2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee
The 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Bob Corker opted to retire instead of running for a third term. Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn won the open seat, defeating former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen.


2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee, Republican primary, Speculation surrounding Senator Corker
On September 26, 2017, Republican Senator Bob Corker announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018. Without Corker running, it was widely believed that the Republican Party would have a much harder time keeping the seat. Many called on Corker to reverse his decision to retire. Former U.S. Representative Fincher dropped out of the race, calling on Corker to jump back in and challenge U.S. Representative Blackburn for the GOP nomination. Fincher said in a statement that the GOP should unite "behind a candidate who can win" the general election.


2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee, Republican primary, Speculation surrounding Senator Corker
Blackburn said she would remain in the race even if Corker reversed his decision. Amid the speculation about Corker's decision, many of Tennessee's Republican politicians, including many in the Tennessee General Assembly, reiterated their support for Blackburn. Corker's chief of staff announced on February 27, 2018, that Corker would stick with his plan to retire.


2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee, General election
The election was expected to be among the most competitive Senate races in 2018. Corker's retirement and Bredesen's entry into the race made it one of the few potential offensive opportunities for Democrats. On November 1, 2018, incumbent Bob Corker announced that he would not endorse either Blackburn or Bredesen; he added that either candidate would be a good senator for Tennessee.


2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee, General election
Polls showed the race to be close until the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in September and October, which many Tennesseans believed the Democratic Party handled poorly. This is believed to have mobilized Republican voters and cost Bredesen any chance of winning. Bredesen also announced his support for Kavanaugh, which some believe may have cost him supporters.


2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee, General election, Results
On November 6, 2018, Blackburn defeated Bredesen in the general election, carrying all but three counties, the largest number of counties ever won in an open senate election in Tennessee. Although polls began to show the race in Blackburn's favor following the Kavanaugh hearings, Blackburn won by a larger margin than all but one poll showed.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas
The 2018 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6, 2018, along with other elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives in additional states. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz ran successfully for re-election to a second term against Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke. The primary for all parties was held on March 6, 2018, making it the first primary of the 2018 season. As Cruz and O'Rourke both won majorities in their primaries, they did not participate in the May 22 runoff primary that was held for some nominations in Texas.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas
No Democrat has won a general election for statewide office in Texas since Bob Bullock was reelected as lieutenant governor in 1994, with election forecasters declaring it a safe Republican seat at the beginning of the 2018 cycle. However, O'Rourke gradually closed the gap, and leading up to the election, the race was considered unexpectedly competitive.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas
On Election Day, Cruz defeated O'Rourke by a margin of 50.9 to 48.3 percent; the race was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1978.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, Background
In 2012, after a stunning upset victory in the Republican primary, then-Solicitor General of Texas Ted Cruz defeated former member of the Texas House of Representatives Paul Sadler by a 16-point margin (56%–40%). Texas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988. As conservatives began turning to the Republican Party in once strongly Democratic areas, Democratic voters became concentrated in Southern Texas (which hold majority minority counties) and large metropolitan cities, such as Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, as well as the far western majority-minority city of El Paso, which O'Rourke represented in the U.S. House.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, Background
Since 1990, Texas has voted for Republican statewide candidates in all elections, whether it be presidential, gubernatorial, or senatorial, often by large margins. In 1998, Governor George W. Bush won re-election by 37 points over his Democratic challenger, Garry Mauro. In 2000, Governor Bush won Texas by 21 points over Vice President Al Gore. In 2004, President Bush won Texas over Senator John Kerry by 23 points, winning rural areas by landslide margins, capturing urban zones, and coming very close to winning the Latino vote (49% to Kerry's 50%).


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, Background
Democrat Barack Obama was defeated by margins of 12 points in 2008, against John McCain, and 16 points in 2012, against Mitt Romney, respectively. However, in 2016, Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by only a 9-point margin, demonstrating a possible shift away from the Safe Republican status it had held for over a decade. This has led Democrats to begin targeting Texas as a potential future swing state. It should also be noted that Ted Cruz defeated Donald Trump in the Texas Republican primary for U.S. President in 2016.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, Background
As of June 2018, Senator Cruz held a 49%–44% approval rating among Texans in a state Donald Trump won by 9 points against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Among groups that tend to affiliate themselves more with the Democratic Party, Senator Cruz held a 29% approval rating among Hispanics, 37% among females, and 42% among college-educated voters.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, General election, Fundraising
In the third quarter of 2018, O'Rourke raised $38.1 million. This amount was the largest quarterly total raised by a U.S. Senate candidate until Jaime Harrison raised $57 million in the third quarter of 2020 in the South Carolina election. Cruz and O'Rourke combined to raise a record-setting total of $126 million during the 2018 campaign.


2018 United States Senate election in Texas, Results
On November 6, 2018, Ted Cruz defeated Beto O'Rourke. However, O'Rourke gave Democrats their best performance in a Texas statewide election since Ann Richards was elected governor in 1990. In addition, O'Rourke flipped several counties in Texas that Donald Trump carried in 2016, including Williamson (includes Round Rock and Georgetown), historically conservative Tarrant (includes Fort Worth and suburbs within the DFW metroplex), Jefferson (includes Beaumont and Port Arthur), Nueces (includes Corpus Christi), sparsely populated Brewster (includes Big Bend National Park), and Hays (includes San Marcos). Cruz only flipped one county that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, sparsely populated Kenedy (coastal region south of Corpus Christi).


2018 United States Senate election in Utah
The 2018 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Utah, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. The primaries took place on June 26.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah
Incumbent Republican senator Orrin Hatch announced in January 2018 that he would retire and not seek reelection to an eighth term. The general election was won by Mitt Romney, who had been the Republican nominee for president in 2012 and previously was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Romney became only the third person in American history to be elected governor and U.S. senator in different states, and the first former major party presidential nominee to run for a new office since Walter Mondale in 2002. At 71, he additionally became the oldest person ever elected to a first term as a U.S. senator.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah, Background, Process
Utah's 2018 U.S. Senate candidates had dual routes toward placement on the primary election ballot: (1) eligibility via win or second-place showings at a convention of delegates selected from party local caucuses; and/or (2) eligibility via obtaining sufficient petition signatures.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah, Background, Process
Taking the traditional route, the top two candidates for the U.S. Senate at any of the party state conventions (to be held this year the latter part of April) will be placed on the June 26 primary election ballot. Also, any candidate who collects 28,000 ballot-access petition signatures will be placed on the primary ballot.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah, Background, Process
If no competitor will have achieved the above-mentioned alternate access to the primary ballot through collected signatures and a convention winner had achieved sixty-percent of delegate votes, this candidate straightaway receives his or her party's nomination solely via the older-style caucuses-convention system. Otherwise, a candidate will be nominated through receiving a plurality of votes in the primary election and thereby advance to the November general election.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah, Background, Hatch to retire
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch was reelected to a seventh term in 2012. During his 2012 reelection campaign, Hatch had pledged that if he were elected that it would be his last term. Hatch won his first election in 1976 in part by criticizing the incumbent's 18-year tenure. Hatch initially announced a re-election campaign on March 9, 2017, though he also said at that time that he might withdraw from the race if Mitt Romney decided to run.


2018 United States Senate election in Utah, Background, Hatch to retire
An August 19–21, 2016, poll conducted by Public Policy Polling found only 19% of voters wanted Hatch to run in 2018, while 71% wanted him to retire. On October 27, 2017, Hatch reportedly told friends privately that he was going to retire in 2019 and on January 2, 2018, made a public announcement of his plans to retire at the end of his current term in January 2019.


2018 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 2018 United States Senate election in Vermont was held November 6, 2018, alongside a gubernatorial election, U.S. House election, and other state and local elections. Incumbent independent Senator Bernie Sanders was re-elected to a third term. The primaries were held on August 14.


2018 United States Senate election in Vermont, Background
Two-term independent Senator Bernie Sanders was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2012. Sanders, a candidate for president in the 2016 primary election and one of only three independent members of Congress, is a self-described democratic socialist.


