U.S. Senatorial Elections

The U.S. Senatorial Elections dataset provides comprehensive data on senatorial races from 1990 to 2020, including special election years, offering key insights into voting patterns, candidate performance, and election competitiveness. Organized into detailed tables, this dataset allows for a deep analysis of Senate elections over three decades.

The Votes by Party table breaks down the total votes cast in each senatorial race by party affiliation, including Democratic, Republican, other major parties (with more than 5% of the vote), and all others. This helps track shifts in party support and voter behavior over time.

The Candidates table, which covers elections from 1990 to 2016, includes data on winning and runner-up candidates and their respective parties, as well as details on incumbents, their status, and whether a turnover occurred. For the 2018 to 2020 elections, the table focuses on the winning and runner-up parties and candidates, offering insights into recent election dynamics.

The Party of Winner table highlights the party affiliation of the winning candidate along with the total number of votes cast, offering a high-level view of party control in the Senate over time.

The Margin of Victory table provides insights into the competitiveness of each race by showing the vote margins between Democratic and Republican candidates.The Election Competitiveness table further explores this by showing the vote percentage difference between the top two candidates, offering a clear indication of how competitive each senatorial race was.

This dataset is essential for political scientists, analysts, and researchers looking to examine voting behavior, shifts in political power, and the dynamics of Senate elections in the U.S. from 1990 to 2020. It is valuable for understanding trends in party control and election competitiveness across the country.