1992 United States Senate elections

Alaska election
← 1986 1998 →
	Results by state house district; Murkowski: 40–50% 50–60%; Smith: 40–50% 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Frank Murkowski; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Frank Murkowski; Republican

Alabama election
← 1986 1998 →
	County results; Shelby: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Sellers: 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Richard Shelby; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Richard Shelby; Democratic

1992 United States Senate elections
← 1991 (PA) 1993 (TX) →
36 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate; 51 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; No electionRectangular inset (Calif. & N. D.): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election; George Mitchell; Democratic	Elected Majority Leader ; George Mitchell; Democratic

The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate. The 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, along with special elections to fill vacancies. They coincided with Bill Clinton's victory in the presidential election. This was the first time since 1956 that the balance of the Senate remained the same.

Both parties swapped a pair of seats, resulting in no net change in the partisan breakdown, which had been at 57–43 since Democrats flipped a seat in Pennsylvania in a special election. Democratic victories over Republicans John F. Seymour in the special California race and Bob Kasten in Wisconsin were cancelled out by the defeats of Democrats Wyche Fowler in Georgia and Terry Sanford in North Carolina.

The election of four new Democratic women to the Senate was notable with it being referred to in the press as the "Year of the Woman". Due to a special election in California, both of California's Senate seats were up for election in 1992, and these seats were won by Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Thus, California became the first state to have elected women to occupy both of its Senate seats. Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, became the first African-American woman in the United States Senate. As of 2023^[update], this was the last election cycle in which Republicans won a Senate election in New York and Democrats in Kentucky.

Results summary[edit]

↓
57	43
Democratic	Republican

Seat totals include both the special elections in California and North Dakota, but vote totals exclude the North Dakota total.

Parties		Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Independent	Other	Total
Parties							Total
Last elections (1990)		56	44	0	0	0	100
Before these elections		57	43	0	0	0	100
Not up		36	28	—	—	—	64

Up		21	15	—	—	—	36
	Class 3 (1986→1992)	20	14	—	—	—	34
	Special: Class 1	1	1	—	—	—	2

Incumbent retired		5^[b]	3	—	—	—	8
	Held by same party	5	3	—	—	—	8
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	—	—	0
	Result	5	3	—	—	—	8
Incumbent ran		16^[c]	12^[d]	—	—	—	28
	Won re-election	13	10	—	—	—	23
	Lost re-election	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats 2 Democrats replaced by 2 Republicans		—	—	—	4
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	1	0	—	—	—	1
	Result	16	12	—	—	—	28

Total elected		21	15	—	—	—	36
Net gain/loss							0
Nationwide vote		40,589,727	35,449,473	1,234,416	624,673	3,486,729	81,385,018
	Share	49.87%	43.56%	1.52%	0.77%	4.28%	100%
Result		57	43	—	—	—	100

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

Gains and losses[edit]

Retirements[edit]

Three Republicans and four Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election. One Democrat also retired instead of finishing the unexpired term.

State	Senator	Replaced by
California (regular)	Alan Cranston	Barbara Boxer
Colorado	Tim Wirth	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Idaho	Steve Symms	Dirk Kempthorne
New Hampshire	Warren Rudman	Judd Gregg
North Dakota (regular)	Kent Conrad	Byron Dorgan
North Dakota (special)	Jocelyn Burdick	Kent Conrad
Utah	Jake Garn	Bob Bennett
Washington	Brock Adams	Patty Murray

Defeats[edit]

One Republican and three Democrats sought re-election but lost either in the primary or general election. One Republican also sought election to finish the term but lost in the special election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
California (special)	John Seymour	Dianne Feinstein
Georgia	Wyche Fowler	Paul Coverdell
Illinois	Alan J. Dixon	Carol Moseley Braun
North Carolina	Terry Sanford	Lauch Faircloth
Wisconsin	Bob Kasten	Russ Feingold

Post-election changes[edit]

Two Democrats resigned and were replaced by appointees. In Texas, a 1993 special election was held prior to the 1994 United States Senate elections, where Kay Bailey Hutchison won the special election to succeed Democratic appointee Bob Krueger, who lost election to finish the term.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Tennessee (Class 2)	Al Gore	Harlan Mathews
Texas (Class 1)	Lloyd Bentsen	Bob Krueger
Texas (Class 1)	Bob Krueger	Kay Bailey Hutchison

Change in composition[edit]

Before the elections[edit]

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 Colo. Retired	D₃₉ Calif. (reg) Retired	D₃₈ Ark. Ran	D₃₇ Ala. Ran	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁ Conn. Ran	D₄₂ Fla. Ran	D₄₃ Ga. Ran	D₄₄ Hawaii Ran	D₄₅ Ill. Ran	D₄₆ Ky. Ran	D₄₇ La. Ran	D₄₈ Md. Ran	D₄₉ Nev. Ran	D₅₀ N.C. Ran
Majority →									D₅₁ N.D. (reg) Retired
R₄₁ Pa. Ran	R₄₂ Utah Retired	R₄₃ Wisc. Ran	D₅₇ Wash. Retired	D₅₆ Vt. Ran	D₅₅ S.D. Ran	D₅₄ S.C. Ran	D₅₃ Ohio Ran	D₅₂ N.D. (sp) Retired	D₅₁ N.D. (reg) Retired
R₃₁ Calif. (sp) Ran	R₃₂ Idaho Retired	R₃₃ Ind. Ran	R₃₄ Iowa Ran	R₃₅ Kan. Ran	R₃₆ Mo. Ran	R₃₇ N.H. Retired	R₃₈ N.Y. Ran	R₃₉ Okla. Ran	R₄₀ Ore. Ran
R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈	R₂₉ Ariz. Ran	R₃₀ Alaska Ran
R₂₀	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁
R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀

Result of the elections[edit]

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 Colo. Hold	D₃₉ Calif. (reg) Hold	D₃₈ Ark. Re-elected	D₃₇ Ala. Re-elected	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁ Conn. Re-elected	D₄₂ Fla. Re-elected	D₄₃ Hawaii Re-elected	D₄₄ Ill. Hold	D₄₅ Ky. Re-elected	D₄₆ La. Re-elected	D₄₇ Md. Re-elected	D₄₈ Nev. Re-elected	D₄₉ N.D. (reg) Hold	D₅₀ N.D. (sp) Hold
Majority →									D₅₁ Ohio Re-elected
R₄₁ Utah Hold	R₄₂ Ga. Gain	R₄₃ N.C. Gain	D₅₇ Wisc. Gain	D₅₆ Calif. (sp) Gain^[e]	D₅₅ Wash. Hold	D₅₄ Vt. Re-elected	D₅₃ S.D. Re-elected	D₅₂ S.C. Re-elected	D₅₁ Ohio Re-elected
R₄₀ Pa. Re-elected	R₃₉ Ore. Re-elected	R₃₈ Okla. Re-elected	R₃₇ N.Y. Re-elected	R₃₆ N.H. Hold	R₃₅ Mo. Re-elected	R₃₄ Kan. Re-elected	R₃₃ Iowa Re-elected	R₃₂ Ind. Re-elected	R₃₁ Idaho Hold
R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈	R₂₉ Alaska Re-elected	R₃₀ Ariz. Re-elected
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[edit]