2018 United States Senate election in Vermont, Background
Sanders has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2007, and he is the Chairman of the Budget Committee. He was 77 years old in 2018. Sanders ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. After being the runner-up, and not winning the nomination, he announced that he would return to the Senate as an independent, and later stated that he would run for re-election as an independent in 2018.


2018 United States Senate election in Vermont, Republican primary, Post-primary
H. Brooke Paige, who also won the Republican nominations for U.S. House, state Attorney General, state Secretary of State, state Treasurer, and state Auditor, withdrew from all but the Secretary of State race on August 24, in order to allow the Vermont Republican Party to name replacement candidates. The Vermont Republican Party picked Lawrence Zupan, who came in 2nd place in the primary, to be the Republican nominee.


2018 United States Senate election in Vermont, General election, Results
Sanders won re-election with 67.4% of the vote against eight other candidates.


2018 United States Senate election in Virginia
The 2018 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who had been his party's nominee for Vice President two years earlier, was re-elected to a second term in office, winning this seat by the largest margin since 1988.


2018 United States Senate election in Virginia
The Republican Party of Virginia central committee voted to select the Republican nominee for Senate by a primary rather than a convention. Corey Stewart, chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, won the Republican nomination on June 12, 2018, after defeating Delegate Nick Freitas and Christian minister E. W. Jackson.


2018 United States Senate election in Virginia, General election
The election featured a match-up of two Minnesota-born Virginians: Republican Corey Stewart was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and Democrat Tim Kaine was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. All polls leading up to the election showed Kaine defeating Stewart by a wide margin.


2018 United States Senate election in Washington
The 2018 United States Senate election in Washington took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Washington. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell successfully ran for reelection to a fourth term.


2018 United States Senate election in Washington, Nonpartisan blanket primary, Candidates
The primary election featured 30 candidates, a near record amount for a U.S. Senate election in Washington.


2018 United States Senate election in Washington, Nonpartisan blanket primary, Candidates, Minor parties
In Washington, primary candidates may declare a preference for any party, and their party preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party. Candidates may also declare a preference for new or single-candidate parties.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia
The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia
On May 8, 2018, the Republican primary voters of the state nominated West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey as the Republican candidate. In the general election, incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin defeated Morrisey and was elected to a second full term, albeit by a margin much narrower than his previous election in 2012.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
West Virginia was once a Democratic stronghold at the state and federal level, but has been rapidly shifting towards the Republican Party since 2000. In 2008, John McCain defeated Barack Obama by a margin of 55–42%.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney defeated Obama 62–35% and swept every single county in the state. Despite this, Manchin was reelected in his own landslide over perennial candidate John Raese, receiving more than 60% of the vote and carrying all but three counties.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
In 2016, Donald Trump won the state by a greater than 40-point margin over Hillary Clinton (68–26%), with Clinton's performance being the worst for either party in the state's history. Trump also won every county in the state.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
Concurrent with Trump's landslide victory in the West Virginia, Democratic businessman Jim Justice won the gubernatorial election with 49% of the vote but changed his party affiliation back to Republican within a year (Justice had previously been a Republican prior to running as a Democrat for governor). Democrats lost almost every statewide office in the state in 2016, with State Treasurer John Perdue being the only statewide Democrat reelected. Perdue lost reelection in 2020, making Manchin the only Democratic statewide officeholder in the state.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
Because of the heavy Republican lean of his state, Manchin was ranked by many outlets as  one of the most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection. President Trump headlined three rallies in the state on behalf of Manchin's opponent, Patrick Morrisey. Manchin's vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his highly contentious confirmation hearing, making him the only Democrat to do so, garnered national attention and backlash from members of his own party just weeks before the midterm elections.


2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, General election, Results, Results by county
All results are from the office of the Secretary of State of West Virginia.


2018 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
The 2018 United States Senate election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with a gubernatorial election and U.S. House elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin won a second term, defeating Republican challenger Leah Vukmir by more than 10 percentage points. The primary elections were held on August 14, with a filing deadline on June 1. Baldwin was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, while Vukmir defeated Charles Barman, Griffin Jones, George Lucia and Kevin Nicholson in the Republican primary.


2018 United States Senate election in Wisconsin, General election, Results
Despite initial expectations of a potentially close race, Baldwin ended up winning by over 10 percentage points, which was the highest margin of victory for a Wisconsin Democratic statewide candidate in 2018. She ran up the margins in the traditional Democratic strongholds of Milwaukee and Madison, but also won in western Wisconsin, Green Bay and most of the counties bordering Illinois, including Racine, Rock, and Kenosha counties.


2018 United States Senate election in Wyoming
The 2018 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 6, 2018 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Wyoming. The primary election took place August 21, 2018. Republican John Barrasso won reelection with 67% percent of the vote, the lowest percentage of his three U.S. Senate campaigns and the closest a Democrat got to winning a seat since the 1996 election, while Barrasso lost only 2 counties, Teton and Albany.


2018 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Background
In 2012, incumbent John Barrasso (R) was re-elected with 76% of the vote. A state with low population and rural setting, Wyoming is considered the most Republican state in the nation. It has not elected a Democratic senate candidate since 1970. In 2008, Republican John McCain won the state's presidential vote with 64%. Republican Mitt Romney won it in 2012 with 68% of the vote, and Republican Donald Trump won it in 2016 with 67% of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections
The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. 33 of the 100 seats were contested in regular elections while two others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The winners were elected to six-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election (including the seats of two independents who caucus with them) while Senate Republicans had nine seats up for election.


2018 United States Senate elections
To maintain their working majority of 50 Senators and their party's Vice President's tie-breaking vote, Republicans could only afford a net loss of one seat in these elections. The Republicans had a 52-48 majority after the 2016 elections, but they lost a seat in Alabama in December 2017 after Jeff Sessions resigned to become Attorney General and a Democrat won in the subsequent special election. Three Republican-held seats were open as a result of retirements in Tennessee, Utah and Arizona.


2018 United States Senate elections
Although every Democratic incumbent ran for re-election, Democrats faced an extremely unfavorable map, defending 26 seats, of which 10 were in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, and five of those where Trump had won by more than ten percent. Republicans, however, only had to defend nine seats, of which only one was in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.


2018 United States Senate elections
The Republicans increased their majority  defeating Democratic incumbents in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota; and holding the open seats in Tennessee and Utah. In contrast, Democrats won two Republican-held seats, defeating an incumbent in Nevada and winning the open seat in Arizona.


2018 United States Senate elections
The results for this election cycle were the only significant gains made by the Republicans in what was otherwise characterized as a "blue wave" election for the entire 2018 midterm cycle; the Democrats had simultaneously seized control of the United States House of Representatives from the Republicans, gained a number of key seats in the state governorships, and gained ground in the state legislatures and the attorney general offices. The Republican gains in the Senate and the Democratic gains in the House marked the first midterm election cycle since 1970 in which a sitting president's party made net gains in one chamber of Congress while suffering net losses in the other.


2018 United States Senate elections, Focus on competitive races
Democrats targeted Republican-held Senate seats in Arizona (open seat) and Nevada. Seats in Texas, Mississippi (at least one of the two seats) and Tennessee (open seat) were also competitive for the Democrats. Republicans targeted Democratic-held seats in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia, all of which had voted Republican in both the 2012 presidential election and the 2016 presidential election. Seats in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, all of which voted for Trump in 2016, were also targeted by Republicans. The Democratic-held seat in New Jersey was also considered unexpectedly competitive due to corruption allegations surrounding the Democratic incumbent.


2018 United States Senate elections, Partisan composition
Among the 33 Class 1 Senate seats up for regular election in 2018, twenty-three were held by Democrats, two by independents who caucused with the Senate Democrats and eight by Republicans. Class Two seats in Minnesota and Mississippi held by interim appointees were also up for election; both incumbent appointees sought election to finish their unexpired terms.


