Results -- Republican holds in light red, pickups in dark red, Democratic holds in light blue, pickups in dark blue The U.S. Senate election, 1988 was an election for the United States Senate in which, in spite of the Republican victory by George Herbert Walker Bush in the presidential election, the Republicans had a net loss of one seat in the Senate. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased from 54-46 to 55-45.
The Democrats captured four Republican seats, including the open seat in Virginia, and the seats of incumbents Chic Hecht (R-NV), Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R-CT) and David K. Karnes (R-NE). These gains were partially offset by the Republican capture of open seats by Trent Lott in Mississippi and Connie Mack in Florida, and the defeat of incumbent John Melcher (D-MT) by Conrad Burns.
Senate contests in 1988
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates | | Arizona | Dennis DeConcini | Democrat | Re-elected, 58.0 - 42.0 | Keith DeGreen (Republican)
| | California | Pete Wilson | Republican | Re-elected, 54.4 - 45.6 | Leo McCarthy (Democrat)
| | Connecticut | Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. | Republican | Defeated, 50.4 - 49.6 | Joseph I. Lieberman (Democrat)
| | Delaware | William V. Roth, Jr. | Republican | Re-elected, 62.4 - 37.6 | S. B. Woo (Democrat)
| | Florida | Lawton Chiles | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 50.4 - 49.6 | Connie Mack (Republican)
Buddy MacKay (Democrat)
| | Hawaii | Spark K. Matsunaga | Democrat | Re-elected, 78.7 - 21.3 | Maria M. Hustace (Republican)
| | Indiana | Richard G. Lugar | Republican | Re-elected, 67.7 - 32.3 | Jack Wickes (Democrat)
| | Maine | George J. Mitchell | Democrat | Re-elected, 81.1 - 18.9 | Jasper S. Wyman (Republican)
| | Maryland | Paul S. Sarbanes | Democrat | Re-elected, 61.8 - 38.2 | Alan Keyes (Republican)
| | Massachusetts | Edward M. Kennedy | Democrat | Re-elected, 65.6 - 34.4 | Joseph D. Malone (Republican)
| | Michigan | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. | Democrat | Re-elected, 61.0 - 39.0 | Jim Dunn (Republican)
| | Minnesota | Dave Durenberger | Republican | Re-elected, 56.6 - 41.2 - 2.1 | Hubert H. Humphrey III (Democrat)
Polly Mann (Independent)
| | Mississippi | John C. Stennis | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53.1 - 46.9 | Trent Lott (Republican)
Wayne Dowdy (Democrat)
| | Missouri | John C. Danforth | Republican | Re-elected, 68.1 - 31.9 | Jay Nixon (Democrat)
| | Montana | John Melcher | Democrat | Defeated, 51.9 - 48.1 | Conrad Burns (Republican)
| | Nebraska | David K. Karnes | Republican | Defeated, 56.8 - 41.7 | Robert Kerrey (Democrat)
| | Nevada | Chic Hecht | Republican | Defeated, 52.1 - 47.9 | Richard H. Bryan (Democrat)
| | New Jersey | Frank R. Lautenberg | Democrat | Re-elected, 54.4 - 45.6 | Pete Dawkins (Republican)
| | New Mexico | Jeff Bingaman | Democrat | Re-elected, 63.2 - 36.8 | Bill Valentine (Republican)
| | New York | Daniel P. Moynihan | Democrat | Re-elected, 67.3 - 31.6 | Robert R. McMillan (Republican)
| | North Dakota | Quentin N. Burdick | Democrat | Re-elected, 60.5 - 39.5 | Earl Strinden (Republican)
| | Ohio | Howard M. Metzenbaum | Democrat | Re-elected, 56.9 - 43.1 | George Voinovich (Republican)
| | Pennsylvania | John Heinz | Republican | Re-elected, 67.2 - 32.8 | Joseph C. Vignola (Democrat)
| | Rhode Island | John H. Chafee | Republican | Re-elected, 54.3 - 45.7 | Richard A. Licht (Democrat)
| | Tennessee | Jim Sasser | Democrat | Re-elected, 65.6 - 34.4 | Bill Anderson (Republican)
| | Texas | Lloyd Bentsen | Democrat | Re-elected, 59.6 - 40.4 | Beau Boulter (Republican)
| | Utah | Orrin G. Hatch | Republican | Re-elected, 67.8 - 32.2 | Ted Wilson (Democrat)
| | Vermont | Robert T. Stafford | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 69.4 - 30.6 | James M. Jeffords (Republican)
William Gray (Democrat)
| | Virginia | Paul S. Trible, Jr. | Republican | Retired: Democrat victory, 71.2 - 28.8 | Charles S. Robb (Democrat)
Maurice A. Dawkins (Republican)
| | Washington | Daniel J. Evans | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 50.7 - 49.3 | Slade Gorton (Republican)
Mike Lowry (Democrat)
| | West Virginia | Robert C. Byrd | Democrat | Re-elected, 63.2 - 36.8 | M. Jay Wolfe (Republican)
| | Wisconsin | William Proxmire | Democrat | Retired: Democrat victory, 52.2 - 47.8 | Herbert Kohl (Democrat)
Susan Engeleiter (Republican)
| | Wyoming | Malcolm Wallop | Republican | Re-elected, 50.4 - 49.6 | John Vinich (Democrat)
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See also - U.S. Senate election, 1986
- U.S. Senate election, 1990
- U.S. presidential election, 1988
- U.S. House election, 1988
Senate composition before and after elections
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