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 →									D₅₁
R₄₁	R₄₂	R₄₃	R₄₄ Texas Gain	D₅₆	D₅₅	D₅₄	D₅₃	D₅₂	D₅₁
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

Race summary[edit]

Special elections[edit]

In these special elections, the winners were elected and seated in the fall of 1992. Elections are sorted by election date then state and class.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State (linked to summaries below)	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
California (Class 1)	John Seymour	Republican	1991 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected November 3, 1992. Democratic gain. Successor seated November 4, 1992.	▌Y Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) 54.3% ▌John Seymour (Republican) 38.0% ▌Gerald Horne (Peace and Freedom) 2.8% ▌Paul Meeuwenberg (American Independent) 2.6% ▌Richard B. Boddie (Libertarian) 2.3%
North Dakota (Class 1)	Jocelyn Burdick	Democratic-NPL	1992 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected December 4, 1992. Democratic-NPL hold. Successor seated December 14, 1992.	▌Y Kent Conrad (Democratic-NPL) 63.3% ▌Jack Dalrymple (Republican) 33.7% ▌Darold Larson (Independent) 3.0%

Elections leading to the next Congress[edit]

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1993; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State (linked to summaries below)	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Richard Shelby	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Richard Shelby (Democratic) 64.8% ▌Richard Sellars (Republican) 33.1% ▌Jerome Shockley (Libertarian) 2.0%
Alaska	Frank Murkowski	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Frank Murkowski (Republican) 53.0% ▌Tony Smith (Democratic) 38.4% ▌Mary Jordan (Green) 8.4%
Arizona	John McCain	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John McCain (Republican) 55.8% ▌Claire Sargent (Democratic) 31.6% ▌Evan Mecham (Independent) 10.5% ▌Kiana Delamare (Libertarian) 1.6% ▌Ed Finkelstein (New Alliance) 0.5%
Arkansas	Dale Bumpers	Democratic	1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Dale Bumpers (Democratic) 60.2% ▌Mike Huckabee (Republican) 39.8%
California	Alan Cranston	Democratic	1968 1974 1980 1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Barbara Boxer (Democratic) 47.9% ▌Bruce Herschensohn (Republican) 43.0% ▌Jerome McCready (American Independent) 3.5% ▌Genevieve Torres (Peace and Freedom) 3.5% ▌June R. Genis (Libertarian) 2.2%
Colorado	Tim Wirth	Democratic	1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Democratic) 51.8% ▌Terry Considine (Republican) 42.7% ▌Richard Grimes (Independent) 2.7% ▌Matt Noah (Christian Pro-Life) 1.5% ▌Dan Winters (Independent) 1.3%
Connecticut	Chris Dodd	Democratic	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Chris Dodd (Democratic) 58.8% ▌Brook Johnson (Republican) 38.1% ▌Richard D. Gregory (Concerned Citizens) 2.4% ▌Howard A. Grayson Jr. (Libertarian) 0.7%
Florida	Bob Graham	Democratic	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Graham (Democratic) 65.4% ▌James W. Grant (Republican) 34.6%
Georgia	Wyche Fowler	Democratic	1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌Y Paul Coverdell (Republican) 50.6% ▌Wyche Fowler (Democratic) 49.4% ▌Jim Hudson (Libertarian) 3.1%
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye	Democratic	1962 1968 1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Daniel Inouye (Democratic) 57.3% ▌Rick Reed (Republican) 26.9% ▌Linda Martin (Green) 13.7% ▌Richard O. Rowland (Libertarian) 2.1%
Idaho	Steve Symms	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Dirk Kempthorne (Republican) 56.5% ▌Richard H. Stallings (Democratic) 43.5%
Illinois	Alan J. Dixon	Democratic	1980 1986	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Carol Moseley Braun (Democratic) 53.3% ▌Richard S. Williamson (Republican) 43.1% ▌Chad Koppie (Conservative) 2.0% Others ▌Andrew B. Spiegel (Libertarian) 0.7% ▌Charles A. Winter (Natural Law) 0.3% ▌Alan J. Port (New Alliance) 0.3% ▌Kathleen Kaku (Socialist Workers) 0.2% ▌John Justice (Populist) 0.2%
Indiana	Dan Coats	Republican	1989 (Appointed) 1990 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Dan Coats (Republican) 57.3% ▌Joe Hogsett (Democratic) 40.7% ▌Steve Dillon (Libertarian) 1.6% ▌Raymond Tirado (New Alliance) 0.3%
Iowa	Chuck Grassley	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Chuck Grassley (Republican) 69.6% ▌Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones (Democratic) 27.2% ▌Stuart Zimmerman (Natural Law) 1.3% Others ▌Sue Atkinson (Independent) 0.5% ▌Mel Boring (Independent) 0.4% ▌Rosanne Freeburg (Independent) 0.4% ▌Carl Eric Olsen (Grassroots) 0.3% ▌Richard O'Dell Hughes (Independent) 0.2% ▌Cleve Andrew Pulley (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Kansas	Bob Dole	Republican	1968 1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Dole (Republican) 62.7% ▌Gloria O'Dell (Democratic) 31.0% ▌Christina Campbell-Cline (Independent) 4.0% ▌Mark B. Kirk (Libertarian) 2.2%
Kentucky	Wendell Ford	Democratic	1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Wendell Ford (Democratic) 62.9% ▌David L. Williams (Republican) 35.8% ▌James Ridenour (Libertarian) 1.3%
Louisiana	John Breaux	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Breaux (Democratic) 73.07% ▌Jon Khachaturian (Independent) 8.9% ▌Lyle Stockstill (Republican) 8.3% ▌Nick Accardo (Democratic) 5.4% ▌Fred Clegg Strong (Republican) 4.3%
Maryland	Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Barbara Mikulski (Democratic) 71.0% ▌Alan Keyes (Republican) 29.0%
Missouri	Kit Bond	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Kit Bond (Republican) 51.9% ▌Geri Rothman-Serot (Democratic) 44.9% ▌Jeanne Bojarski (Libertarian) 3.2%
Nevada	Harry Reid	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Harry Reid (Democratic) 51.0% ▌Demar Dahl (Republican) 40.2% ▌None of These Candidates 2.6% ▌Joe Garcia (Independent American) 2.3% ▌Lois Avery (Natural Law) 1.5% ▌H. Kent Cromwell (Libertarian) 1.5% ▌Harry Tootle (Populist) 0.9%
New Hampshire	Warren Rudman	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Judd Gregg (Republican) 48.2% ▌John Rauh (Democratic) 45.3% ▌K. Alexander (Libertarian) 3.5%
New York	Al D'Amato	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Al D'Amato (Republican) 49.0% ▌Robert Abrams (Democratic) 47.8% ▌Norma Segal (Libertarian) 1.7% Others ▌M. T. Mehdi (New Alliance) 0.9% ▌Stanley Nelson (Natural Law) 0.4% ▌Ed Warren (Socialist Workers) 0.2%
North Carolina	Terry Sanford	Democratic	1986 (special) 1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌Y Lauch Faircloth (Republican) 50.4% ▌Terry Sanford (Democratic) 46.3% ▌Bobby Emory (Libertarian) 3.3%
North Dakota	Kent Conrad	Democratic-NPL	1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic-NPL hold. Incumbent resigned December 14, 1992 to move to the other seat. Winner appointed December 15, 1992.	▌Y Byron Dorgan (Democratic-NPL) 59.0% ▌Steve Sydness (Republican) 38.9% ▌Tom Asbridge (Independent) 2.1%
Ohio	John Glenn	Democratic	1974 1974 (Appointed) 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Glenn (Democratic) 51.0% ▌Mike DeWine (Republican) 42.3% ▌Martha Grevatt (Independent) 6.7%
Oklahoma	Don Nickles	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Don Nickles (Republican) 58.5% ▌Steve Lewis (Democratic) 38.2% ▌Roy V. Edwards (Independent) 1.6% ▌Thomas D. Ledgerwood II (Independent) 1.6%
Oregon	Bob Packwood	Republican	1968 1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Packwood (Republican) 52.1% ▌Les AuCoin (Democratic) 46.5%
Pennsylvania	Arlen Specter	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Arlen Specter (Republican) 49.1% ▌Lynn Yeakel (Democratic) 46.3% ▌John Perry III (Independent) 4.6%
South Carolina	Fritz Hollings	Democratic	1966 (special) 1968 1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Fritz Hollings (Democratic) 50.1% ▌Thomas F. Hartnett (Republican) 46.9% ▌Mark Johnson (Libertarian) 1.9% ▌Robert Barnwell Clarkson II (American) 1.0%
South Dakota	Tom Daschle	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tom Daschle (Democratic) 64.9% ▌Charlene Haar (Republican) 32.5% ▌Gus Hercules (Libertarian) 1.3% ▌Kent Hyde (Independent) 1.3%
Utah	Jake Garn	Republican	1974 1980 1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Bob Bennett (Republican) 55.4% ▌Wayne Owens (Democratic) 39.7% ▌Anita Morrow (Independent) 2.3%
Vermont	Patrick Leahy	Democratic	1974 1980 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Patrick Leahy (Democratic) 54.2% ▌Jim Douglas (Republican) 43.3% ▌Jerry Levy (Liberty Union) 1.8% ▌Michael B. Godeck (LaRouche) 0.6%
Washington	Brock Adams	Democratic	1986	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Patty Murray (Democratic) 54.0% ▌Rod Chandler (Republican) 46.0%
Wisconsin	Bob Kasten	Republican	1980 1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Russ Feingold (Democratic) 52.6% ▌Bob Kasten (Republican) 46.0% Others ▌Patrick W. Johnson (Independent) 0.7% ▌William Bittner (Libertarian) 0.4% ▌Mervin A. Hanson Sr. (Independent) 0.1% ▌Robert L. Kundert (Independent) 0.1% ▌Joseph Selliken (Independent) 0.1%