2018 United States Senate elections, Partisan composition
The map was widely characterized as extremely unfavorable to Democrats, as Democrats were defending 26 states while Republicans were defending nine. Of these seats, Democrats were defending ten in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, while Republicans were only defending one seat in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. According to FiveThirtyEight, Democrats faced the most unfavorable Senate map in 2018 that any party has ever faced in any election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Partisan composition
The 2018 election cycle was the first midterm election cycle since 2002 in which any incumbents of the non-presidential party lost re-election. The number of defeated non-presidential party incumbents (4) was the most since the 1934 midterms.


2018 United States Senate elections, Change in composition
Each block represents one of the one hundred seats in the Senate. "D#" is a Democratic senator, "I#" is an Independent senator and "R#" is a Republican senator. Arranged so parties are separated and a majority is clear by crossing the middle.


2018 United States Senate elections, Change in composition, Before the elections
Each block indicates an incumbent senator's actions going into the election. Some "Ran" for re-election, some "Retired," and those without a note were not up for election this cycle. Before the elections, Republicans held 51 seats, Democrats held 47, and Independents held 2.


2018 United States Senate elections, Change in composition, After the elections
Some senators were "Re-elected," some were a "Gain" in the seat from the other party (either by beating an incumbent or by winning an open seat), some were a "Hold" by the same party but with a different senator, and those without a note were not up for election this year.


2018 United States Senate elections, Change in composition, After the elections
After these elections, Democrats had 45 seats, independents had 2, and Republicans had 53.


2018 United States Senate elections, Final pre-election predictions
Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for reelection) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.


2018 United States Senate elections, Election dates
These are the election dates for the regularly scheduled general elections.


2018 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Special elections during the preceding Congress
In these special elections, the winners will be seated before January 3, 2019, when elected and qualified. They are ordered by election date, then by state and by class.


2018 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2019.


2018 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
All of the elections involve the Class 1 seats and they are ordered by state.


2018 United States Senate elections, Closest races
In twelve races the margin of victory was under 10%.


2018 United States Senate elections, Arizona
One-term Republican Jeff Flake was elected with 49% of the vote in 2012. He chose not to run for reelection.


2018 United States Senate elections, Arizona
U.S. Representative Martha McSally won the Republican nomination in a three-way primary on August 28, 2018, against Joe Arpaio and Kelli Ward.


2018 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Sinema defeated McSally by a slim margin; her victory became official only after six days of counting ballots.


2018 United States Senate elections, California
Four-term Democrat Dianne Feinstein won a special election in 1992 and was elected to full terms in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. She ran for re-election and advanced to the general election after securing the top spot in the June 5 jungle primary.


2018 United States Senate elections, California
The June 5 primary ballot listed 32 candidates (Feinstein plus 31 challengers) in addition to 3 write-in candidates. There were 10 Democratic candidates, 11 Republican candidates, one Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom candidate, and 9 independent candidates. There was also a Green Party candidate who ran as a write-in.


2018 United States Senate elections, California
President pro tempore of the California State Senate Kevin de León advanced to the general election for the right to challenge Feinstein after securing the second spot in the primary.


2018 United States Senate elections, California
The 11 Republican candidates who ran in the primary combined for 33.2% of the vote. The top Republican candidate, James P. Bradley, received 8.3% of the vote, which put him in 3rd place at 3.8% behind the second-place finisher, Kevin DeLeon.


2018 United States Senate elections, California
On November 6, Dianne Feinstein was elected to a fifth term, defeating Kevin de León.


2018 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
One-term Democrat Chris Murphy was elected with 55% of the vote in 2012. He ran for re-election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
Chris Murphy was elected to a second term, winning nearly 60% of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections, Delaware
Three-term Democrat Tom Carper won re-election with 66% of the vote in 2012. He announced he was running for re-election during an interview on MSNBC on July 24, 2017. He defeated Dover community activist Kerri Evelyn Harris for the Democratic nomination. Sussex County Councilman Robert Arlett won the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Florida
Three-term Democrat Bill Nelson was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012. He sought re-election to a fourth term in office.


2018 United States Senate elections, Florida
Florida Governor Rick Scott won the Republican nomination. First elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, Scott's term as Governor of Florida was set to end by January 2019, due to term limits.


2018 United States Senate elections, Florida
Edward Janowski was running as an independent, but did not qualify.


2018 United States Senate elections, Florida
Scott led among ballots tallied on election night, but given the close margins of the race recounts were ordered. Final recount numbers were released following a machine and hand recount with Rick Scott maintaining a lead. On November 18, Nelson conceded to Scott. Two days later, election results were certified by the state, cementing Scott's win.


2018 United States Senate elections, Hawaii
One-term Democrat Mazie Hirono was elected with 63% of the vote in 2012. She ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Hawaii
Hirono was elected to a second term by a landslide.


2018 United States Senate elections, Indiana
One-term Democrat Joe Donnelly was elected with 50.04% of the vote in 2012. He ran. He won the Democratic primary unopposed.


2018 United States Senate elections, Indiana
State Representative Mike Braun won the May 8 Republican primary. U.S. Representatives Luke Messer and Todd Rokita also ran for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Indiana
Braun won election with 51% of the vote, defeating Joe Donnelly.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maine
One-term Independent Senator Angus King was elected in a three-way race with 53% of the vote in 2012. King has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2013, but he has left open the possibility of caucusing with the Republican Party in the future.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maine
State Senator Eric Brakey ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maine
Public school teacher and founder of UClass Zak Ringelstein ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maine
The election was conducted with ranked choice voting, as opposed to "First-past-the-post voting", after Maine voters passed a citizen referendum approving the change in 2016 and a June 2018 referendum sustaining the change.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maine
King was easily re-elected with over 50% of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Two-term Democrat Ben Cardin was re-elected with 56% of the vote in 2012. He won the Democratic primary.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Tony Campbell, Evan Cronhardt, Nnabu Eze, Gerald Smith, and Blaine Taylor were seeking the Republican nomination, with Campbell winning.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Arvin Vohra, vice chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, sought the Libertarian Party nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Independents Neal Simon and Edward Shlikas, and Michael B Puskar ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
One-term Democrat Elizabeth Warren was elected with 54% of the vote in 2012. She ran for re-election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
State Representative Geoff Diehl, attorney and founder of Better for America, John Kingston and former Romney aide Beth Lindstrom, ran for the Republican nomination. Diehl won the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Shiva Ayyadurai ran as an independent. Shiva started as in early 2017 as the first Republican in the race, but went independent in November 2017.


2018 United States Senate elections, Michigan
Three-term Democrat Debbie Stabenow was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012. She was renominated without Democratic opposition. On the Republican side, businessman John James won the nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Michigan
In the final months of the election, polls showed the race was beginning to narrow. Ultimately, Stabenow was re-elected, defeating James, with a majority of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections, Minnesota, Minnesota (Regular)
Two-term Democrat Amy Klobuchar was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. She ran for re-election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Minnesota, Minnesota (Special)
Two-term Democrat Al Franken announced that he would resign in December 2017, following allegations of sexual harassment. Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota, appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on January 2, 2018, as an interim Senator until the November 2018 election. She defeated primary challenger Richard Painter in the Democratic primary held on August 14.


2018 United States Senate elections, Minnesota, Minnesota (Special)
Incumbent Tina Smith defeated Republican Karin Housley in the general election to finish the term ending January 3, 2021.


2018 United States Senate elections, Mississippi, Mississippi (Regular)
One-term Republican Roger Wicker won re-election with 57% of the vote in 2012. He was appointed in 2007 and won a special election in 2008 to serve the remainder of Trent Lott's term. He ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Mississippi, Mississippi (Regular)
David Baria won the Democratic nomination in a run-off on June 26.


