US Senate Elections, 2018

United States Senate Elections were held November 6, 2018, with 33 contested Senate seats in regular elections. One more seat was contested in a special election in Minnesota after Sen. Al Franken resigned due to accusations of sexual misconduct against him. In the end, the Democratic Party got its majority back and progressives made gains in some of the most conservative parts of the country. Some Democratic senators in states which went for Trump in 2016 ended up losing re-election, however, that wasn't enough to prevent a big defeat for Republicans who saw Ted Cruz (Texas), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Dean Heller (Nevada) being defeated by progressive opponents.
==​Results==
​Winning Candidates in Bold
State 	Incumbent 	Party 	Result	Candidates
Arizona 	Jeff Flake 	Republican 	
Incumbent Retired,
Democratic Gain	
Kelli Ward (Republican) Kyrsten Sinema (Democratic) Doug Marks (Libertarian)
California 	Dianne Feinstein 	Democratic 	
Incumbent lost re-election,
Democratic Hold	Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) ​Kevin de León (Democratic)
Connecticut 	Chris Murphy 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Chris Murphy (Democrratic) Tony Hwang (Republican)
Delaware 	Tom Carper 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Tom Carper ​(Democratic) Ken Simpler (Republican)
Florida 	Bill Nelson 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Bill Nelson ​(Democratic) Rick Scott (Republican) Joe Allen (Independent) Edward Janowski (Independent)
Hawaii 	Mazie Hirono 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Mazie Hirono (Democratic) Duke Aiona (Republican)
Indiana 	Joe Donnelly 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Joe Donnelly ​(Democratic) Todd Rokita (Republican) Andrew Straw (Disability Party)
Maine 	Angus King 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Independent Hold	Angus King (Independent), Paul LePage (Republican) Zak Ringelstein (Democratic) Chris Lyons (Libertarian)
Maryland 	Ben Cardin 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Ben Cardin ​(Democratic) Sam Faddis (Republican) Arvin Vohra (Libertarian) Edward Shlikas (Independent)
Massachusetts 	Elizabeth Warren 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Elizabeth Warren ​(Democratic) Geoff Diehl (Republican) Shiva Ayyadurai (Independent) John Devine (Independent) Joshua Ford (Independent) Allen Waters (Independent)
Michigan 	Debbie Stabenow 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Debbie Stabenow (Democratic) Robert P. Young Jr. (Republican) Marcia Squier (Independent)
Minnesota 	Amy Klobuchar 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Amy Klobuchar ​(Democratic) Jim Newberger (Republican)
Minnesota (Special)	Al Franken 	Democratic 	
Incumbent resigned
Democratic Hold	​Tina Smith ​(Democratic) Karin Housley (Republican)
Mississipi 	Roger Wicker 	Republican 	
Incumbent re-elected
Republican Hold	Roger Wicker ​(Republican) Jensen Bohren (Democratic)
Missouri 	Claire McCaskill 	Democratic 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Republican Gain	Claire McCaskill (Democratic) ​Josh Hawley (Republican) Japheth Campbell (Libertarian)
Montana 	Jon Tester 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Jon Tester ​(Democratic) Matt Rosendale (Republican)
Nebraska 	Deb Fischer 	Republican 	
Incumbent re-elected
Republican Hold	Deb Fischer​ (Republican) Jane Raybould (Democratic)
Nevada 	Dean Heller 	Republican 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Democratic Gain	Dean Heller (Republican) Jesse Sbaih ​(Democratic)
New Jersey 	Bob Menendez 	Democratic 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Republican Gain	Bob Menendez (Democratic) Thomas Kean ​(Republican)
New Mexico 	Martin Heinrich 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Martin Heinrich ​(Democratic) Mick Rich (Republican)
New York 	Kirsten Gillibrand	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Kirsten Gillibrand ​(Democratic) David A. Webber (Republican)
North Dakota 	Heidi Heitkamp 	Democratic 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Republican Gain	​ Heidi Heitkamp​(Democratic) Tom Campbell (Republican)
Ohio 	Sherrod Brown 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Sherrod Brown ​(Democratic) Josh Mandel (Republican)
Pennsylvania 	Bob Casey Jr. 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Bob Casey Jr. ​(Democratic) Lou Barletta (Republican) Dale Kerns (Libertarian)
