2004 United States Senate elections
The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2004, with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House elections, as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998, known as Senate Class 3, were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004.
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34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold No election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Republicans won six seats but lost two themselves, giving them a net gain of four seats. Five of the six gains came from Southern states. Conservative Democrat Zell Miller of Georgia, who campaigned for President Bush, chose not to run for re-election and Republican Johnny Isakson won his seat; Democrat Fritz Hollings of South Carolina chose not to run for re-election and was succeeded by Republican Jim DeMint; Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards chose not to run for re-election and Republican Richard Burr won his North Carolina seat; Democrat Bob Graham of Florida chose not to run for re-election, and his seat went to Republican Mel Martinez; and Louisiana Democrat John Breaux chose not to run for re-election and Republican David Vitter won his seat.
In South Dakota, Republican John Thune defeated the incumbent Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, marking the first and only time since 1952 that a sitting party leader lost re-election, as well as the only time that person was the minority leader. Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois chose not to run for re-election and Democrat Barack Obama won in a landslide, becoming the Senate's only black member and only the third popularly elected in American history and only the third elected since Reconstruction. Also, Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado chose not to run for re-election and Democrat Ken Salazar won the open seat.
This was the third consecutive election cycle for Senate Class 3 where the Democrats either broke even or lost seats. This also marked the first time since 1980 in which a presidential candidate from either party won with coattails in the Senate. As of 2023, these are the last elections held during a presidential election year in which the Republicans made a net gain of seats. Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was first elected to the Senate from Illinois in this election.