2000 United States Senate elections

Source: == Change in composition ==

Before the elections After the July 27, 2000, appointment in Georgia. After the elections Beginning of the first session == 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. Defeats One Democrat and five Republicans sought re-election but lost in the general election. Post-election changes One Democratic senator-elect died on October 16, 2000, having been elected posthumously, and was replaced by a Democrat. == Race summary ==

Special elections during the previous Congress In this special election, the winner was seated between January 1, 2000, and January 2, 2001. 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. == Closest races ==

In ten races the margin of victory was under 10% == Arizona ==

Incumbent Republican Jon Kyl won re-election to a second term, as no candidate was nominated from the Democratic Party. Independent Bill Toel, Green party nominee Vance Hansen, and Libertarian party nominee Barry Hess each got more than 5% of the vote, a strong third party performance. == 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. Primary election results: 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. 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. Campbell was badly defeated, losing by over 19 points. == 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. Lieberman, a very popular centrist incumbent, focused on his vice presidential campaign. He refused to show up at the debates. Giordano was a heavy underdog, as he was ignored by the press and as he debated alone. == 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. 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. 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. == 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. 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. 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. Nelson raised only soft money, but had help from President Bill Clinton and VP Al Gore. Two days before the election, McCollum predicted he would win by a 6-point margin. On election day, he lost by a 5-point margin. == Georgia (special) ==

Incumbent Democrat Zell Miller, who was appointed by Democrat Governor Roy Barnes to replace Republican Paul Coverdell following his death, 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 was the last Senate election in Georgia won by a Democrat and also until 2020, this was 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. 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. 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. 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. == Hawaii ==

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Akaka won re-election to his second full term, over Republican John Carroll, former State senator and former State Representative. == 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. == 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. The two candidates agreed to debate on October 15 and 25. == Maryland ==

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

Kennedy | title = U.S. senator | before_election = Ted Kennedy | before_party = Democratic Party (US) | after_election = Ted Kennedy | after_party = Democratic Party (US) }} 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. == 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. By September 4, Abraham still had failed to reach 50% in polls despite having spent over $6 million on television ads. In mid-October, he came back and reached 50% and 49% in two polls respectively. 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. == Minnesota ==

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

Incumbent Republican Trent Lott won re-election to a third term over perennial Democratic candidate Troy Brown. == 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. 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, 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. 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. The voters of Missouri, by a margin of approximately fifty thousand votes, 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. Ashcroft stated that he hoped the appointment would be "a matter of comfort for Mrs. Carnahan." == Montana ==