2018 United States Senate elections, Mississippi, Mississippi (Special)
Seven-term Republican Thad Cochran, who won re-election with 59.9% of the vote in 2014, announced that he would resign since April 1, 2018 due to health reasons. Phil Bryant, Governor of Mississippi, announced on March 21, 2018, that he would appoint Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the vacancy. She ran in the special election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Mississippi, Mississippi (Special)
On November 6, a nonpartisan jungle primary took place on the same day as the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the seat currently held by Roger Wicker. Party affiliations were not printed on the ballot. As no candidate gained 50% of the votes, a runoff special election between the top two candidates - Hyde-Smith and former United States Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy - was held on November 27, 2018. Hyde-Smith won the runoff election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Mississippi, Mississippi (Special)
Democrat Tobey Bartee and Republican Chris McDaniel also contested the first round of the election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Two-term Democrat Claire McCaskill was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012. She was renominated.


2018 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Attorney General Josh Hawley won the Republican nomination. Japheth Campbell declared his candidacy for the Libertarian nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Polls showed a close race for months leading up to the election. Hawley defeated McCaskill in the general election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Montana
Two-term Democrat Jon Tester was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 2012. He won the Democratic nomination in the June 5 primary with no opposition.


2018 United States Senate elections, Montana
State Auditor Matthew Rosendale won the Republican nomination in the June 5 primary. State Senator Albert Olszewski, former judge Russell Fagg, and Troy Downing also ran for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
One-term Republican Deb Fischer was elected with 58% of the vote in 2012. She ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary. Other Republicans who ran include retired professor Jack Heidel, Todd Watson, and Dennis Frank Macek.


2018 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Lincoln Councilwoman Jane Raybould ran for and won the Democratic nomination in the May 15 primary. Other Democrats who ran include Frank Svoboda, Chris Janicek, and Larry Marvin, who was a candidate in 2008, 2012, and 2014.


2018 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Incumbent Republican Dean Heller was the Republican nominee. He was appointed to the seat in 2011 and then elected with 46% of the vote in 2012. Heller considered running for governor, but chose to seek re-election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Nevada was the only state in the midterm elections that had an incumbent Republican Senator in a state that Hillary Clinton had won in 2016.


2018 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Rosen defeated Heller in the general election, making Heller the only Republican incumbent to lose re-election in 2018.


2018 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Republican Bob Hugin was nominated to face two-term Democrat Bob Menendez, who was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012. Menendez was originally appointed to the seat in January 2006. He ran for re-election, despite recent scandals that plagued his campaign.


2018 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Hugin self-funded most of his campaign. Ultimately, Menendez was re-elected with nearly 54% of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
One-term Democrat Martin Heinrich was elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. He ran. Mick Rich won the Republican nomination unopposed.


2018 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Aubrey Dunn Jr., New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands and otherwise the first Libertarian to ever hold statewide elected office in history, announced his run for the seat, but stepped aside in August to allow former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson's candidacy.


2018 United States Senate elections, New York
One-term Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was elected with 72% of the vote in 2012. She had previously been appointed to the seat in 2009 and won a special election to remain in office in 2010. She ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, New York
Private equity executive Chele Chiavacci Farley has been nominated for U.S. Senate by the Republican and Conservative Parties.


2018 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
One-term Democrat Heidi Heitkamp was elected with 50% of the vote in 2012. She won the Democratic nomination unopposed.


2018 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Representative Kevin Cramer won the Republican nomination in the June 12 primary. Former Niagara, North Dakota Mayor Thomas O'Neill also ran for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Heitkamp was continuously behind in the polls leading up to the election, and Heitkamp ended up losing to Cramer by 11%.


2018 United States Senate elections, Ohio
Two-term Democrat Sherrod Brown was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. He ran and was unopposed in Democratic primary.


2018 United States Senate elections, Ohio
U.S. Representative Jim Renacci ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary. Other Republicans who ran include investment banker Michael Gibbons, businesswoman Melissa Ackison, Dan Kiley, and Don Elijah Eckhart.


2018 United States Senate elections, Ohio
Brown won re-election, defeating Renacci. Brown was the only non-judicial statewide Democrat in Ohio to win in 2018.


2018 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Two-term Democrat Bob Casey Jr. was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2012. He ran and won the Democratic primary unopposed.


2018 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
U.S. Representative Lou Barletta ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary. Jim Christiana also ran for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Two-term Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse was re-elected with 64% of the vote in 2012. He ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Former Rhode Island Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Flanders was the Republican nominee.


2018 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Whitehouse was elected to a third term by a wide margin.


2018 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Two-term Republican Bob Corker was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Senator Corker filed his Statement of Candidacy with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate to run for re-election, but on September 26, 2017, Senator Corker announced his intent to retire.


2018 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Aaron Pettigrew and Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn ran for the Republican nomination. Marsha Blackburn became the Republican nominee.


2018 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Despite predictions that the race would be close, Blackburn was easily elected to the Senate.


2018 United States Senate elections, Texas
One-term Republican Ted Cruz was elected with 57% of the vote in 2012. He overwhelmingly won the Republican primary on March 6, 2018. Television producer Bruce Jacobson, Houston energy attorney Stefano de Stefano, former mayor of La Marque Geraldine Sam, Mary Miller, and Thomas Dillingham were Cruz's opponents.


2018 United States Senate elections, Texas
U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke won the Democratic nomination on March 6, 2018. Other Democrats who ran include Irasema Ramirez Hernandez and Edward Kimbrough.


2018 United States Senate elections, Texas
Nurse Carl Bible ran as an independent. Bob McNeil ran as the candidate of the American Citizen Party. Neal Dikeman was the Libertarian nominee.


2018 United States Senate elections, Texas
O'Rourke ran a strong campaign, creating a close race in a traditionally Republican stronghold. Nevertheless, Cruz was narrowly re-elected to a second term.


2018 United States Senate elections, Utah
Seven-term Republican Orrin Hatch was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Hatch is the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, as well as the second most-senior Senator. Before the 2012 election, Hatch said that he would retire at the end of his seventh term if he was re-elected. Hatch initially announced his re-election campaign on March 9, 2017, but later announced his plans to retire on January 2, 2018. Former 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was running for the seat.


2018 United States Senate elections, Utah
Professor James Singer was running for the Democratic nomination, but he dropped out and endorsed Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who made her Senate bid official on July 17, 2017. Danny Drew also was running, but dropped out and endorsed Jenny Wilson. Mitchell Kent Vice was defeated for the Democratic nomination by Wilson.


2018 United States Senate elections, Vermont
Two-term Independent Senator Bernie Sanders was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2012. Sanders, one of two independent members of Congress, has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2007. In November 2015, Sanders announced his plans to run as a Democrat, rather than an Independent, in all future elections. He won the nomination easily.


2018 United States Senate elections, Virginia
One-term Democrat Tim Kaine was elected with 53% of the vote in 2012. He was re-nominated unopposed. Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart was the Republican nominee. Matt Waters was the Libertarian nominee. Kaine defeated Stewart with 57% of the vote. Stewart received about 41% of the vote.


2018 United States Senate elections, Washington
Three-term Democrat Maria Cantwell was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2012. She ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Washington
Washington holds non-partisan blanket primaries, in which the top two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party. Cantwell and former state Republican Party chair Susan Hutchison faced each other in November.


2018 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
One-term Democrat Joe Manchin was elected with 61% of the vote in 2012. He originally won the seat in a 2010 special election. Manchin ran for re-election and won the May 8 Democratic primary. Environmental activist Paula Jean Swearengin, also ran for the Democratic nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey received the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary. Representative Evan Jenkins, coal miner Bo Copley, Jack Newbrough, Don Blankenship, and Tom Willis ran for the Republican nomination.


2018 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
Despite recent Republican successes in West Virginia, Manchin was able to win re-election to a second term.


2018 United States Senate elections, Wisconsin
One-term Democrat Tammy Baldwin was elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. She ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Wisconsin
State Senator Leah Vukmir and businessman and member of Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs Kevin Nicholson ran for the Republican nomination, with Vukmir proceeding to the general election.


2018 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
One-term Republican John Barrasso was elected with 76% of the vote in 2012. Barrasso was appointed to the seat in 2007 and won a special election in 2008. He ran.


2018 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
Gary Trauner, a Jackson Hole businessman and U.S. House candidate in 2006 and 2008, was the Democratic nominee.


2018 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
Barrasso was easily elected to a second term, defeating Trauner.