Closest races[edit]

In thirteen races, the margin of victory was under 10%.

State	Party of winner	Margin
New York	Republican	1.25%
Georgia	Republican (flip)	1.30%
Pennsylvania	Republican	2.77%
New Hampshire	Republican	2.82%
South Carolina	Democratic	3.12%
North Carolina	Republican (flip)	4.03%
California (regular)	Democratic	4.90%
Oregon	Republican	5.64%
Wisconsin	Democratic (flip)	6.56%
Missouri	Republican	6.96%
Washington	Democratic	7.98%
Ohio	Democratic	8.66%
Colorado	Democratic	9.07%

Illinois was the tipping point state, decided by a margin of 10%.

Alabama[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Richard Shelby won re-election to a second term, beating Richard Sellers, a conservative activist.^[2]

1992 United States Senate election in Alabama^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Shelby (incumbent)	1,022,698	64.8%
	Republican	Richard Sellers	522,015	33.1%
	Libertarian	Jerome Shockley	31,811	2.0%
	Independent	Write Ins	1,275	0.1%
Majority			500,683	31.7%
Turnout			1,577,799
	Democratic hold

Alaska[edit]

Incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski sought re-election to a third term in the United States Senate. Tony Smith, the Democratic nominee and a former Commissioner of Economic Development, won his party's nomination in a crowded primary and faced off against Murkowski in the general election. Though Murkowski was held to a lower vote percentage than he received six years prior, he was ultimately re-elected.

Open primary^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tony Smith	33,162	44.81%
	Democratic	William L. Hensley	29,586	39.98%
	Green	Mary Jordan	5,989	8.09%
	Democratic	Michael Beasley	2,657	3.59%
	Democratic	Joseph Sonneman	1,607	2.17%
	Democratic	Frank Vondersaar	1,000	1.35%
Total votes			74,001	100.00%

Republican primary^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski (Incumbent)	37,486	80.53%
	Republican	Jed Whittaker	9,065	19.47%
Total votes			46,551	100.00%

1992 United States Senate election in Alaska^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski (Incumbent)	127,163	53.05%	-0.98%
	Democratic	Tony Smith	92,065	38.41%	-5.69%
	Green	Mary Jordan	20,019	8.35%
	Write-ins		467	0.19%
Majority			35,098	14.64%	+4.72%
Turnout			239,714
	Republican hold		Swing

Arizona[edit]

Arizona election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	John McCain	Claire Sargent
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	771,395	436,321
Percentage	55.8%	31.6%


Nominee	Evan Mecham
Party	Independent
Popular vote	145,361
Percentage	10.3%

County results

McCain: 40–50% 50–60%

Sargent: 40–50%

U.S. senator before election

John McCain
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John McCain
Republican

Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a second term over Democrat Claire Sargent, community activist^[6] and Independent former Governor Evan Mecham.

