Vote count for all 100 incumbent senators, by party
We added up the votes in each state for each Senator, and we tally them below.
People wonder why the Senate differs so much from the House (the Senate is majority Republican; the House is majority Democratic); this explains why...
Totals:
- 68,717,282 votes for all incumbent Democratic and Independent senators (54.0% of all votes for Senators)
- 58,577,901 votes for all incumbent Republican senators (46.0% of all votes for Senators)
- Source: fec.gov for 2014, 2016, and 2018
- So how is it that the Republicans control the United States Senate, 53-47, when the Democrats won the popular vote for all Senators, 54-46 the other way?
- Because the Senate is not elected by popular vote -- it's not supposed to be "democracy" -- it's "The Great Compromise of 1787", working as intended for 230 years!
- The Great Compromise of 1787 assured smaller-population states that they would have representation in the Senate even though larger-population states would overwhelm them in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- That is exactly the situation in the current Congress, from 2018-2020: the House represents larger states proportional to the popular vote, and the Senate represents smaller states.
- This same "Great Compromise" is why the Electoral College gives extra weight to smaller-population states in the election of the President -- it is intended to do that!
- The only real difference since 1787 is that today we say "red states" for smaller-population states, and we say "blue states" for larger-population states!
- Click here for the same analysis for the 2016-2018 Senate, with roughly the same results;
Click here for XLS for 2018-2020.
| STATE | ELECTION | VOTES | SENATOR | PARTY |
|---|
| Alabama | 2017 | 673896 | Doug Jones | D |
| Arizona | 2018 | 1191100 | Kyrsten Sinema | D |
| California | 2018 | 6019422 | Dianne Feinstein | D |
| California | 2016 | 7542759 | Kamala Harris | D |
| Colorado | 2016 | 1370710 | Michael Bennet | D |
| Connecticut | 2018 | 825579 | Chris Murphy | D |
| Connecticut | 2016 | 1008714 | Richard Blumenthal | D |
| Delaware | 2014 | 130655 | Chris Coons | D |
| Delaware | 2018 | 217385 | Tom Carper | D |
| Hawaii | 2018 | 276316 | Mazie Hirono | D |
| Hawaii | 2016 | 306604 | Brian Schatz | D |
| Illinois | 2014 | 1929637 | Dick Durbin | D |
| Illinois | 2016 | 3012940 | Tammy Duckworth | D |
| Maryland | 2018 | 1491614 | Ben Cardin | D |
| Maryland | 2016 | 1659907 | Chris Van Hollen | D |
| Massachusetts | 2014 | 1289944 | Ed Markey | D |
| Massachusetts | 2018 | 1633371 | Elizabeth Warren | D |
| Michigan | 2014 | 1704936 | Gary Peters | D |
| Michigan | 2018 | 2214478 | Debbie Stabenow | D |
| Minnesota | 2018 | 1370540 | Tina Smith | D |
| Minnesota | 2018 | 1566174 | Amy Klobuchar | D |
| Montana | 2018 | 253876 | Jon Tester | D |
| Nevada | 2018 | 490071 | Jocky Rosen | D |
| Nevada | 2016 | 521994 | Catherine Cortez Masto | D |
| New Hampshire | 2014 | 251184 | Jeanne Shaheen | D |
| New Hampshire | 2016 | 354649 | Maggie Hassan | D |
| New Jersey | 2014 | 1043866 | Cory Booker | D |
| New Jersey | 2018 | 1711654 | Bob Menendez | D |
| New Mexico | 2014 | 286409 | Tom Udall | D |
| New Mexico | 2018 | 376998 | Martin Heinrich | D |
| New York | 2018 | 4056931 | Kirsten Gillibrand | D |
| New York | 2016 | 5221945 | Chuck Schumer | D |
| Ohio | 2018 | 2358508 | Sherrod Brown | D |
| Oregon | 2014 | 814537 | Jeff Merkley | D |
