist Workers	Nancy Rosenstock	3,309	0.11
	God Bless Jersey	George Gostigian	2,536	0.08
Majority			90,970	3.01
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

New Mexico

New Mexico election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Jeff Bingaman Bill Redmond Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 363,744 225,517 Percentage 62.7% 37.3%

County results

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

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in New Mexico

See also: List of United States senators from New Mexico

Incumbent Democrat Jeff Bingaman won re-election to a fourth term, beating Republican former Congressman Bill Redmond.^[73]

Democratic primary^[74]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Bingaman (Incumbent)	124,887	100.00
Total votes			124,887	100.00

Republican primary^[74]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Redmond	43,780	60.39
	Republican	Steve Pearce	15,628	21.56
	Republican	William F. Davis	13,083	18.05
Total votes			72,491	100.00

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jeff Bingaman (Incumbent)	363,744	61.70	+7.73%
	Republican	Bill Redmond	225,517	38.25	-7.74%
	Write-ins		265	0.04
Majority			138,227	23.45	+15.47%
Turnout			589,525
	Democratic hold		Swing

New York

New York election

← 1994 November 7, 2000 2006 →

Nominee Hillary Clinton Rick Lazio Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,747,310 2,915,730 Percentage 55.3% 43.0%

Results by county Clinton:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Lazio:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election Daniel Patrick Moynihan Democratic Elected U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Democratic

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York

Hillary Rodham Clinton, then First Lady of the United States and the first First Lady to run for political office, defeated Congressman Rick Lazio. The general election coincided with the U.S. presidential election.

The race began in November 1998 when four-term incumbent Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D) announced his retirement. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party sought high-profile candidates to compete for the open seat. By early 1999 Clinton and Mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani were the likely respective nominees. Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton, purchased a house in Chappaqua, New York, in September 1999; she thereby became eligible for the election, although she faced characterizations of carpetbagging since she had never resided in the state before. The lead in statewide polls swung from Clinton to Giuliani and back to Clinton as the campaigns featured both successful strategies and mistakes as well as dealing with current events. In late April and May 2000, Giuliani's medical, romantic, marital, and political lives all collided in a tumultuous four-week period, culminating in his withdrawing from the race on May 19.

The Republicans chose lesser-known Congressman Rick Lazio to replace him. The election included a record $90 million in campaign expenditures between Clinton, Lazio, and Giuliani and national visibility. Clinton showed strength in normally Republican upstate areas and a debate blunder by Lazio solidified Clinton's previously shaky support among women.

Democratic primary^[75]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hillary Rodham Clinton	565,353	82
	Democratic	Mark McMahon	124,315	18

The contest drew considerable national attention and both candidates were well-funded. By the end of the race, Democrat Clinton and Republicans Lazio and Giuliani had spent a combined $90 million,^[76] the most of any U.S. Senate race in history.^[76][77] Lazio outspent Clinton $40 million to $29 million,^[76] with Clinton also getting several million dollars in soft money from Democratic organizations.^[76] Among Clinton antagonists circles, direct mail-based fundraising groups such as the Emergency Committee to Stop Hillary Rodham Clinton sprung up,^[78] sending out solicitations regarding the "carpetbagging" issue: just as one Clinton leaves office, another one runs.

Clinton secured a broad base of support, including endorsements from conservation groups^[79] and organized labor,^[80] but notably not the New York City police union which endorsed Lazio while firefighters supported Hillary.^[81][82] While Clinton had a solid base of support in New York City, candidates and observers expected the race to be decided in upstate New York where 45 percent of the state's voters live. During the campaign, Clinton vowed to improve the economic picture in upstate New York, promising that her plan would deliver 200,000 New York jobs over six years. Her plan included specific tax credits with the purpose of rewarding job creation and encouraging business investment, especially in the high-tech sector. She called for targeted personal tax cuts for college tuition and long-term care.^[83] Lazio faced a unique tactical problem campaigning upstate. The major issue there was the persistently weak local economy, which Lazio hoped to link to his opponent's husband's tenure in office. Attacks on the state of the upstate economy were frequently interpreted as criticism of incumbent Republican governor George Pataki, however, limiting the effect of this line of attack.

Opponents continued to make the carpetbagging issue a focal point throughout the race and during debates.^[84] Talk radio hammered on this, with New York-based Sean Hannity issuing a daily mantra, "Name me three things Hillary Clinton has ever done for the people of New York!" Clinton's supporters pointed out that the state was receptive to national leaders, such as Robert F. Kennedy who was elected to the Senate in 1964 despite similar accusations. In the end, according to exit polls conducted in the race, a majority of the voters dismissed the carpetbagging issue as unimportant.^[85]

During the campaign, Independent Counsel Robert Ray filed his final reports regarding the long-running Whitewater,^[86] "Travelgate",^[87] and "Filegate"^[88] investigations of the White House, each of which included specific investigations of Hillary Clinton actions. The reports exonerated her on the files matter,^[88] said there was insufficient evidence regarding her role in Whitewater,^[86] and said that she had made factually false statements regarding the Travel Office firings but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her.^[87] Although The New York Times editorialized that the release of the reports seemed possibly timed to coincide with the Senate election,^[89] in practice the findings were not seen as likely to sway many voters' opinions.^[90]

A September 13, 2000, debate between Lazio and Clinton proved important. Lazio was on the warpath against soft money and the amounts of it coming from the Democratic National Committee into Clinton's campaign, and challenged Clinton to agree to ban soft money from both campaigns. He left his podium and waved his proposed paper agreement in Clinton's face;^[91] many debate viewers thought he had invaded her personal space^[92] and as a result Clinton's support among women voters solidified.^[91]

Late in the campaign Lazio criticised Clinton for accepting campaign donations from various Arab groups in the wake of the USS Cole attack. This issue caused former New York Mayor Ed Koch to take out ads telling Lazio to "stop with the sleaze already,"^[91] and did not change the dynamic of the race.