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John McCain (Incumbent)	771,395	55.82%	-4.66%
	Democratic	Claire Sargent	436,321	31.57%	-7.94%
	Independent	Evan Mecham	145,361	10.52%
	Libertarian	Kiana Delamare	22,613	1.64%
	New Alliance	Ed Finkelstein	6,335	0.46%
	Write-ins		26	0.00%
Majority			335,074	24.24%	+3.28%
Turnout			1,382,051
	Republican hold		Swing

Arkansas[edit]

Arkansas election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Dale Bumpers	Mike Huckabee
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	553,635	366,373
Percentage	60.2%	39.8%

County results

Bumpers: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%

Huckabee: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Dale Bumpers
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Dale Bumpers
Democratic

Incumbent Democratic senator Dale Bumpers won re-election to a fourth term. His Republican opponent was future Arkansas lieutenant governor, governor, and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a church pastor from Texarkana.

The 1992 election coincided with Arkansas governor Bill Clinton's election as President of the United States, in which he also won his home state. In contrast with Bumpers' landslide where he won over 60% of the vote, Clinton won only 53.21% of the vote. Bumpers would serve another term in the U.S. Senate before deciding to retire in 1998.

Arkansas Senate election 1992^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dale Bumpers (Incumbent)	553,635	60.2%
	Republican	Mike Huckabee	366,373	39.8%
Majority			187,262	20.4%
Turnout			920,008
	Democratic hold

California[edit]

Due to the resignation of Pete Wilson to become Governor of California, there were two senate elections in California as both seats were up for election and both won by women. California ultimately become the first state to have two sitting women senators.

California (regular)[edit]

California general election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Barbara Boxer	Bruce Herschensohn
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	5,173,467	4,644,182
Percentage	47.9%	43.0%

County results
Boxer: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Herchensohn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Alan Cranston
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Alan Cranston decided to retire. Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Boxer won the open seat over Republican conservative TV talk show commentator Bruce Herschensohn. Both of California's senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again in Tennessee in 1994, Kansas in 1996 and Georgia in 2020-2021. Fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein, California's other senator, won the special election and was inaugurated in November 1992.

The election between Boxer and Herschensohn was very close. At the eleventh hour, controversy emerged that the Republican nominee attended a strip club, which some Republican operatives later blamed for Herschensohn's loss.^[8]

Four days before Election Day polls showed Herschensohn had narrowed a double digit deficit, trailing by 3 points. Political operative Bob Mulholland disrupted a campaign appearance with a large poster advertising a strip club shouting "Should the voters of California elect someone who frequently travels the strip joints of Hollywood?" Herschensohn admitted he had visited a strip club once, with his girlfriend and another couple. With press coverage of the story, Herschensohn spent the waning days of the campaign denying related allegations. When the votes were cast and counted, Barbara Boxer won the election by five points.^[9] Although Republicans have blamed the defeat on the underhanded tactics of the Boxer campaign, evidence of the connection between Mulholland's outburst and the campaign never surfaced.^[10]^[11]^[12]

The election was very close. Boxer was declared the winner by the Associated Press at 1:22 A.M. Pacific Coast Time.

1992 United States Senate election, California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara Boxer	5,173,467	47.90
	Republican	Bruce Herschensohn	4,644,182	43.00
	American Independent	Jerome N. McCready	373,051	3.45
	Peace and Freedom	Genevieve Torres	372,817	3.45
	Libertarian	June R. Genis	235,919	2.18
	No party	Write-ins	267	0.00
Invalid or blank votes			574,862	5.05
Total votes			11,374,565	100.00
Turnout			{{{votes}}}	54.52
	Democratic hold

California (special)[edit]

California special election

← 1988

1994 →


Nominee	Dianne Feinstein	John F. Seymour
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	5,853,651	4,093,501
Percentage	54.29%	37.96%

County results
Feinstein: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Seymour: 40–50% 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

John F. Seymour
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

In the 1990 gubernatorial election, Republican senator Pete Wilson had beaten Democrat Dianne Feinstein for governor. He appointed John F. Seymour to the Senate to replace himself. In this special election held simultaneously with the regular Senate election, Feinstein defeated Seymour to serve the remaining 2 years of the term and took office November 4, only 1 day after the election. Fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer won the regular election and was sworn in in January 1993.

Both of California's senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again in Tennessee in 1994, Kansas in 1996, and Georgia in 2020.

1992 special United States Senate election, California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein	5,853,651	54.29%
	Republican	John F. Seymour (Incumbent)	4,093,501	37.96%
	Peace and Freedom	Gerald Horne	305,697	2.84%
	American Independent	Paul Meeuwenberg	281,973	2.62%
	Libertarian	Richard Benjamin Boddie	247,799	2.30%
	No party	Write-ins	122	0.00%
Invalid or blank votes			591,822	5.20%
Total votes			11,374,565	100.00%
Turnout			{{{votes}}}	54.52
	Democratic gain from Republican

Colorado[edit]

Colorado election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Ben Nighthorse Campbell	Terry Considine
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	803,725	662,893
Percentage	51.8%	42.7%

County results
Nighthorse Campbell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Considine: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Tim Wirth
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Tim Wirth decided to retire instead of seeking a second term. Democratic congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell won the open seat, beating Republican State senator Terry Considine.

Democratic primary election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Nighthorse Campbell	117,634	45.48%
	Democratic	Dick Lamm	93,599	36.19%
	Democratic	Josie Heath	47,418	18.33%
Total votes			258,651	100.00%

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ben Nighthorse Campbell	803,725	51.78%	+1.86%
	Republican	Terry Considine	662,893	42.70%	-5.66%
	Independent	Richard O. Grimes	42,455	2.73%
	Pro-Life	Matt Noah	22,846	1.47%
	Independent	Dan Winters	20,347	1.31%
	Libertarian	Hue Futch	23	0.00%
Majority			140,832	9.07%	+7.52%
Turnout			1,552,289
	Democratic hold		Swing

Connecticut[edit]

Connecticut election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Chris Dodd	Brook Johnson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	882,569	572,036
Percentage	58.8%	38.1%

Dodd: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Johnson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Chris Dodd
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Chris Dodd
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Christopher Dodd won re-election for a third term over Republican businessman Brook Johnson.

