The 1982 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 1982. They were elections for the United States Senate following Republican gains in 1980. The 33 Senate seats of Class 1 were up for election in 1982. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, with Democrats winning seats in New Jersey and New Mexico, and Republicans taking seats in Nevada and the seat of the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., in Virginia. Democrats made a net gain of one seat bringing them to 46 seats, while Republicans stayed at 54 seats for a majority. However, the Democratic gain in New Jersey replaced a Republican that had been appointed earlier in the year. Liberal Republicans senators in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont held on to their seats, keeping the Senate in Republican hands.

A special election was also held in Washington state in 1983 that gave Republicans a seat that was previously held by a Democrat, bringing their majority to 55–45. , this is the last time Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Mississippi and the last time Republicans won one in Connecticut.

Results summary

+ ↓ 46 54 Democratic Republican

Parties Total Democratic Republican Independent Libertarian Other Last elections (1980) 46 53 1 0 0 100 Before these elections 45 54 1 0 0 100 Not up 26 41 0 0 0 67 Up 19 13 1 — — 33 Incumbent retired 0 2 1 — — 3 — 1 0 — — 1 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1 Independent replaced by 1 Republican — — 2 Result 1 2 0 — — 3 Incumbent ran 19 11 0 — — 30 18 10 — — — 28 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican — — — 2 0 0 — — — 0 Result 19 11 0 — — 30 Total elected 20 13 0 0 0 33 Net gain/loss 1 1 1 Nationwide vote 27,899,651 22,412,928 146,512 291,576 839,328 51,589,995 Share 54.08% 43.44% 0.28% 0.57% 1.63% 100% Result 46 54 0 0 0 100 Source: Office of the Clerk

Gains, losses, and holds Retirements Two Republicans and one independent retired instead of seeking re-election.

StateSenator Age at end of term AssumedofficeReplaced by California 76 1977 New Jersey 52 1982 Virginia 68 1965

Defeats One Republican and one Democrat sought re-election but lost in the general election.

StateSenator AssumedofficeReplaced by Nevada 1959 New Mexico 1977

Post-election changes One Democrat died on September 8, 1983, and was later replaced by Republican appointee.

StateSenatorReplaced by Washington(Class 1)

Change in composition Before the elections

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D I R R R R Majority → R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

After the elections D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R Majority → R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R Key D Democratic R Republican I Independent

Race summaries

Special elections There were no special elections during 1982.

Elections leading to the next Congress In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1983; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State Incumbent Result Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Arizona Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. California Republican 19761977 Incumbent retired.Republican hold. Connecticut Republican 19701976 Incumbent re-elected. Delaware Republican 19701971 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Florida Democratic 19701976 Incumbent re-elected. Hawaii Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Indiana Republican 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Maine Democratic 1980 Interim appointee elected. Maryland Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Massachusetts Democratic 1962 196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. Michigan Democratic 19761976 Incumbent re-elected. Minnesota Republican 1978 Incumbent re-elected. Mississippi Democratic 1947 19521958196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. Missouri Republican 19761976 Incumbent re-elected. Montana Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Nebraska Democratic 19761976 Incumbent re-elected. Nevada Democratic 1958196419701976 Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. New Jersey Republican 1982 Interim appointee retired.Democratic gain.Incumbent resigned December 20, 1982, to give successor preferential seniority.Winner appointed December 27, 1982. New Mexico Republican 1976 Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. New York Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. North Dakota Democratic-NPL 1960 196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. Ohio Democratic 1974 1974 1974 19761976 Incumbent re-elected. Pennsylvania Republican 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Rhode Island Republican 19761976 Incumbent re-elected. Tennessee Democratic 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Texas Democratic 19701976 Incumbent re-elected. Utah Republican 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Vermont Republican 1971 1972 1976 Incumbent re-elected. Virginia Independent 1965 1966 19701976 Incumbent retired.Republican gain. Washington Democratic 19521958196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. West Virginia Democratic 1958196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Democratic 1957 1958196419701976 Incumbent re-elected. Wyoming Republican 1976 Incumbent re-elected.

Closest races

In eleven races the margin of victory was under 10%.

State Party of winner Margin Missouri Republican 1.7% Nevada Republican (flip) 2.4% Rhode Island Republican 2.4% Virginia Republican (flip) 2.4% New Jersey Democratic (flip) 3.1% Vermont Republican 3.1% Connecticut Republican 4.3% Minnesota Republican 6.0% California Republican 6.7% New Mexico Democratic (flip) 7.6% Indiana Republican 8.2%

Arizona

Incumbent Democrat Dennis DeConcini won re-election to a second term over Republican Pete Dunn, state representative.