| Oregon | 2016 | 1105119 | Ron Wyden | D |
| Pennsylvania | 2018 | 2792437 | Bob Casey Jr. | D |
| Rhode Island | 2014 | 223675 | Jack Reed | D |
| Rhode Island | 2018 | 231477 | Sheldon Whitehouse | D |
| Vermont | 2016 | 192243 | Patrick Leahy | D |
| Virginia | 2014 | 1073667 | Mark Warner | D |
| Virginia | 2018 | 1910370 | Tim Kaine | D |
| Washington | 2018 | 1803364 | Maria Cantwell | D |
| Washington | 2016 | 1913979 | Patty Murray | D |
| West Virginia | 2018 | 290510 | Joe Manchin | D |
| Wisconsin | 2018 | 1472914 | Tammy Baldwin | D |
| Maine | 2018 | 344575 | Angus King | I |
| Vermont | 2018 | 183649 | Bernie Sanders | I |
| Democratic party totals | | 68,717,282 | 54.0% | 47 Senators |
|---|
| STATE | ELECTION | VOTES | SENATOR | PARTY |
|---|
| Alabama | 2016 | 1335104 | Richard Shelby | R |
| Alaska | 2014 | 135445 | Dan Sullivan | R |
| Alaska | 2016 | 138149 | Lisa Murkowski | R |
| Arizona | 2016 | 1359267 | Jon Kyl (votes are for John McCain) | R |
| Arkansas | 2014 | 478819 | Tom Cotton | R |
| Arkansas | 2016 | 661984 | John Boozman | R |
| Colorado | 2014 | 983891 | Cory Gardner | R |
| Florida | 2018 | 4099505 | Rick Scott | R |
| Florida | 2016 | 4835191 | Marco Rubio | R |
| Georgia | 2014 | 1358088 | David Perdue | R |
| Georgia | 2016 | 2135806 | Johnny Isakson | R |
| Idaho | 2014 | 285596 | Jim Risch | R |
| Idaho | 2016 | 449017 | Mike Crapo | R |
| Indiana | 2018 | 1158000 | Mike Braun | R |
| Indiana | 2016 | 1423991 | Todd Young | R |
| Iowa | 2014 | 588575 | Joni Ernst | R |
| Iowa | 2016 | 926007 | Chuck Grassley | R |
| Kansas | 2014 | 460350 | Pat Roberts | R |
| Kansas | 2016 | 732376 | Jerry Moran | R |
| Kentucky | 2014 | 806787 | Mitch McConnell | R |
| Kentucky | 2016 | 1090177 | Rand Paul | R |
| Louisiana | 2016 | 536191 | John Kennedy | R |
| Louisiana | 2014 | 712379 | Bill Cassidy | R |
| Maine | 2014 | 413495 | Susan Collins | R |
| Mississippi | 2018 | 486769 | Cindy Hyde-Smith | R |
| Mississippi | 2018 | 547619 | Roger Wicker | R |
| Missouri | 2018 | 1254927 | Josh Hawley | R |
| Missouri | 2016 | 1378458 | Roy Blunt | R |
| Montana | 2014 | 213709 | Steve Daines | R |
| Nebraska | 2014 | 347636 | Ben Sasse | R |
| Nebraska | 2018 | 403151 | Deb Fischer | R |
| North Carolina | 2014 | 1423259 | Thom Tillis | R |
| North Carolina | 2016 | 2395376 | Richard Burr | R |
| North Dakota | 2018 | 179720 | Kevin Cramer | R |
| North Dakota | 2016 | 268788 | John Hoeven | R |
| Ohio | 2016 | 3118567 | Rob Portman | R |
| Oklahoma | 2014 | 558166 | Jim Inhofe | R |
| Oklahoma | 2016 | 980892 | James Lankford | R |
| Pennsylvania | 2016 | 2951702 | Pat Toomey | R |
| South Carolina | 2014 | 672941 | Lindsey Graham | R |
| South Carolina | 2016 | 1241609 | Tim Scott | R |
| South Dakota | 2014 | 140741 | Mike Rounds | R |
| South Dakota | 2016 | 265516 | John Thune | R |
| Tennessee | 2014 | 850087 | Lamar Alexander | R |
| Tennessee | 2018 | 1227483 | Marsha Blackburn | R |
| Texas | 2014 | 2861531 | John Cornyn | R |
| Texas | 2018 | 4260553 | Ted Cruz | R |
| Utah | 2018 | 665215 | Mitt Romney | R |
| Utah | 2016 | 760241 | Mike Lee | R |
| West Virginia | 2014 | 281820 | Shelley Moore Capito | R |
| Wisconsin | 2016 | 1479471 | Ron Johnson | R |
| Wyoming | 2014 | 121554 | Mike Enzi | R |
| Wyoming | 2018 | 136210 | John Barrasso | R |
| Republican party totals | | 58,577,901 | 46.0% | 53 Senators |
|---|
| All parties total: | | 127,295,183 | 100% | 100 Senators |
|---|