Johnson, a millionaire businessman who had never run for public office before, spent about $900,000 during the primary campaign. His television and radio commercials said that he would bring "a dose of success Washington needs." Dodd had $2 million cash on hand following the primaries.^[14]

1988 Connecticut United States Senate election^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christopher Dodd (Incumbent)	882,569	58.81%
	Republican	Brook Johnson	572,036	38.12%
	Concerned Citizens	Richard D. Gregory	35,315	2.35%
	Libertarian	Howard A. Grayson Jr.	10,741	0.72%
Total votes			1,500,661	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Florida[edit]

Florida election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Bob Graham	James W. Grant
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	3,245,585	1,716,511
Percentage	65.4%	35.4%

Graham: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Grant: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Graham
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Bob Graham
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Bob Graham won re-election to a second term, beating Republican former U.S. Representative Bill Grant.

Democratic primary election^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Graham (Incumbent)	968,618	84.3%
	Democratic	Jim Mahorner	180,405	15.7%
Total votes			1,149,023	100.0%

Republican primary election^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Grant	413,457	56.1%
	Republican	Rob Quartel	196,524	26.7%
	Republican	Hugh Brotherton	126,878	17.2%
Total votes			736,859	100.0%

Graham defeated Grant in a landslide, as Grant won just one county in the state (Okaloosa County, Florida). There were no third party or independent candidates.

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Graham (incumbent)	3,245,565	65.40%	+10.66%
	Republican	Bill Grant	1,716,505	34.59%	-10.67%
	Write-ins	Marie Davis	220	0.01%
Majority			1,529,060	30.81%
Total votes			4,962,290	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Georgia[edit]

1992 United States Senate election in Georgia

← 1986

November 3, 1992 (first round)
November 24, 1992 (runoff)

1998 →


Nominee	Paul Coverdell	Wyche Fowler
Party	Republican	Democratic
First round	1,073,282 47.67%	1,108,416 49.23%
Runoff	635,118 50.65%	618,774 49.35%

Coverdell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Fowler: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%

U.S. senator before election

Wyche Fowler
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Paul Coverdell
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Wyche Fowler did not receive a simple majority in the general election, which demanded a runoff. Paul Coverdell, former Director of the Peace Corps and former State senator, edged out Fowler in the runoff with a narrow margin.^[5]

The general primary was held July 21, 1992.^[18] A run-off between the top two Republican contenders was held on August 11, in which Paul Coverdell defeated Bob Barr.

Results^[19] for the first round showed that since Paul Coverdell did not win a majority of the vote, a runoff was held between him and Barr. Coverdell subsequently won the runoff.

1992 Georgia U.S. Senate Republican primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Coverdell	100,016	37.05%
	Republican	Bob Barr	65,471	24.25%
	Republican	John Knox	64,514	23.90%
	Republican	Charlie Tanksley	32,590	12.07%
	Republican	Dean Parkison	7,352	2.72%
Turnout			269,943	100.00%

1992 Georgia U.S. Senate Republican primary election runoff
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Coverdell	80,435	50.49%
	Republican	Bob Barr	78,887	49.51%
Turnout			159,332	100.00%

1992 Georgia United States Senate election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wyche Fowler (Incumbent)	1,108,416	49.23%
	Republican	Paul Coverdell	1,073,282	47.67%
	Libertarian	Jim Hudson	69,878	3.10%
		Write-In Votes	11	0.00%
Majority			35,134	1.56%
Turnout			2,251,587

As no candidate reached a majority on November 3, a runoff election was held on November 24, which Coverdell won.

Georgia United States Senate election runoff, 1992
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Coverdell	635,118	50.65%
	Democratic	Wyche Fowler (Incumbent)	618,774	49.35%
Majority			16,344	1.30%
Turnout			1,253,892
	Republican gain from Democratic

Hawaii[edit]

Hawaii election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Daniel Inouye	Rick Reed
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	208,266	97,928
Percentage	57.3%	26.9%


Nominee	Linda Martin
Party	Green
Popular vote	49,921
Percentage	13.7%

County results
Inouye: 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Daniel Inouye
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Daniel Inouye
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Inouye won re-election to a sixth term over Republican State senator Rick Reed.^[20]

Hawaii general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Inouye (Incumbent)	208,266	57.3%
	Republican	Rick Reed	97,928	26.9%
	Green	Linda Martin	49,921	13.7%
	Libertarian	Richard O. Rowland	7,547	2.1%
Total votes			363,662	100.0%
Majority			110,338	30.4%
	Democratic hold

Idaho[edit]

Idaho election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Dirk Kempthorne	Richard H. Stallings
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	270,468	208,036
Percentage	56.5%	43.5%

County results
Kempthorne: 50–60% 60–70%
Stallings: 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Steve Symms
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Dirk Kempthorne
Republican

Incumbent Republican Steve Symms decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Republican Mayor of Boise Dirk Kempthorne won the open seat, beating Democratic congressman Richard H. Stallings.

Democratic primary^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard H. Stallings	40,102	71.66
	Democratic	Matt Schaffer	8,976	16.04
	Democratic	David W. Sheperd	6,882	12.30
Total votes			55,960	100.00

Republican primary^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne	67,001	57.43
	Republican	Rod Beck	26,977	23.12
	Republican	Milt Erhart	22,682	19.44
Total votes			116,660	100.00

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne	270,468	56.52	+4.97
	Democratic	Richard H. Stallings	208,036	43.48	-4.97
Majority			62,432	13.05	+9.93
Turnout			478,504
	Republican hold		Swing

Illinois[edit]

Illinois election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Carol Moseley Braun	Richard S. Williamson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	2,631,229	2,162,833
Percentage	53.0%	43.0%

County Results
Braun: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Williamson: 40–50% 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Alan J. Dixon
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Carol Moseley Braun
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Alan J. Dixon decided to run for re-election a third term, but was defeated in the primary against Carol Moseley Braun, Cook County Recorder of Deeds and former State Representative, who then won the general election over Republican Richard S. Williamson, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. Braun (whose victory coincided with Bill Clinton's win in the presidential election and Illinois) made history in this election by becoming the first African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, and also the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat.

Democratic Primary, United States Senate, 1992^[22]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Carol Moseley Braun	557,694	38.0%
Democratic	Alan J. Dixon (Incumbent)	504,077	35.0%
Democratic	Albert Hofeld	394,497	18.0%

This defeat shocked observers; at the time no senator had been defeated in a primary in over a decade and Dixon had a long record of electoral success. He was a moderate Democrat, who recently voted to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.^[23] Braun, a black woman and known reformist liberal, got a large share of black, liberal, and women voters ("The Year of the Woman").

