United States Senate elections, 2000

United States Senate elections, 2000

1998 ← November 7, 2000 → 2002

Class 1 (33 of the 100) seats in the United States Senate and one mid-term vacancy from Class 3 51 seats needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Tom Daschle Trent Lott Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat South Dakota Mississippi Last election 45 seats 55 seats Seats before 46 54 Seats won 50 Control, until January 20, 2001, through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Al Gore 50 Control, starting January 20, 2001, through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Dick Cheney Seat change 4 4 Popular vote 36,780,875 36,725,431 Percentage 47.04% 46.96% Swing 2.5% 0.2% Seats up 15 19

Democratic gain   Democratic hold   Republican hold   Republican gain

Majority Leader before election Trent Lott Republican Elected Majority Leader Tom Daschle Democratic

Trent Lott
Republican

Tom Daschle
Democratic

The United States Senate elections, 2000 was 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. It featured a number of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Democratic Party, which gained a net total of four seats from the Republican Party. This election marked the first election year since 1988 where Democrats made net gains in the Senate.

This election took place six years after Republicans had won a net gain of eight seats in Senate Class 1 during the elections of 1994. Democrats defeated Republican senators Bill Roth (DE), Spencer Abraham (MI), Rod Grams (MN), John Ashcroft (MO), and Slade Gorton (WA), as well as winning the open seat in Florida. Ashcroft's defeat was noteworthy in that his opponent, Mel Carnahan, had died before the election, but still won. The Republicans did defeat one incumbent, Chuck Robb (VA), and won an open seat in Nevada.