2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota
The 2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a United States Senator from Minnesota to replace incumbent Democratic Senator Al Franken until the regular expiration of the term on January 3, 2021. Facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, Franken announced on December 7, 2017, that he would resign effective January 2, 2018. Governor Mark Dayton appointed Franken's successor, Tina Smith, on December 13, 2017, and she ran in the special election. This election coincided with a regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the Class 1 Senate seat, U.S. House elections, a gubernatorial election, State House elections, and other elections.


2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota
The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2018, and the primary election was held on August 14, 2018. Smith won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Karin Housley in the general election.


2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota, General election, Results
Smith won the election by 10.62 percentage points. Her margin was similar to that of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tim Walz, who defeated his Republican opponent by 11.41%. Both of those margins of victory were much smaller than that of senior Senator Amy Klobuchar, who on the same day defeated her Republican opponent by 24.1 points. Smith won by huge margins in the Democratic strongholds of Hennepin County and Ramsey County, home of Minneapolis and St. Paul respectively. She also managed a 10% margin of victory in suburban Dakota County, just outside Minneapolis, and won St. Louis County, home of Duluth. Housley won most of the state's rural areas. Turnout was high for a midterm election, with over 63% of registered voters in Minnesota casting ballots.


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi
The 2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a United States Senator from Mississippi. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by Senator Thad Cochran when he resigned from the Senate, effective April 1, 2018, due to health concerns. Republican governor Phil Bryant appointed Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the vacancy created by Cochran's resignation. Hyde-Smith sought election to serve the balance of Cochran's term, which expired in January 2021.


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi
On November 6, per Mississippi law, a nonpartisan top-two special general election took place on the same day as the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the seat currently held by Roger Wicker. Party affiliations were not printed on the ballot.


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi
Because no candidate gained a simple majority of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates, Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy, was held on November 27, 2018, in which Hyde-Smith defeated Espy. Despite her reasonable margin of victory, Hyde-Smith significantly under-performed the states's partisan lean, as well as the 20-point margin of victory of Roger Wicker in his senatorial election, held concurrently with the first round of the special election in which the combined GOP candidates won 58% to the combined Dem total of 42%. Espy's 46.4% vote share is the best Democratic performance in a Mississippi Senate election since 1982.


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi
The victory made Hyde-Smith the first woman ever elected to the United States Congress from Mississippi.


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi, Runoff
During the run-off campaign, while appearing with cattle rancher Colin Hutchinson in Tupelo, Mississippi, Hyde-Smith said, "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be in the front row." Hyde-Smith's comment immediately drew harsh criticism, given Mississippi's notorious history of lynchings of African-Americans. In response to the criticism, Hyde-Smith downplayed her comment as "an exaggerated expression of regard" and characterized the backlash as "ridiculous."


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi, Runoff
Hyde-Smith joined Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant at a news conference in Jackson, Mississippi on November 12, 2018, where she was asked repeatedly about her comment by reporters. In the footage, Hyde-Smith adamantly refused to provide any substantive answer to reporters' questions, responding on five occasions with variations of, "I put out a statement yesterday, and that's all I'm gonna say about it." When reporters redirected questions to Bryant, he defended Hyde-Smith's comment, and changed the subject to abortion, saying he was "confused about where the outrage is at about 20 million African American children that have been aborted."


2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi, Runoff
On November 15, 2018, Hyde-Smith appeared in a video clip saying that it would be "a great idea" to make it more difficult for liberals to vote. Her campaign stated that Hyde-Smith was making an obvious joke, and the video was selectively edited. Both this and the "public hanging" video were released by Lamar White Jr., a Louisiana blogger and journalist. Attention was also drawn to photographs, posted on Facebook four years earlier, of Hyde-Smith and her husband visiting former Confederate President Jefferson Davis' home, now an historical site. The photos show her wearing a Confederate hat and posing with a rifle commonly used by Confederate soldiers.


2018 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia
The 2018 Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a shadow member to the United States House of Representatives to represent the District of Columbia. Unlike non-voting delegates, the Shadow Representative is only recognized by the District of Columbia and is not officially sworn or seated. Incumbent Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia won reelection unopposed.


2018 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia, Primary elections, Other primaries
The Republican, Libertarian, and Statehood Green parties all held primaries, but no candidates declared.


2018 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia, Other candidates
Independent write-in candidate Erik Metzroth was the only opposition to Franklin Garcia. Metzroth campaigned alleging that Garcia had done too little to advance the cause of DC statehood. Metzroth also criticized local media for not reporting on his campaign. The final number of write-in votes cast for Metzroth was unreported.


2018 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia, General election
The general election took place on November 6, 2018. Garcia was the only candidate on the ballot and won reelection to a third term.


2018 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia
The 2018 United States Senate election in the District of Columbia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a shadow member to the United States Senate to represent the District of Columbia. The member is only recognized by the District of Columbia and is not officially sworn or seated by the United States Senate. Incumbent Mike Brown was re-elected to a third term as the Democratic nominee.


2018 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia, Democratic primary
The Democratic primary took place on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. About 76% of registered voters in the District of Columbia are registered with the Democratic Party, compared with only 6% of registered Republicans. The winner of the Democratic primary almost always wins the general election.


2018 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia, Democratic primary, Campaign
Thomas' campaign raised $44,000 and spent $34,800. Brown's campaign raised and spent only $12,000 and $1,200, respectively.


2018 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia, Democratic primary, Campaign
Thomas' campaign accused Brown of coasting on the name recognition of another D.C. politician, Michael A. Brown, a black former-councilman who remained popular in spite of a federal bribery conviction. Michael D. Brown dismissed the claim in an article for The Washington Post saying, "The implication that I win because African Americans are too uninformed to realize there are two people with a common name is insulting to the hundreds of thousands of D.C. voters who have supported my campaigns."


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election
The 2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election was held in February 2018 to determine the next President of the United States Soccer Federation. Having served as President since 2006, incumbent Sunil Gulati decided not to run for re-election, after the United States men's national soccer team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Background
Sunil Gulati, the incumbent president of U.S. Soccer, has held the position since he was first elected in 2006. Gulati ran unopposed for election in 2006, and for re-election in 2010 and 2014. On December 4, 2017, Gulati announced that he would not seek another term.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Background
In the months leading up to the election, the U.S. Soccer Federation submitted a joint bid with Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In October 2017, the United States men's national soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, missing the World Cup for the first time since 1986, sparking a major push for reform by supporters.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Format
The election took place on February 10, 2018, at the National Council Meeting during the U.S. Soccer Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Candidates are required to pass a background check conducted by the federation and receive three letters of nomination from organization members or an athlete representative on the federation's Board of Directors.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Format
Votes are divided between the Athletes Council, Youth Council, Adult Council, Professional Council, and other groups.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, General election campaign
On December 22, 2017, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reported that outgoing U.S. Soccer President, Sunil Gulati and Major League Soccer commissioner, Don Garber were campaigning for, and hosted a campaign dinner for Kathy Carter. This sparked a potential conflict of interest given Carter's current role with Soccer United Marketing, and SUM's relationship with U.S. Soccer and MLS. Carter denied any collusion between her, Gulati and Garber.


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, General election campaign
Shortly after, Carter received the endorsement from the Eastern New York State Soccer Association (ENYSSA) and the New Jersey Soccer Association (NJSA). When asked on Twitter about the decision-making process to endorse Carter, the ENYSSA blocked several accounts on Twitter, only to revert the blocks and claiming their account was "hacked".


2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Candidates
On December 20, 2017, USSF announced that eight candidates were eligible to stand for election, having met the federation's requirements, 8 of 9 opposed Sunil Gulati. Of the nine declared candidates, only Paul Lapointe failed to qualify for the ballot since he supported Sunil Gulati.


2018 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
The 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018 to select the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands who are chosen on the same ticket. The election was held concurrently with the 2018 United States midterm elections. As no candidate ticket received a majority of the General Election vote, the top two vote-getters proceeded to a runoff 14 days later on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. Democrat Albert Bryan Jr. and his running mate, Sen. Tregenza Roach, won the runoff election.