In addition, she carried Cook County, Illinois, by far the most populated county in the state. Another factor was the third candidate in the race, multi-millionaire attorney Al Hofeld. Hofeld drew away some of the moderate and conservative Democrats who normally supported Dixon. He also spent a lot of money running advertisements attacking Dixon, weakening his support.

Moseley Braun won the 1992 Illinois Senate Race by a fairly comfortable margin. Moseley Braun did well as expected in Cook County home of Chicago. Williamson did well in the Chicago collar counties, and most northern parts of the state. Moseley Braun had a surprisingly strong showing in southern Illinois, which Republicans had come to dominate in the last several decades. Braun also did well in Rock Island County.

1992 Illinois U.S. Senate Election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carol Moseley Braun	2,631,229	53.3%	-3.8%
	Republican	Richard S. Williamson	2,126,833	43.1%	+9.3%
	Independent	Chad Koppie	100,422	2.0%
	Libertarian	Andrew B. Spiegel	34,527	0.7%
	Natural Law	Charles A. Winter	15,118	N/A%
	New Alliance	Alan J. Port	12,689	N/A%
	Socialist Workers	Kathleen Kaku	10,056	N/A%
	Populist	John Justice	8,656	N/A%
Total votes			4,935,530	100.0%
Majority			504,396	10.2%
	Democratic hold

Indiana[edit]

Indiana election

← 1990 (special)

1998 →


Nominee	Dan Coats	Joe Hogsett
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,267,972	900,148
Percentage	57.3%	40.8%

County results
Coats: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Hogsett: 40–50% 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Dan Coats
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Dan Coats
Republican

Incumbent Republican Dan Coats won re-election to his first full term, beating the Democratic Indiana Secretary of State Joe Hogsett.^[24]

When incumbent Republican Dan Quayle resigned from the Senate after being elected Vice President of the United States in 1988, Coats was appointed to Quayle's former seat. He then won election to serve the remainder of the term in 1990.

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Coats (Incumbent)	1,267,972	57.3%
	Democratic	Joseph Hogsett	900,148	40.8%
	Libertarian	Steve Dillon	35,733	1.6%
	New Alliance	Raymond Tirado	7,474	0.3%
	No party	Write-Ins	99	0.0%
Majority			367,824
Turnout			2,211,426
	Republican hold		Swing

Coats won 79 of Indiana's counties compared to 13 for Hogsett.^[25]

Iowa[edit]

Iowa election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Chuck Grassley	Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	899,761	351,561
Percentage	69.6%	27.2%

County results
Grassley: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% >90%

U.S. senator before election

Chuck Grassley
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Chuck Grassley
Republican

Incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley ran for re-election to a third term in the United States Senate, which he won easily against his Democratic opponent, State senator Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones.

Democratic primary^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones	60,615	60.80
	Democratic	Rosanne Freeburg	38,774	38.89
	Democratic	Write-ins	307	0.31
Turnout			99,696

Republican primary^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley (Incumbent)	109,273	99.70
	Republican	Write-ins	324	0.30
Turnout			109,597

1992 United States Senate election in Iowa^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley (Incumbent)	899,761	69.61	+3.58
	Democratic	Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones	351,561	27.20	-6.37
	Natural Law	Stuart Zimmerman	16,403	1.27
	Independent	Sue Atkinson	6,277	0.49
	Independent	Mel Boring	5,508	0.43
	Independent	Rosanne Freeburg	4,999	0.39
	Grassroots	Carl Eric Olsen	3,404	0.26
	Independent	Richard O'Dell Hughes	2,918	0.23
	Socialist Workers	Cleve Andrew Pulley	1,370	0.11
	Write-ins		293	0.02
Majority			548,200	42.41	+9.95
Turnout			1,292,494
	Republican hold		Swing

Kansas[edit]

Kansas election

← 1986

1996 (special) →


Nominee	Bob Dole	Gloria O'Dell
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	706,246	349,525
Percentage	62.70%	31.03%

County results
Dole: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Dole
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Bob Dole
Republican

Incumbent Republican senator Bob Dole won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Democratic nominee Gloria O'Dell, teacher and former journalist.^[27] Nearly two decades after his failed vice-presidential bid in 1976, this would be Dole's last election to the Senate. He would resign in 1996 while running for President of the United States. Dole also became the Republican Leader of the United States Senate seven years prior.

Kansas general election^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Dole (Incumbent)	706,246	62.70%
	Democratic	Gloria O'Dell	349,525	31.03%
	Independent	Christina Campbell-Cline	45,423	4.03%
	Libertarian	Mark B. Kirk	25,253	2.24%
Majority			356,721	31.67%
Turnout			1,126,447
	Republican hold

Kentucky[edit]

Kentucky election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Wendell Ford	David L. Williams
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	836,888	476,604
Percentage	62.9%	35.8%

County results
Ford: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Williams: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Wendell Ford
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Wendell Ford
Democratic

Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Wendell Ford won re-election to a fourth term, easily beating Republican State senator David L. Williams. As of 2023^[update], this was the last Senate election in Kentucky in which a Democrat won.

Denny Ormerod, a machinist from Louisville dropped out before the primary election.^[29] Though Williams and Thompson represented opposing factions in the state Republican Party – Williams managed Larry Hopkins' 1991 primary campaign while Thompson worked full-time for Hopkins' primary opponent Larry Forgy – the two virtually ignored each other in the primary campaign, choosing instead to focus their rhetoric against Ford.^[29] Thompson did question Williams' conservative credentials on grounds that he voted in favor of the tax increase associated with the Kentucky Education Reform Act.^[29] Ormerod's campaign largely focused on socially conservative issues, but it was Williams who secured the endorsement of Kentucky Right to Life, who cited his lawsuit to free three anti-abortion bills from committee in the 1992 legislative session.^[29] As a result of the largely uninspiring primary campaigns, there was only an 18% voter turnout in the Republican primary. Williams won the nomination.^[30]

Republican primary^[31]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	David Williams	49,880	60.9%
Republican	Phillip Thompson	25,026	30.5%
Republican	Denny Ormerod	7,066	8.6%

Ford, the Senate Majority Whip and a former governor, raised $2.4 million for his campaign, about eight times the amount Williams raised.^[32] Given his limited finances, Williams relied on news conferences and interviews on small town radio stations to get his message out.^[32] Williams repeatedly lamented that Ford would not agree to a formal debate; Ford said that could not be arranged because Congress was still in session and he needed to be in Washington.^[33] During the campaign, Williams attempted to paint Ford as too liberal for Kentucky voters, citing his votes against the Gulf War and Clarence Thomas' confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.^[34] Both candidates declared their support for a Balanced Budget Amendment, but Williams said that Ford's support of pork barrel projects for the state and a procedural vote that kept the amendment from a vote in 1991 were evidence that Ford's support was not genuine.^[34]

Ford had no trouble winning on election night. Ford won easily, despite the fact that fellow Democrat Bill Clinton was not declared the winner of the presidential race in Kentucky until around 10:00 E.S.T. Ford pulled big margins out of the majority of Kentucky's 124 counties. This would be Ford's last term in the senate. He served his final term from January 3, 1993, to January 3, 1999. Ford died some fifteen years after his retirement at the age of 90.

