US Senate Elections, 2018

United States Senate Elections were held November 6, 2018, with 33 contested Senate seats in regular elections. One more seat was contested in a special election in Minnesota after Sen. Al Franken resigned due to accusations of sexual misconduct against him. In the end, the Democratic Party got its majority back and progressives made gains in some of the most conservative parts of the country. Some Democratic senators in states which went for Trump in 2016 ended up losing re-election, however, that wasn't enough to prevent a big defeat for Republicans who saw Ted Cruz (Texas), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Dean Heller (Nevada) being defeated by progressive opponents.

​Results
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​Winning Candidates in Bold Among the 34 races, the Democratic Party won 26 while the Republican Party won just 6 of them, losing 2 senators in comparation to those it had before the election. The two incumbent independents in the Senate, who usually caucus with the Democrats, won re-election giving the Democratic Party a small majority with 51 senators against Republican's 49. Despite flipping the Senate, the Democratic establishment suffered major setbacks with the defeats of Dianne Feinstein in California, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Bob Menendez in New Jersey, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota and Joe Manchin in West Virginia. However, the Democratic Party retained 2 of those seats with the victories of progressive Paula Jean Swearengin in West Virginia and the President pro tempore of the California Senate, Kevin de León, in California. In total, 8 incumbent senators lost their re-elections in a never seen before election. Discontentment with the job of the congress caused an increase in turnout against incumbents who faced many difficulties. 3 usually red states turned blue, Texas, Tennessee and Utah. Progressives made huge gains by winning in Nevada, West Virginia and Utah, two of which voted for Trump in 2016. The victory of Beto O'Rourke was hailed by some as a progressive victory however his progressive record has been highly questioned. O'Rourke was challenged in the Democratic Primary by the progressive Sema Hernandez but name recognition was vital for O'Rourke to go into the general election and defeat Ted Cruz after uniting both moderates and progressives. Kevin de León victory over Dianne Feinstein was considered by some as a progressive victory despite not being the first choice of most progressives. Some progressive challenges to incumbents failed but in the end progressive politics got a major victory. After the election, the number of senators publicly supporting medicare for all increased to 22, including from red states like Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Progressive organizations claimed the elections as hugely sucessful and took the victories in Utah, Texas and West Virginia as examples that progressives can win in usually conservative states. The elections were a huge defeat to Donald Trump and the Republican Party in general making the accomplishment of Trump's agenda even more difficult. Democrats, sometimes described as GOP-friendly, as Joe Manchin, Dianne Feinstein, Claire McCaskill and Heidi Heitkamp lost their re-elections reinforcing the defeat, not only of Trump and his party, but also of the political establishment. Bernie Sanders, the most admired politician in the US and strong contender for president in 2020, got 74% of the vote in his home state of Vermont, in what was the biggest victory among all incumbent senators.