California

Incumbent Republican S. I. Hayakawa decided to retire after one term. Republican Pete Wilson, mayor of San Diego and former assemblyman, won the open seat over Democratic Governor Jerry Brown.

Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported Proposition 13, although Wilson had opposed the measure while mayor of San Diego. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice Rose Bird, using this to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown was. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic presidential primary, after promising not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing he wanted to see was one of his home state's U.S. Senate seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially to be occupied by the man who succeeded him as governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson won by a wide margin.

Connecticut

Incumbent Republican Lowell P. Weicker Jr. won re-election to a third term over Democratic member of the House Toby Moffett.

Delaware

Incumbent Republican Bill V. Roth won reelection to a third term over the state's Democratic Insurance Commissioner David N. Levinson.

Florida

Incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles won re-election to a third term over Republican state Senator Van Poole.

Hawaii

Incumbent Democrat Spark Matsunaga won re-election to a second term over Republican Clarence Brown, a retired foreign service officer.

Indiana

Incumbent Republican Richard Lugar faced Democratic United States Representative Floyd Fithian in the general election. Lugar won with a margin of 54% of the vote, compared to Fithian's 46%.

After the 1980 census, the Indiana General Assembly redistricted Indiana's congressional districts, pushing Democratic Representative Floyd Fithian's district into more conservative territory. After redistricting, Fithian, the three term incumbent of Indiana's 2nd congressional district, decided to run for secretary of state of Indiana, but withdrew from the primary to ultimately run for the United States Senate. He challenged fellow Democrat and one-term Indiana State Senator Michael Kendall of Jasper, Indiana, whom Fithian had earlier encouraged to run for the Senate. Kendall, who represented Indiana's 47th Senate district and formed the Notre Dame Students for Robert Kennedy organization during the 1968 presidential election, was seen as a young progressive alternative to Fithian, whom he called the "ideological twin of Richard Lugar." After the bitterly contested primary, Fithian prevailed over Kendall, winning with 59% of the vote.

Incumbent Senator Richard Lugar won the Republican nomination in an uncontested primary on May 4, 1982.

In the general election, Lugar faced Fithian and American Party candidate Raymond James.

On November 5, 1982, Lugar defeated Fithian and James in the general election, winning 74 of Indiana's 93 counties.

Maine

Incumbent Democrat George J. Mitchell, originally appointed to the seat after Edmund Muskie resigned, won re-election to his full six-year term over Republican U.S. Representative David F. Emery, earning 61% of the vote to Emery's 39%. Mitchell would serve two more terms in the Senate, eventually serving as Senate majority leader.

Maryland

Incumbent Democrat Paul Sarbanes won re-election to a second term in office. He defeated the Republican former Representative from Maryland's 5th district and Prince George's County Executive Lawrence Hogan.

Massachusetts

Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his fifth (his fourth full) term over Republican Ray Shamie, a millionaire businessman and metalwork entrepreneur.

Michigan

Incumbent Democrat Don Riegle won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger Philip Ruppe, a former U.S. representative from Houghton.

Minnesota

Incumbent Republican David Durenberger won re-election to his second term over Democratic businessman Mark Dayton.

Dayton, 35, self-financed his campaign. Married to a Rockefeller and heir to a department store, his net worth was an estimated $30 million. Durenberger, who in 1978 and won the special election to finish the term of the late Hubert Humphrey, was largely unknown. He was considered a moderate, but supported Reagan's tax cuts. Dayton ran against Reaganomics. He has also campaigned against tax breaks for the wealthy and even promised "to close tax loopholes for the rich and the corporations—and if you think that includes the Daytons, you're right." By the end of September, the senate election already became the most expensive election of all time, with over $8 million being spent. Dayton spent over $5 million, while Durenberger spent over $2 million.

Mississippi

Incumbent Democrat John C. Stennis won re-election to his seventh term over Republican Haley Barbour, a political operative who campaigned for U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Missouri

Incumbent John Danforth, originally elected in the 1976 United States Senate election in Missouri, ran for a second term. In the general election, he narrowly defeated state Senator Harriett Woods by just over a percentage point. Danforth would go on to serve two more terms in the Senate.

Montana

Incumbent John Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in 1976, opted to run for re-election. He won the Democratic primary after he faced a tough intraparty challenger, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Larry R. Williams, an author and the Republican nominee, and Larry Dodge, the Libertarian nominee. Though his margin was reduced significantly from his initial election, Melcher still comfortably won re-election to his second and final term in the Senate.