General election^[35]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wendell H. Ford (Incumbent)	836,888	62.9%
	Republican	David L. Williams	476,604	35.8%
	Libertarian	James A. Ridenour	17,366	1.3%
Total votes			1,330,858	100.00%
Majority			360,208	27.1%
	Democratic hold

Louisiana[edit]

Louisiana election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	John Breaux	Jon Khachaturian
Party	Democratic	Independent
Popular vote	616,021	74,785
Percentage	73.07%	8.87%


Nominee	Lyle Stocksill	Nick Joseph Accardo
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	69,986	45,839
Percentage	8.30%	5.44%

Parish results
Breaux: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
80–90%

U.S. senator before election

John Breaux
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John Breaux
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat John Breaux won a majority in Louisiana's jungle primary on October 3, 1992, winning re-election to another term.

Jungle primary^[36]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Breaux (Incumbent)	616,021	73.07%
	Independent	Jon Khachaturian	74,785	8.87%
	Republican	Lyle Stocksill	69,986	8.30%
	Democratic	Nick Joseph Accardo	45,839	5.44%
	Republican	Fred Clegg Strong	36,406	4.32%
Majority			541,236	64.20%
Turnout			843,037
	Democratic hold

Maryland[edit]

Maryland election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Barbara Mikulski	Alan Keyes
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	1,307,610	533,688
Percentage	71.0%	28.9%

County results
Mikulski: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Keyes: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Mikulski won re-election to a second term over Republican Alan Keyes, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

Democratic primary election^[37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)	376,444	76.75%
	Democratic	Thomas M. Wheatley	31,214	6.36%
	Democratic	Walter Boyd	26,467	5.40%
	Democratic	Don Allensworth	19,731	4.02%
	Democratic	Scott David Britt	13,001	2.65%
	Democratic	James Leonard White	12,470	2.54%
	Democratic	B. Emerson Sweatt	11,150	2.27%
Total votes			490,477	100.00%

Republican primary election^[37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alan L. Keyes	95,831	45.94%
	Republican	Martha Scanlan Klima	20,758	9.95%
	Republican	Joseph I. Cassilly	16,091	7.71%
	Republican	Ross Z. Pierpont	12,658	6.07%
	Republican	S. Rob Sobhani	12,423	5.96%
	Republican	John J. Bishop, Jr.	9,451	4.53%
	Republican	Eugene R. Zarwell	6,535	3.13%
	Republican	James Henry Berry	6,282	3.01%
	Republican	Romie Allen Songer	6,030	2.89%
	Republican	Joyce Friend-Nalepka	5,835	2.80%
	Republican	Edward Robert Shannon	4,578	2.19%
	Republican	Scott L. Meredith	4,372	2.10%
	Republican	Stuart Hopkins	3,717	1.78%
	Republican	Herman J. Hannan	2,771	1.33%
	Republican	William H. Krehnbrink	1,258	0.60%
Total votes			208,590	100.00%

1992 United States Senate election in Maryland^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)	1,307,610	71.02%	+10.33%
	Republican	Alan L. Keyes	533,688	28.98%	-10.33%
Majority			773,922	42.03%	+20.66%
Total votes			1,841,298	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Missouri[edit]

Missouri election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Kit Bond	Geri Rothman-Serot
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,221,901	1,057,967
Percentage	51.2%	44.9%

County results

Bond: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%

R-Serot: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Kit Bond
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Kit Bond
Republican

Incumbent Republican Kit Bond won re-election to a second term over Democratic St. Louis County Councilwoman Geri Rothman-Serot.^[5]

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kit Bond (incumbent)	1,221,901	51.2%
	Democratic	Geri Rothman-Serot	1,057,967	44.9%
	Libertarian	Jeanne Bojarski	75,048	3.2%
Total votes			2,354,916	100.00%
Majority			163,934	6.3%
	Republican hold

Nevada[edit]

Nevada election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Harry Reid	Demar Dahl
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	253,150	199,413
Percentage	51.0%	40.2%

County results
Reid: 40–50% 50–60%
Dahl: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Harry Reid
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Harry Reid
Democratic

Although nearly 10% of the electorate voted for neither of the two major U.S. political parties, incumbent Democrat Harry Reid ultimately beat Republican cattle rancher and President of Nevada Cattlemen's Association Demar Dahl.^[5]

General election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harry Reid (Incumbent)	253,150	51.05%	+1.05%
	Republican	Demar Dahl	199,413	40.21%	-4.30%
	None of These Candidates		13,154	2.65%	-0.96%
	Independent American Party (Nevada)	Joe S. Garcia	11,240	2.27%
	Natural Law	Lois Avery	7,279	1.47%
	Libertarian	Kent Cromwell	7,222	1.46%	-0.41%
	Populist	Harry Tootle	4,429	0.89%
Majority			53,737	10.84%	+5.36%
Turnout			495,887
	Democratic hold		Swing

New Hampshire[edit]

New Hampshire election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Judd Gregg	John Rauh
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	249,591	234,982
Percentage	48.2%	45.4%

Gregg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Rauh:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%
Brady:      >90%
Tie:      50%

U.S. senator before election

Warren Rudman
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Judd Gregg
Republican

Incumbent Republican Warren Rudman decided to retire. Republican Governor Judd Gregg won the open seat, beating Democrat John Rauh, former CEO of Griffon Corporation.^[38]

NH U.S. Senate Election, 1992^[39]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Judd Gregg	249,591	48.2%
	Democratic	John Rauh	234,982	45.4%
	Libertarian	Katherine M. Alexander	18,214	3.5%
	Independent	Larry Brady	9,340	1.8%
	Independent	Ken Blevens	4,752	0.9%
	Natural Law	David Haight	1,291	0.3%
Total votes			518,170	100.00%
Majority			14,609	2.8%
	Republican hold

New York[edit]

New York election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Al D'Amato	Robert Abrams
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	3,166,994	3,086,200
Percentage	49.0%	47.8%

County results

D'Amato: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70%

Abrams: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Al D'Amato
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Al D'Amato
Republican

Incumbent Republican Al D'Amato won re-election to a third term over Democrat Robert Abrams, New York State Attorney General and former Borough president of the Bronx. As of 2023^[update], this was the last Senate election in New York won by a Republican.

