Election 1986 Results
Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.
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1986 Senate election results by state and county
Democrats won 20 of the Senate seats up and gained eight, retaking the chamber six years after losing it, as many of the Republicans first elected in 1980 were defeated.
34 Senate races were held in 1986, plus 1 special election. Democrats won 20 and Republicans 14.
The closest were Alabama (D+0.6), North Dakota (D+0.7) and California (D+1.4). 10 seats changed party: Alabama to the Democrats, Florida to the Democrats, Georgia to the Democrats, Maryland to the Democrats, Missouri to the Republicans, Nevada to the Democrats, North Carolina to the Democrats, North Dakota to the Democrats, South Dakota to the Democrats and Washington to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1986 Senate elections
Reagan was still popular in 1986, but farm troubles and a weak economy in parts of the South and Plains hurt his party. Several Republicans who had won narrowly in 1980 were defeated. Democrats won 20 Senate races to the Republicans' 14 and made a net gain of eight seats, giving them a 55-45 majority. Democrats took seats in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington. Richard Shelby beat Jeremiah Denton in Alabama by 0.6 points, and Kent Conrad beat Mark Andrews in North Dakota by 0.7 points. Wyche Fowler unseated Mack Mattingly in Georgia, Tom Daschle beat James Abdnor in South Dakota, and Brock Adams beat Slade Gorton in Washington. Harry Reid won Nevada and Barbara Mikulski won Maryland. Terry Sanford beat James Broyhill in North Carolina in both the special and the regular election. Republicans gained one seat, Missouri, where Christopher Bond won. In California, Alan Cranston held on against Ed Zschau by 1.4 points.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama flip | Richard Shelby | 609,360 (50.3%) | Jeremiah Denton | 602,537 (49.7%) | D+0.6 | |
| Alaska | Glenn Olds | 79,727 (44.1%) | Frank H. Murkowski | 97,674 (54.0%) | 3,400 | R+9.9 |
| Arizona | Richard Kimball | 340,965 (39.5%) | John McCain | 521,850 (60.5%) | 106 | R+21.0 |
| Arkansas | Dale Bumpers | 433,122 (62.3%) | Asa Hutchinson | 262,313 (37.7%) | 52 | D+24.6 |
| California | Alan Cranston | 3,646,672 (49.3%) | Ed Zschau | 3,541,804 (47.9%) | 209,986 | D+1.4 |
| Colorado | Timothy E. Wirth | 529,449 (49.9%) | Ken Kramer | 512,994 (48.4%) | 18,322 | D+1.6 |
| Connecticut | Christopher J. Dodd | 632,695 (64.8%) | Roger W. Eddy | 340,438 (34.8%) | 3,800 | D+29.9 |
| Florida flip | Bob Graham | 1,877,543 (54.7%) | Paula Hawkins | 1,552,376 (45.3%) | 77 | D+9.5 |
| Georgia flip | Wyche Fowler Jr. | 623,707 (50.9%) | Mack Mattingly | 601,241 (49.1%) | 60 | D+1.8 |
| Hawaii | Daniel K. Inouye | 241,887 (73.6%) | Frank Hutchinson | 86,910 (26.4%) | D+47.1 | |
| Idaho | John V. Evans | 185,066 (48.4%) | Steve Symms | 196,958 (51.6%) | R+3.1 | |
| Illinois | Alan J. Dixon | 2,033,783 (65.1%) | Judy Koehler | 1,053,734 (33.7%) | 35,366 | D+31.4 |
| Indiana | Jill Lynette Long | 595,192 (38.5%) | Dan Quayle | 936,143 (60.6%) | 14,228 | R+22.1 |
| Iowa | John O. Roehrick | 299,406 (33.6%) | Charles E. Grassley | 588,880 (66.0%) | 3,476 | R+32.5 |
| Kansas | Guy Macdonald | 246,664 (30.0%) | Bob Dole | 576,902 (70.0%) | R+40.1 | |
| Kentucky | Wendell H. Ford | 503,775 (74.4%) | Jackson M. Andrews | 173,330 (25.6%) | 175 | D+48.8 |
| Louisiana | John B. Breaux | 723,586 (52.8%) | W. Henson Moore | 646,311 (47.2%) | D+5.6 | |
| Maryland flip | Barbara A. Mikulski | 675,225 (60.7%) | Linda Chavez | 437,411 (39.3%) | 1 | D+21.4 |
| Missouri flip | Harriett Woods | 699,624 (47.4%) | Kit Bond | 777,612 (52.6%) | R+5.3 | |
| Nevada flip | Harry Reid | 130,955 (50.0%) | Jim Santini | 116,606 (44.5%) | 14,371 | D+5.5 |
| New Hampshire | Endicott Peabody | 79,222 (32.4%) | Warren B. Rudman | 154,090 (63.0%) | 11,423 | R+30.6 |
| New York | Mark Green | 1,723,216 (38.4%) | Alfonse M. D'amato | 2,378,197 (53.0%) | 383,446 | R+14.6 |
| North Carolina flip | Terry Sanford | 823,662 (51.8%) | James Broyhill | 767,668 (48.2%) | D+3.5 | |
| North Carolina (special) flip | Terry Sanford | 780,967 (50.9%) | Jim Broyhill | 753,881 (49.1%) | 27 | D+1.8 |
| North Dakota flip | Kent Conrad | 143,932 (49.8%) | Mark Andrews | 141,812 (49.1%) | 3,269 | D+0.7 |
| Ohio | John Glenn | 1,949,208 (62.5%) | Thomas N. Kindness | 1,171,893 (37.5%) | 88 | D+24.9 |
| Oklahoma | James R. Jones | 400,230 (44.8%) | Don Nickles | 493,436 (55.2%) | R+10.4 | |
| Oregon | Rick Bauman | 375,735 (36.0%) | Bob Packwood | 656,317 (63.0%) | 10,503 | R+26.9 |
| Pennsylvania | Bob Edgar | 1,448,219 (42.9%) | Arlen Specter | 1,906,537 (56.4%) | 23,470 | R+13.6 |
| South Carolina | Ernest Fritz Hollings | 465,500 (63.1%) | Henry D. McMaster | 262,886 (35.6%) | 9,576 | D+27.5 |
| South Dakota flip | Thomas A. Daschle | 152,657 (51.6%) | James Abdnor | 143,173 (48.4%) | D+3.2 | |
| Utah | Craig S. Oliver | 115,523 (26.6%) | Jake Garn | 314,608 (72.3%) | 4,980 | R+45.8 |
| Vermont | Patrick Leahy | 124,123 (63.2%) | Dick Snelling | 67,798 (34.5%) | 4,611 | D+28.7 |
| Washington flip | Brock Adams | 677,471 (50.7%) | Slade Gorton | 650,931 (48.7%) | 8,965 | D+2.0 |
| Wisconsin | Edward R. Garvey | 702,963 (47.4%) | Robert W. Kasten Jr. | 754,573 (50.9%) | 25,638 | R+3.5 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.