2018 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
The incumbent Governor Kenneth Mapp ran for reelection to a second term as an Independent politician with incumbent Lt. Gov. Osbert Potter. Mapp faced off against former Virgin Islands Labor Commissioner Albert Bryan Jr., who won the August 4 Democratic primary; Bryan earned 39.23% of the vote in the primary, defeating Allison "Allie" Petrus (33.67%) and Angel E. Dawson Jr. (26.68%). Also on the November ballot were Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Warren Mosler, Soraya Diase Coffelt, Moleto A. Smith, and Janette Millin Young.


2018 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
On Election Day, November 6, Bryan earned 38.08% of the vote, with Mapp coming in second with 33.45%. In the November 20 runoff, Bryan was elected governor with 54.54% of the vote to Mapp's 45.15%.


2018 United States Women's Curling Championship
The 2018 United States Women's Curling Championship was held from March 3 to 10 in Fargo, North Dakota. It was held in conjunction with the 2018 United States Men's Curling Championship. The winning team earned the right to represent the United States at the 2018 Ford World Women's Curling Championship provided that they are also in the top 75 WCT Order of Merit (2 tear period) or have at least 40 points WCT Order of Merit year-to-date ranking as of January 31, 2018.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak
The 2018 United States adenovirus outbreak was an occurrence in which an unusual number of adenovirus cases were reported at two locations, one in Maryland and one in New Jersey, from September to December of 2018, resulting in deaths in both states. At least 35 people contracted the disease in each location of the outbreak. In New Jersey, the ill ranged in age from toddlers to adults, and eleven children died. It was "one of the nation's deadliest long-term-care outbreaks" and "one of the nation's worst recorded outbreaks of the [adeno]virus." The adenovirus outbreak led to the passage of new legislation in 2019 concerning the containment of outbreaks in long-term care centers in New Jersey.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Sept. 2018: New Jersey outbreak
In September 2018, an adenovirus outbreak began at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a care facility for those with short-term rehab or long-term needs in Wanaque, New Jersey. on September 26, 2018, when a child developed symptoms of a respiratory ailment in the pediatric ventilator unit, followed by a second child misdiagnosed as having respiratory ailments. At the time, Wanaque did not have enough space to isolate the ill children from others.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Sept. 2018: New Jersey outbreak
The parents of ill patients were notified on October 19, 2018, and that day as well the NJ health department was notified of a "cluster of respiratory illnesses." Two children had died at that point while twenty overall had showed symptoms. On October 10, 2018, the state Health Department sent a communicable disease specialist to the center. The outbreak proved to be the type 7 adenovirus. Not typically dangerous, it can be deadly to vulnerable patients.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Sept. 2018: New Jersey outbreak
The commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health was notified about the outbreak on October 19, when five children had died. The state sent inspectors on October 21 in a surprise inspection, concluding that the center had yet to "establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program." Six employees were observed inadequately washing their hands, continued in inspections on November 9, 11, and 13. Medicare inspections of the facility in 2016 and 2017 had also found "infection control issues."


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Sept. 2018: New Jersey outbreak
On October 24, 2018, a government inspection report cited Wanaque for several deficiencies from 2015 to 2018. Elnahal, head of the state health department, asserted the issues had been corrected and that the state would permanently surveil the facility.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Sept. 2018: New Jersey outbreak
Reported on November 9, 2018, two anonymous employees spoke to NJ Advance Media and claimed that "senior administrators delayed sending kids to the hospital" to keep the pediatric unit as full as possible, maximizing funds amounting to $519.46 from Medicaid per patient per day. After the report, the state health commissioner sent inspectors to the facility. After November 12, 2018, the outbreak was reported under control.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: Wanaque aftermath
On November 14, the center was ordered by the state to isolate sick patients by November 21 and curtail all new admissions. By November 16, there were 43 children on the first-floor ventilator unit where the virus was spreading. 19 children were in a second-floor unaffected pediatric unit, with 125 adult patients in the facility. On November 19, 2018, it was reported that The Wanaque Center had separated its medically fragile patients from those with adenovirus symptoms. The dropping number of patients had allowed enough space to separate beds, whereas previously patients were being cared for in close proximity.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: Wanaque aftermath
From October to November 2018, the virus infected 35 people at the Wanaque Center, including 23 children. Ultimately, 36 residents and one staff member were diagnosed with the adenovirus. The ill ranged in age from toddlers to teens, and eleven children died. It was "one of the nation's deadliest long-term-care outbreaks" and "one of the nation's worst recorded outbreaks of the [adeno]virus."


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: Wanaque aftermath
Over three visits in early November, state inspectors gave the Wanaque Center the worst rating possible, "immediate jeopardy." Federal inspectors also visited the center, from November 13 through 17, giving the center six "immediate jeopardy violations" for systemic deficiencies in care. Inspectors initially blamed poor hygiene for the outbreak. However, later, federal inspectors also implicated poor planning by management.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: Wanaque aftermath
A November 17 report by the New York office of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) blamed the outbreak on the center's response, particularly management for lack of planning and slow responses, leading to delays "in identifying, reporting and controlling the outbreak." The pediatric medical director, for example, was not informed what exactly his job was, and was not informed of the number of infected patients until after the fourth death. Wanaque Center strongly contested the findings, calling the report flawed and appealing the report to dispute "unfounded allegations." Several lawsuits concerning the outbreak were filed against the center in late 2018.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: University of Maryland outbreak
At the height of the outbreak in New Jersey, an outbreak of the same strain of the virus occurred among students at the University of Maryland, College Park. The college learned about the first case of adenovirus on November 1, and by mid-December, 35 cases involving the same strain of the virus had been reported at the university. Among those cases, 18-year old freshman Olivia Paregol, who was "immunosuppressed because of medication for Crohn's disease", died on November 18, 2018. In its coverage, the press noted that an adenovirus vaccine exists but not generally available to the public. It has been proposed that the Maryland outbreak was connected to a mold outbreak on the campus during the same period.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, Nov-Dec 2018: University of Maryland outbreak
In January 2019, the University of Maryland began a weeks-long effort to have a contracted cleaning company disinfect all surfaces in the dorms where the outbreak occurred. The death of Paregol prompted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to address the matter as "very concerning".


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, 2018-2019: New Jersey responses
On November 20, 2018, members of the New Jersey Legislature representing the affected district sent a letter to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal requesting an investigation of claims that "the facility delayed sending children for treatment for non-medical reasons" relating to the collection of Medicaid payments.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, 2018-2019: New Jersey responses
A hearing on the outbreak was held by the NJ Senate Health Committee on December 3, 2018. At the hearing, the NJ health department head announced that state health policy had been changed as a result of the outbreak, requiring the health commissioner to be notified immediately when outbreaks result in the deaths of children.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, 2018-2019: New Jersey responses
In direct response to the Wanaque outbreak, a June 2019 report from the New Jersey Health Department called for new legislation that would require New Jersey's long-term care centers to submit outbreak response plans to the state. Other recommendations included quickly separating sick residents and designated staff, as well as quickly notifying guardians when outbreaks occur. The issue was included through $2.5 million in competitive grant funding by the proposed budget of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.


2018 United States adenovirus outbreak, History, 2018-2019: New Jersey responses
The resultant state bill, A5527, was based on the report and faced no opposition when passing both houses of the state legislature in late June 2019. On August 15, 2019, Murphy cited the 11 dead children of the Wanaque Center outbreak when signing the bill into law. Among other regulations, A5527 requires certain long-term facilities to provide outbreak response plans to the state within 180 days of signing. Other new requirements involve promptly notifying residents, families, staff, and visitors of an outbreak. At the time the bill was signed, Wanaque remained under state and federal investigation for how it handled the outbreak.


2018 United States attorney general elections
The 2018 United States Attorney General elections were held on November 6, 2018, in 30 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. The previous attorney general elections for this group of states took place in 2014, except in Vermont where attorneys general serve only two-year terms and elected their current attorney general in 2016.


