33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party
Minority party
Leader
Robert Byrd
Bob Dole
Party
Democratic
Republican
Leader since
January 3, 1977
January 3, 1985
Leader's seat
West Virginia
Kansas
Seats before
54
46
Seats after
55
45
Seat change
1
1
Popular vote
35,137,786
31,151,251
Percentage
52.1%
46.2%
Seats up
18
15
Races won
19
14
Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold No election
Majority Leader before election
Robert Byrd
Democratic
Elected Majority Leader
George Mitchell
Democratic
The 1988 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 8, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. In spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. Seven seats changed parties, with four incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one to 55–to–45.
This is the last Senate election cycle in which California voted for a Republican, and the last in which Texas and Maine voted for the Democrat[a], and the last time Arizona voted Democratic until 2018. This would also be the last Senate election cycle until 1998 to not have at least one special election during that cycle.
This is also the last Senate election cycle in which no woman was elected to the Senate from either party as all the winners were men.
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