Rhode Island 	Sheldon Whitehouse	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	​Sheldon Whitehouse ​(Democratic) Robert Flanders (Republican)
Tennessee 	Bob Corker 	Republican 	
Incumbent retired
Democratic Gain	Marsha Blackburn (Republican) ​Phil Bredersen ​(Democratic)
Texas 	Ted Cruz 	Republican 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Democratic Gain	Ted Cruz (Republican) Beto O'Rourke (Democratic) Carl Bible (Independent) Aaron Gwaltney (Independent)
Utah 	Orrin Hatch 	Republican 	
Incumbent lost re-election
Democratic Gain	Orrin Hatch (Republican) Mitchell Kent Vice ​(Democratic) Craig Bowden (Libertarian)
Vermont 	Bernie Sanders 	Independent	
Incumbent re-elected
Independent Hold	Bernie Sanders ​(Independent) Scott Milne (Republican) Jon Svitavsky (Democratic)
Virginia 	Tim Kaine 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Tim Kaine ​(Democratic) Scott Taylor (Republican)
Washington 	Maria Cantwell 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Maria Cantwell (Democratic) Michael Baumgartner (Republican) Clay Johnson (Independent)
West Virginia 	Joe Manchin 	Democratic 	
Incumbent lost re-nomination
Democratic Hold	​Paula Jean Swearengin ​(Democratic) Patrick Morrisey (Republican)
Wisconsin 	Tammy Baldwin 	Democratic 	
Incumbent re-elected
Democratic Hold	Tammy Baldwin ​(Democratic) Leah Vukmir (Republican)
Wyoming 	John Barrasso 	Republican 	
Incumbent re-elected
Republican Hold	John Barrasso ​(Republican) Gary Trauner (Democratic)
Among the 34 races, the Democratic Party won 26 while the Republican Party won just 6 of them, losing 2 senators in comparation to those it had before the election. The two incumbent independents in the Senate, who usually caucus with the Democrats, won re-election giving the Democratic Party a small majority with 51 senators against Republican's 49. Despite flipping the Senate, the Democratic establishment suffered major setbacks with the defeats of Dianne Feinstein in California, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Bob Menendez in New Jersey, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota and Joe Manchin in West Virginia. However, the Democratic Party retained 2 of those seats with the victories of progressive Paula Jean Swearengin in West Virginia and the President pro tempore of the California Senate, Kevin de León, in California. In total, 8 incumbent senators lost their re-elections in a never seen before election. Discontentment with the job of the congress caused an increase in turnout against incumbents who faced many difficulties. 3 usually red states turned blue, Texas, Tennessee and Utah. Progressives made huge gains by winning in Nevada, West Virginia and Utah, two of which voted for Trump in 2016. The victory of Beto O'Rourke was hailed by some as a progressive victory however his progressive record has been highly questioned. O'Rourke was challenged in the Democratic Primary by the progressive Sema Hernandez but name recognition was vital for O'Rourke to go into the general election and defeat Ted Cruz after uniting both moderates and progressives. Kevin de León victory over Dianne Feinstein was considered by some as a progressive victory despite not being the first choice of most progressives. Some progressive challenges to incumbents failed but in the end progressive politics got a major victory. After the election, the number of senators publicly supporting medicare for all increased to 22, including from red states like Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Progressive organizations claimed the elections as hugely sucessful and took the victories in Utah, Texas and West Virginia as examples that progressives can win in usually conservative states. The elections were a huge defeat to Donald Trump and the Republican Party in general making the accomplishment of Trump's agenda even more difficult. Democrats, sometimes described as GOP-friendly, as Joe Manchin, Dianne Feinstein, Claire McCaskill and Heidi Heitkamp lost their re-elections reinforcing the defeat, not only of Trump and his party, but also of the political establishment. Bernie Sanders, the most admired politician in the US and strong contender for president in 2020, got 74% of the vote in his home state of Vermont, in what was the biggest victory among all incumbent senators.
Category:U.S Senate