Early in the campaign, environmentalist attorney, Laurance S. Rockefeller, Jr. nephew of the former governor Nelson, tried to challenge D'Amato in the Republican primary,^[40] but fell short of the required signatures to get onto the primary ballot. D'Amato summarily went unchallenged.

The Democratic primary campaign featured State Attorney General Robert Abrams, former U.S. Congresswoman and 1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, Reverend Al Sharpton, Congressman Robert J. Mrazek, and New York City Comptroller and former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman. Abrams was considered the early front-runner.^[41] Ferraro emphasized her career as a teacher, prosecutor, congresswoman, and mother, and talked about how she was tough on crime.^[42] Ferraro drew attacks from the media and her opponents over her husband John Zaccaro's finances and business relationships.^[43]

Ferraro became the front-runner, capitalizing on her star power from 1984 and using the campaign attacks against her as an explicitly feminist rallying point for women voters.^[43] As the primary date neared, her lead began to dwindle under the charges, and she released additional tax returns from the 1980s to try to defray the attacks.^[44] Holtzman ran a negative ad accusing Ferraro and Zaccaro of taking more than $300,000 in rent in the 1980s from a pornographer with purported ties to organized crime.^[45] The final debates were nasty, and Holtzman in particular constantly attacked Ferraro's integrity and finances.^[46]^[47] In an unusual election-eve television broadcast, Ferraro talked about the ethnic slurs made against her as an Italian-American.^[48] In the September 15, 1992 primary, Abrams edged out Ferraro by less than percentage point, winning 37 percent of the vote to 36 percent.^[47] Ferraro did not concede she had lost for two weeks.^[49]

After Abrams emerged as the nominee, the Democrats remained divided. In particular, Abrams spent much of the remainder of the campaign trying to get Ferraro's endorsement.^[50] Ferraro, enraged and bitter after the nature of the primary,^[46]^[49] ignored Abrams and accepted Bill Clinton's request to campaign for his presidential bid instead. She was eventually persuaded by state party leaders into giving an unenthusiastic endorsement with just three days to go before the general election, in exchange for an apology by Abrams for the tone of the primary.^[50]

Abrams was also criticized for calling D'Amato a fascist, and he narrowly lost the general election as a result of these controversies.^[51]

General election^[52]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Al D'Amato	2,652,822
	Conservative	Al D'Amato	289,258
	Right to Life	Al D'Amato	224,914
	Total	Al D'Amato (Incumbent)	3,166,994	49.0%
	Democratic	Robert Abrams	2,943,001
	Liberal	Robert Abrams	143,199
	'Total'	Robert Abrams	3,086,200	47.8%
	Libertarian	Norma Segal	108,530	1.7%
	New Alliance	Mohammad T. Mehdi	56,631	0.9%
	Natural Law	Stanley Nelson	23,747	0.4%
	Socialist Workers	Eddie Warren	16,724	0.3%
Total votes			6,458,826	100.00%
Majority			80,794	1.2%
	Republican hold

North Carolina[edit]

North Carolina election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Lauch Faircloth	Terry Sanford
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,297,892	1,194,015
Percentage	50.35%	46.32%

County results
Faircloth:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Sanford:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Tie:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election

Terry Sanford
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Lauch Faircloth
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Terry Sanford lost re-election to a second term to Republican Lauch Faircloth, former State Secretary of Commerce.

1992 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election^[53]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lauch Faircloth	129,159	47.74%
	Republican	Sue Wilkins Myrick	81,801	30.23%
	Republican	Eugene Johnston	46,112	17.04%
	Republican	Larry Harrington	13,496	4.99%
Turnout			270,568

In 1990, after 40 years as a Democrat, Faircloth switched his party registration and began preparations to seek the Republican Senate nomination in 1992. Enjoying the support of senator Jesse Helms's political organization, Faircloth defeated Charlotte mayor Sue Myrick and former congressman Walter E. Johnston, III in the primary. His opponent in the general election was his former ally, Terry Sanford. Although Sanford had helped Faircloth raise money for his failed gubernatorial bid in 1984, he angered Faircloth two years later when he allegedly dismissed Faircloth's chances in a statewide contest if the two ran against each other for the Democratic nomination for the Senate.^[54] Faircloth withdrew from the 1986 race after Sanford "blindsided" him by announcing his candidacy.^[55]

Faircloth attacked Sanford as a tax-and-spend liberal, and despite a poor performance in a September televised debate, Faircloth won the seat by a 100,000-vote margin. Sanford may have been weakened by his unpopular vote against authorizing military force in the Persian Gulf War, and he suffered health problems in the summer of 1992.^[56]

1992 North Carolina U.S. Senate election^[53]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lauch Faircloth	1,297,892	50.35%	+2.11%
	Democratic	Terry Sanford (Incumbent)	1,194,015	46.32%	–5.44%
	Libertarian	Bobby Yates Emory	85,948	3.33%	N/A
Turnout			2,577,855
Majority			103,877	4.03%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

North Dakota[edit]

Due to the death of Quentin Burdick in September of that year, there were two senate elections in North Dakota.

North Dakota (regular)[edit]

North Dakota general election

← 1986

1998 →


Nominee	Byron Dorgan	Steve Sydness
Party	Democratic–NPL	Republican
Popular vote	179,347	118,162
Percentage	59.0%	38.9%

County results
Dorgan: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Sydness: 50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Kent Conrad
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Byron Dorgan
Democratic

Incumbent North Dakota Democratic NPL Party incumbent Kent Conrad retired, having given a pledge that he would not run for re-election if the federal budget deficit was higher than when he was first elected; however when the other Senate seat became vacant, he ran in the special election. Dem-NPL U.S. Congressman Byron Dorgan won the open seat, beating Republican Steve Sydness, CEO of Endurance International Group.^[5]

North Dakota general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic–NPL	Byron Dorgan	179,347	59.00%
	Republican	Steve Sydness	118,162	38.87%
	Independent	Tom Asbridge	6,448	2.12%
Turnout			303,957
Total votes			6,458,826	100.00%
Majority			61,185	20.13%
	Democratic hold

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