2018 United States attorney general elections
The elections took place concurrently with elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, and numerous state and local elections including governorships.


2018 United States attorney general elections
Democrats gained 4 elected attorney general offices, Republicans gained zero offices. This caused Democratic attorneys general to constitute a majority of elected attorneys general in U.S. states.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Statistics, Closest races
States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%:


2018 United States attorney general elections, Statistics, Closest races
States where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10%:


2018 United States attorney general elections, Statistics, Closest races
Blue denotes offices won by Democrats; red denotes those won by Republicans.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Alabama
The 2018 Alabama Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Alabama.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Alabama
Former Alabama Attorney General Troy King unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall, who was appointed by Governor Bentley in February 2017 after appointing Attorney General Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate, ran for a first full term. Former chief deputy attorney general Alice Martin sought the Republican nomination. Attorney Joseph Siegelman, son of former governor Don Siegelman, is the nominee of the Democratic Party. Chris Christie ran for attorney general on the Democratic ballot. Christie has been a trial lawyer at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings for 30 years.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Arizona
The 2018 Arizona Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Arizona.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Arkansas
The 2018 Arkansas Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Arkansas.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Arkansas
Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge was elected to a second term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, California
The 2018 California Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of California.


2018 United States attorney general elections, California
2014 election winner Kamala Harris was elected to the United States Senate during the 2016 Senate elections; incumbent Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra won election to a full term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Colorado
The 2018 Colorado Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Colorado.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Colorado
Incumbent Republican attorney general Cynthia Coffman ran for governor, but was eliminated at the state Republican party convention in April.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Connecticut
The 2018 Connecticut Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Connecticut.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Connecticut
Incumbent Attorney General George Jepsen did not seek re-election. Democratic nominee William Tong defeated Republican nominee Susan Hatfield.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Delaware
The 2018 Delaware Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018. The Delaware primary election for federal and state candidates took place on September 6, 2018. Incumbent Attorney General Matthew Denn announced on August 28, 2017, that he would not seek re-election.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Florida
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Florida. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Florida
Republican candidate Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Sean Shaw, with the election being called after 93% of the precincts reporting. Moody won by about 6 percentage points, which was the widest margin of any Florida statewide race in 2018.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Georgia
The 2018 Georgia Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Georgia.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Georgia
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University effective November 1, 2016, with Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Christopher M. "Chris" Carr being appointed to serve the remainder of the term. Carr will be eligible to run for election to a full term in 2018.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Georgia
Potential Republican candidates include State Senator Josh McKoon and former state representative B.J. Pak.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Georgia
Potential Democratic candidates included State Representative Stacey Evans and former Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair Lester Tate. 2010 nominee and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges was considered a potential candidate, but has decided to run for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals instead. Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson had ruled out running for attorney general. As of July 2018, Charlie Bailey, former Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office, was running.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Idaho
The 2018 Idaho Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Idaho.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Idaho
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced on September 7, 2017, that he will run for re-election to a fifth term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Illinois
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Illinois.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Illinois
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Iowa
The 2018 Iowa Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Iowa.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Iowa
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller won re-election with 76.5% of the vote. The Republican Party did not nominate anyone, but the Libertarian Party nominated Marco Battaglia.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Kansas
The 2018 Kansas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Kansas.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Kansas
Incumbent Attorney General Derek Schmidt won re-election with 59 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Sarah Swain.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Maryland
The Maryland Attorney General election of 2018 was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Maryland.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Maryland
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Brian Frosh was eligible to seek a second term in office, filed for re-election on February 15, 2018, and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Republican former prosecutor and trade group CEO Craig Wolf was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Brian Frosh won with 64.8% of the vote.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Attorney General election of 2018 was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Massachusetts.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Massachusetts
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey won re-election to a second consecutive term. Healey was a speculative candidate for Governor but declined to run.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Michigan
The Michigan Attorney General election of 2018 took place on November 6, 2018.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Michigan
This race occurred alongside elections to elect Michigan's governor, Class I United States Senator, secretary of state, as well as elections for Michigan's 14 seats in the United States House of Representatives, all 38 seats in the Michigan Senate and all 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette was prohibited from seeking a third term due to term limits and unsuccessfully ran for governor of Michigan instead. The Michigan GOP was unsuccessful in looking to win its 5th straight attorney general election. Along with the offices of lieutenant governor and secretary of state, the nominees for attorney general were chosen by party delegates at their respective party conventions.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Michigan
Nessel defeated Leonard by 115,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic attorney general of Michigan since 2003, when Jennifer Granholm left office to become governor.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Minnesota
The 2018 Minnesota Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of the U.S. state of Minnesota.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Minnesota
A primary election was held on August 14, 2018, in which Doug Wardlow was nominated as the Republican candidate and Keith Ellison was nominated as the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) candidate. Ellison won the election.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Nebraska
The 2018 Nebraska Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of the U.S. state of Nebraska.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Nebraska
Incumbent Republican attorney general Doug Peterson ran for re-election to a second term. Omaha attorney Evangelos Argyrakis, ran in the Democratic primary. However, after being charged with felony strangulation following an altercation with his 82-year-old father on April 8, 2018, Nebraska Democratic Party called on him to step aside, which he did on June 25, 2018. This left Peterson running unopposed in the general election.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Nevada
The 2018 Nevada Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of the U.S. state of Nevada.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Nevada
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt did not run for re-election to a second term and instead ran unsuccessfully for governor.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New Mexico
The 2018 New Mexico Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of the U.S. state of New Mexico.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New Mexico
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas ran for re-election to a second term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New York
The 2018 New York Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New York
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, a Democrat, was elected. James is the first woman and the first African-American to be elected New York attorney general.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New York
Former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on May 8, 2018, after allegations of domestic abuse and withdrew from his then-ongoing reelection campaign. Incumbent Solicitor General Barbara Underwood was chosen by the Legislature to complete her unexpired term, but opted not to seek election to a full term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New York
On September 13, 2018, James won the Democratic nomination for attorney general, defeating Leecia Eve, former senior policy advisor to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton; Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 18th congressional district; and Zephyr Teachout, professor at Fordham University School of Law. In the general election, James defeated Republican Party candidate Keith Wofford with over 60% of the vote.


2018 United States attorney general elections, New York
In the general election, James carried every county won by Andrew Cuomo in the concurrent gubernatorial election as well as Franklin, Clinton, Essex, Orange, Duchess, Columbia, Broome, Cortland and Schenectady counties.


2018 United States attorney general elections, North Dakota
The 2018 North Dakota Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of North Dakota.


2018 United States attorney general elections, North Dakota
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem won re-election against his Democratic-NPL challenger, trial attorney David Thompson.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Ohio
The 2018 Ohio Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Ohio.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Ohio
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine was term-limited and cannot run for a third term as attorney general. DeWine instead ran for governor.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Oklahoma
The 2018 Oklahoma Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Oklahoma.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Oklahoma
Incumbent Republican attorney general Scott Pruitt was term-limited and could not run for a third term. Pruitt resigned on February 17, 2017, upon being confirmed as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Rhode Island
The 2018 Rhode Island Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Rhode Island.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Rhode Island
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Peter Kilmartin was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.


2018 United States attorney general elections, South Carolina
The 2018 South Carolina Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of South Carolina.


2018 United States attorney general elections, South Carolina
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson won re-election to a third term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, South Carolina
Other Republican candidates included State Representative Todd Atwater, like Wilson, from Lexington  and Greenville attorney William Herlong.


2018 United States attorney general elections, South Dakota
The 2018 South Dakota attorney general election was held on November 6, 2018.


