2020 United States Senate elections
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The 2020 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 2020,[1] with the 33 class 2 seats of the Senate contested in regular elections.[2] Of these, 21 were held by Republicans, and 12 by Democrats. The winners were elected to 6-year terms from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2027.[3] Two special elections for seats held by Republicans were also held in conjunction with the general elections: one in Arizona, to fill the vacancy created by John McCain's death in 2018; and one in Georgia, following Johnny Isakson's resignation in 2019.[4][5][6][7] These elections ran concurrently with the 2020 United States presidential election in which incumbent president Donald Trump lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
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35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51[lower-alpha 1] seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the elections: Democratic gain Republican gain Democratic hold Republican hold No election Rectangular inset (Georgia): both seats up for election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the 2014 United States Senate elections, the last regularly scheduled elections for Class 2 Senate seats, the Republicans won nine seats from the Democrats and gained a majority,[8] which they continued to hold after the 2016 and 2018 elections.[9][10] Before the elections, Republicans held 53 seats, Democrats held 45 seats, and independents caucusing with the Democrats held two seats, neither of which were up for re-election.[11] Including the special elections in Arizona and Georgia, Republicans defended 23 seats and the Democrats 12.[12]
In this election, the Democratic Party made a net gain of three Senate seats and the vice presidency, giving them a majority for the first time since 2014, albeit by a narrow 50–50 margin.[lower-alpha 1][13] Democrats unseated four Republicans – in Arizona, in Colorado, and in two elections in Georgia – while Republicans flipped a seat in Alabama; however, Democrats under-performed expectations overall; despite record-breaking turnout and fund-raising efforts, they failed to flip several seats that were considered competitive, and lost many races by much larger margins than expected.[6][14] Except in Maine, the winning party in every Senate election was the winning party in the state's presidential election.[15]
Due to election laws in Georgia that require candidates to win at least 50% of the vote in the general election, the state's regularly-scheduled and special Senate elections were decided in run-off elections on January 5, 2021.[16] After the November general election, Republicans held 50 seats, while Democrats held 48 and the vice presidency, so sweeping both races was crucial for Democrats to attain a majority. They succeeded in doing so,[7] and the partisan balance in the Senate became tied for the third time in history, after the results in the 1880 elections and the 2000 elections.[17][18] Vice President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote gave Democrats control of the chamber by the smallest margin possible after the new administration took office.[19]
This marked the first time since 1980 that either chamber of Congress flipped partisan control in a presidential election year, and the first time Democrats did so since 1948.[20]