 

Having won the election, Clinton is sworn in as the junior senator from New York, January 3, 2001.

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Hillary Rodham Clinton	3,562,415
	Working Families	Hillary Rodham Clinton	102,094
	Liberal	Hillary Rodham Clinton	82,801
	total	Hillary Rodham Clinton	3,747,310	55.27	+0.02
	Republican	Rick Lazio	2,724,589
	Conservative	Rick Lazio	191,141
	total	Rick Lazio	2,915,730	43.01	+1.5
	Independence	Jeffrey Graham	43,181	0.64	-0.08
	Green	Mark Dunau	40,991	0.60
	Right to Life	John Adefope	21,439	0.32	-1.68
	Libertarian	John Clifton	4,734	0.07	-0.31
	Constitution	Louis Wein	3,414	0.05
	Socialist Workers	Jacob Perasso	3,040	0.04	-0.27
	Blank/scattering		179,823
Majority			831,580	12.27
Turnout			6,779,839
	Democratic hold		Swing

Per New York State law, Clinton and Lazio totals include their minor party line votes: Liberal Party of New York and Working Families Party for Clinton, Conservative Party for Lazio.

Clinton won the election on November 7 with 55 percent of the vote to Lazio's 43 percent,^[93] a difference larger than most observers had expected.^[94][95] Clinton won the traditionally Democratic base of New York City by large margins, and carried suburban Westchester County, but lost heavily populated Long Island, part of which Lazio represented in Congress. She won surprising victories in Upstate counties, such as Cayuga, Rensselaer, and Niagara, to which her win has been attributed.

In comparison with other results, this 12 percentage point margin was smaller than Gore's 25 point margin over Bush in the state Presidential contest, was slightly larger than the 10 point margin by which fellow New York senator Charles Schumer defeated incumbent Republican Al D'Amato in the hotly contested 1998 race, but was considerably smaller than the 47 point margin by which senator Schumer won re-election in 2004 against little-known Republican challenger Howard Mills.^[96][97] The victory of a Democrat in the Senate election was not assured, because in recent decades the Republicans had won about half the elections for governor and senator.

Lazio's bid was handicapped by the weak performance of George W. Bush in New York in the 2000 election,^[95] but it was also clear Hillary Clinton had made substantial inroads in upstate New York prior to Lazio's entry into the race.^[95] Exit polls also showed a large gender gap with Clinton running stronger than expected among moderate women and unaffiliated women.^[98]

North Dakota

North Dakota election

← 1994 2006 →

Nominee Kent Conrad Duane Sand Party Democratic–NPL Republican Popular vote 176,470 111,069 Percentage 61.4% 38.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Kent Conrad Democratic–NPL Elected U.S. senator Kent Conrad Democratic–NPL

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in North Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from North Dakota

Incumbent Dem-NPL U.S. senator Kent Conrad won re-election to a third term, over Republican Naval Reserve officer Duane Sand.^[99]

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic–NPL	Kent Conrad (Incumbent)	176,470	61.37
	Republican	Duane Sand	111,069	38.63
Majority			65,401	22.74
Turnout			287,539	100

Ohio

Ohio election

← 1994 2006 →
Turnout	63.6% (Registered Voters)
Nominee Mike DeWine Ted Celeste Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,665,512 1,595,066 Percentage 59.9% 35.9%
County results
U.S. senator before election Mike DeWine Republican Elected U.S. senator Mike DeWine Republican

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio

Incumbent Republican Mike DeWine won re-election to a second term, beating Democrat Ted Celeste, real estate developer and brother of former Ohio Governor Dick Celeste.

Republican primary^[100]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike DeWine (Incumbent)	1,029,860	79.51
	Republican	Ronald Richard Dickson	161,185	12.44
	Republican	Frank Cremeans	104,219	8.05
Total votes			1,295,264	100

Democratic primary^[100]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ted Celeste	375,205	43.86
	Democratic	Marvin McMickle	208,291	24.35
	Democratic	Richard Cordray	202,345	23.65
	Democratic	Dan Radakovich	69,620	8.14
Total votes			855,461	100

General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike DeWine (Incumbent)	2,665,512	59.9	+6.5%
	Democratic	Ted Celeste	1,595,066	35.9	-3.3%
	Libertarian	John McAlister	116,724	2.6	0.00%
	Natural Law Party (US)	John Eastman	70,713	1.6	0.00%
	Write-in		786	0.00	0.00%
Majority			1,076,446
Turnout			4,448,801	63.6
	Republican hold		Swing

December 15, 2023