2018 United States attorney general elections, South Dakota
Incumbent Attorney General Marty Jackley was term-limited and ran for governor of South Dakota. In June 2018, the South Dakota Republican party nominated Jason Ravnsborg for attorney general and the Democratic party nominated Randy Seiler. Ravnsborg won the election to become the 31st attorney general of South Dakota.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Texas
The 2018 Texas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Texas.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Texas
Incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton won re-election to a second term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Vermont
The 2018 Vermont Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Vermont.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Vermont
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General T. J. Donovan (since 2017) was elected to a second term.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Wisconsin
The 2018 Wisconsin Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Wisconsin.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Wisconsin
Republican incumbent Brad Schimel, first elected in 2014, ran for re-election to a second term. Voting rights attorney and former federal prosecutor Josh Kaul, the Democratic nominee, defeated Schimel in the general election. Terry Larson, the Constitution Party nominee, also garnered around 2% of the vote, greater than the vote difference between Schimel and Kaul.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Territories and federal district, District of Columbia
The 2018 District of Columbia Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Washington, D.C.. This was the second ever attorney general election in D.C. history.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Territories and federal district, Guam
The 2018 Guam Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Guam.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Territories and federal district, Guam
In a primary election on August 25, 2018, Leevin Camacho garnered the most votes (nearly 50%) despite accusations of inexperience from his opponents. He went on to win the general election against Douglas Moylan in November.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Territories and federal district, Northern Mariana Islands
The 2018 Northern Mariana Islands Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of the Northern Mariana Islands.


2018 United States attorney general elections, Territories and federal district, Northern Mariana Islands
Democratic incumbent Edward Manibusan won re-election with one-hundred percent of the vote as a nonpartisan candidate.


2018 United States elections
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during the presidency of Republican Donald Trump. Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the United States Senate and all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives were contested. Thirty-nine state and territorial governorships as well as numerous state and local elections were also contested.


2018 United States elections
Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majority in the chamber and thereby ending the federal trifecta that the Republican Party had established in the 2016 elections. The Republican Party retained control of the United States Senate, making a net gain of two seats and defeating four Democratic incumbents in states that had voted for Trump in 2016.


2018 United States elections
As a result of the 2018 elections, the 116th United States Congress became the first Congress since the 99th United States Congress (elected in 1984) in which the Democrats controlled the U.S. House of Representatives and the Republicans controlled the U.S. Senate. It was also the first midterm election cycle since 1970 in which a sitting president's party made net gains in one chamber of Congress while suffering net losses in the other. In the state elections, Democrats gained seven state governorships, control of approximately 350 state legislative seats, and control of six state legislative chambers.


2018 United States elections
The elections marked the highest voter turnout seen in midterm elections since 1914, at 49.4%. The elections saw several electoral firsts for women, racial minorities and LGBT candidates, including the election of the first openly gay governor and the first openly bisexual U.S. senator. In various referenda, numerous states voted to expand Medicaid coverage, require voter identification, establish independent redistricting commissions, legalize marijuana, repeal felony disenfranchisement laws and enact other proposals.


2018 United States elections
During the campaign, Democrats focused on health care, frequently attacking Republicans for supporting repeal of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), including protections for individuals with preexisting conditions. They also focused on tying many Republican incumbents and candidates to President Trump, who had low approval ratings at the time of the election. Republican messaging focused on immigration and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. There were allegations of attempted Russian interference in these elections as well as controversies regarding potential voter suppression and other alleged election irregularities. The election was widely characterized as a "blue wave" election.


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
In May 2018, President Trump began to emphasize his effort to overcome the traditional strength of the non-presidential party in midterm elections, with the "top priority for the White House [being to hold] the Republican majority in the Senate". He was already well into his own 2020 reelection campaign, having launched it on his inauguration day in January 2017. By early August, the president's midterm efforts had included rallies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Montana and elsewhere "reprising the style and rhetoric of his 2016 campaign".


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
He focused his message on the economy, his proposed border wall, the "trade war" with China, criticism of the media, and his proposal to create the space force, a new branch of the military devoted to operations in space. In late August 2018, the Huffington Post reported that Trump and his administration had been engaging in campaign activity on taxpayer-funded trips. According to the report, a top White House staffer identified 35 events by Cabinet and senior staff members "with or affecting House districts in August already". White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters called the report "misleading".


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
The 2018 elections featured a wider range and larger number of campaign advertisements than past midterm elections. Almost a third of Republican ads focused on taxes, especially on the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. By mid-October 2018, at a cost of some $124 million, more than 280,000 television advertisements related to immigration had been aired in House, Senate and gubernatorial races, representing a five-fold increase compared to the 2014 cycle. In October 2018, The New York Times and The Washington Post characterized Republicans' 2018 campaign messaging as being chiefly focused on fear-mongering about immigration and race.


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
According to The Washington Post, President Trump "settled on a strategy of fear—laced with falsehoods and racially tinged rhetoric—to help lift his party to victory in the coming midterms, part of a broader effort to energize Republican voters". In November 2018, Facebook, NBC, and Fox News withdrew a controversial pro-Trump advertisement that focused on a migrant caravan; Facebook noted that the ad violated Facebook's rules concerning "sensational content".


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
Nearly half of all advertisements by Democrats focused on health care, in particular on defending the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act) and keeping in place protections for individuals with preexisting conditions. A number of Republican candidates claimed to support provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as protections for preexisting conditions, even though they supported efforts that either weakened or eliminated those provisions.


2018 United States elections, Issues, advertisements, and campaigning
In the final weeks of the campaign, Democrats indicated their desire to keep the focus of the campaign on Republican efforts to repeal provisions of Obamacare through the proposed American Health Care Act of 2017. A Gallup poll conducted days before the election found that voters considered healthcare and the economy to be the top issues among registered voters, though many voters also considered immigration to be a top priority.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
In the 2018 elections, Republicans sought to defend the Senate majority they had maintained since the 2014 elections. Thirty-five of the 100 seats were up for election, including all 33 Class 1 Senate seats. Class 2 Senate seats in Minnesota and Mississippi each held special elections to fill vacancies. The Class 1 Senate elections were for terms lasting from January 2019 to January 2025 while the Class 2 special elections were for terms ending in January 2021.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
24 of the seats up for election were held by Democrats, two of the seats up for election were held by independents caucusing with the Democrats and nine of the seats up for election were held by Republicans. Three Republican incumbents did not seek election in 2018 while all Democratic and independent incumbents sought another term. 42 Republican senators and 23 Democratic senators were not up for election.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
Assuming the two independents won re-election and continued to caucus with them, Senate Democrats needed to win a net gain of two Senate seats to win a majority. Including the two independents, Democrats held approximately 74 percent of the seats up for election, the highest proportion held by one party in a midterm election since at least 1914. Prior to the 2018 elections, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight wrote that Democrats faced one of the most unfavorable Senate maps any party had ever faced in any Senate election.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
Silver noted that ten of the seats Democrats defended were in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Meanwhile, the Class I Senate seat in Nevada was the lone Republican-held seat up for election in a state that had been won by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Silver predicted that even a nine-point victory in the nationwide popular vote for Congress would not be enough to give Democrats a majority in the Senate. Some observers speculated that Republicans might be able to pick up a net of nine seats, which would give them the 60-seat super-majority necessary to break filibusters on legislation.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
Republicans won a net gain of two seats in the Senate. The 2018 elections were the first midterm elections since 2002 in which the party holding the presidency gained Senate seats. Republicans defeated Democratic incumbents in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Florida. Democrats defeated the Republican incumbent in Nevada and picked up an open seat in Arizona. All four defeated Democratic incumbents represented states won by Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Democratic incumbents tallied victories in the competitive Midwestern states of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as the key Northeastern swing state of Pennsylvania.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, Senate
Montana and West Virginia, each of which voted for Trump by a margin of at least 20 points, also re-elected Democratic incumbents. After the election, Chris Cillizza of CNN noted that by limiting their Senate losses in 2018, Democrats put themselves in a position to potentially take control of the Senate in the 2020 or 2022 Senate elections.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, House of Representatives
In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to take control of the United States House of Representatives for the first time since the 2010 elections. All 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms. Additionally, elections were held to select five of the six non-voting delegates for the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.


2018 United States elections, Federal elections, House of Representatives
The 2018 House elections saw the largest number of retirements by incumbents of any election cycle since at least 1992. By June 2018, 20 House Democrats and 44 House Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, had announced their retirement. The disproportionate number of Republican retirements may have harmed Republican prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections due to the loss of incumbency advantage.