United States Senate elections, 2016

Elections to the United States Senate were held November 8, 2016. The presidential election, House elections, 14 gubernatorial elections, and many state and local elections were held on the same date.

In the 2016 Senate elections, 34 of the 100 seats-all Class 3 Senate seats-were contested in regular elections; the winners would serve six-year terms until January 3, 2023. Class 3 was last up for election in 2010, when Democrats won a net gain of four seats. Democrats retained control of the Senate for the 115th United States Congress. They had a net gain of six additional seats from the Republican Party, expanding their majority to a filibuster proof 60 seats.

Senate Newcomers
Based on final returns, there would be twelve new faces in the Senate: U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Alabama), U.S. Representative Martha McSally (R-Arizona), California State Treasurer John Chiang (D-California), U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), U.S. Representative Todd Young (R-Indiana), Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu (D-Louisiana), U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D-Missouri), Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), Mayor of Buffalo Byron Brown (D-New York), U.S. Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania), and U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-South Dakota).

Four incumbent Senators were defeated in their bids for re-election: Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), and John Thune (R-South Dakota).

Incumbents Reelected
Among the Senators re-elected in 2016 were: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Jim Davis (D-Florida), Jim Martin (D-Georgia), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Scotty Baesler (D-Kentucky), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Brad Henry (D-Oklahoma), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Patty Murray (D-Washington), and Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin).

State Line-Ups
In 19 states both Senators in the 115th Congress were Democrats; in 10 states, both Senators were Republicans. Senators in 19 states were from opposing parties. In two states (Maine and Vermont), one Senator was a Independent and the other, a member of a major party. The line-ups were as follows:

Both Democratic: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia.

Both Republican: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming.

Divided: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.

California
Four-term Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat) was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 2010. Boxer declined to run for re-election. California State Treasurer John Chiang defeated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Representative Adam Schiff to win the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side, California Attorney General Ronald Gold defeated San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, and former State Senator Phil Wyman in a heated race for the Republican nomination. The general election was bitterly contested between the two major-party candidates, as Chiang sought to tie Gold to unpopular Republican presidential nominee, U.S. Senator Thomas P. Leach of Arizona. The Republican National Committee diverted considerable funds and resources to this state, but they ultimately produced nothing of value.

On Election Day, Chiang defeated Gold 51.85% to 48.13%, a margin of 3.72%. His victory was undoubtedly due to President Rutherford's coattails. The President carried the state in a landslide with 66.95% of the vote against Senator Leach's 31.70%, a margin of 35.25%.

Illinois
One-term Senator Mark Kirk (Republican) was elected with 48% of the vote in 2010. He ran for re-election. He was 57 years old in 2016. Kirk suffered a stroke in January 2012 that kept him away from the Senate for a year. Rumors that he might retire developed, but in June 2013, he passionately asserted that he was indeed running for re-election. Kirk was challenged by businessman James Marter in the Republican primary, but on March 15, won it easily with 71% of the vote.

U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth, President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, Andrea Zopp, and State Senator Napoleon Harris ran for the Democratic nomination. On March 15, Duckworth won the primary with 64% of the vote.

The election in Illinois was one of the closest in the country, as Senator Kirk, a moderate Republican who had voted for the Criminal Justice Reform Act, had good approval ratings and possessed a strong party base in the collar counties near Chicago. Representative Duckworth, on her part, a U.S Army veteran and double amputee, enjoyed a large amount of goodwill with her constituents and with the Illinois electorate. Major figures from both political parties campaigned on behalf of the Senator and the Representative. President Rutherford and Vice-President Sanchez made appearances on Duckworth's behalf; Kirk was supported by Governors John Kasich of Ohio and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts. Ultimately, Kirk's opposition to Medicaid expansion, the extreme unpopularity of Republican nominee Leach within Illinois, and Duckworth's strong performance in the debates tipped the scales.

On Election Day, Duckworth narrowly won the election with 49.98% of the vote to Kirk's 49.80%, a margin of 0.18%. Kirk, as expected, swept most of the counties in Downstate Illinois, bar the Democratic strongholds near St. Louis and the Mississippi River, and did well in his base within the collar counties. Duckworth, however, won Cook County by a 56-43% margin, which was enough to carry the election, albeit narrowly. She ran far behind President Rutherford, who won the state in a landslide with 65.07% of the vote to Leach's 34.93%, a margin of 30.14%

Indiana
Three-term Senator Dan Coats (Republican) was elected with 55% of the vote in 2010; Coats served in the Senate from 1989 to 1999 and then returned to serve another term from 2011 to 2017. Coats did not run for re-election. Republican U.S. Representatives Marlin Stutzman and Todd Young faced off in the Republican primary. Coats's chief of staff Eric Holcomb filed to run, but ultimately withdrew from the race. Young won the primary with 54% of the vote.

U.S. Representative Baron Hill won the Democratic nomination on May 3, but withdrew in favor of Evan Bayh. Bayh served as Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997, and held the seat from 1999 until he was selected to join the cabinet of President Al Gore in 2001.

Bayh led in the polls throughout much of the campaign, but controversy over his lobbying in Washington D.C., his years of non-residence in Indiana, and his weak performance in the debates, coupled with Young's charisma and record of military service, ultimately reversed the balance. Bayh subsequently lost the election to Young, who won with 53.79% of the vote to his 46.21%, a margin of 7.58%. He severely under-performed President Rutherford, who won the state handily against Senator Leach, 55.98% to 43.56%, a margin of 12.42%. Rutherford's victory in Indiana was fueled in large part by Leach's calls for slashing Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and farm subsidies, programs that Young pledged to leave intact.