10-Jun-01
Recently, Trent Lott claimed that Jim Jeffords' switch overturned the decision of voters to give control of the Senate to the Republicans. "It was a 'coup of one' that subverted the will of the American voters who elected a Republican majority." However, counting all of the votes cast for members of the current U.S. Senate by party affiliation, Democrats received one million votes MORE than Republicans did (including Vermonters' votes for Jeffords as votes for a Republican). Although the Senate is of course not meant to reflect strictly the numbers of votes cast across the country, these figures show that there is no reason to suppose that more U.S. voters wanted the Republicans to control the Senate more than they wanted Democrats to control it. In fact, the results show the opposite.
Lott Is Wrong Again! Voters Chose a Democratic Senate
Scott A. Anderson
Recently, Trent Lott claimed that Jim Jeffords' switch overturned the decision of voters to give control of the Senate to the Republicans. "It was a 'coup of one' that subverted the will of the American voters who elected a Republican majority." However, counting all of the votes cast for members of the current U.S. Senate, Democrats received one million votes MORE than Republicans (including Vermonters' votes for Jeffords as votes for a Republican).
Specifically, in the elections that give us the current membership of the Senate held in 1996, 1998, and 2000, Democrats received 87,046,941 votes, while Republicans received 85,966,292. If one weights more heavily recent elections, one finds that in the 1998 and 2000 elections, Democrats received 1,548,645 and 355,264 more votes than did Republicans, respectively.
Although the Senate is of course not meant to reflect strictly the numbers of votes cast across the country, these figures show that there is no reason to suppose that more U.S. voters wanted the Republicans to control the Senate more than they wanted Democrats to control it. In fact,, the results show the opposite.
Votes for Senators by Party for the current (June, 2001) Senate.
State | Year | Democrats | Republicans | Difference (Dems - Reps) |
Alabama | 1996 | 681,651 | 786,436 | -104,785 |
Alaska | 1996 | 23,977 | 177,893 | -153,916 |
Arkansas | 1996 | 400,241 | 445,942 | -45,701 |
Colorado | 1996 | 677,600 | 750,325 | -72,725 |
Delaware | 1996 | 165,465 | 105,088 | 60,377 |
Georgia | 1996 | 1,103,993 | 1,073,969 | 30,024 |
Idaho | 1996 | 198,422 | 283,532 | -85,110 |
Illinois | 1996 | 2,384,028 | 1,728,824 | 655,204 |
Iowa | 1996 | 634,166 | 571,807 | 62,359 |
Kansas | 1996 | 823,724 | 1,226,698 | -402,974 |
Kentucky | 1996 | 560,012 | 724,794 | -164,782 |
Louisiana | 1996 | 852,945 | 847,157 | 5,788 |
Maine | 1996 | 266,226 | 298,422 | -32,196 |
Massachusetts | 1996 | 1,334,345 | 1,142,837 | 191,508 |
Michigan | 1996 | 2,195,738 | 1,500,106 | 695,632 |
Minnesota | 1996 | 1,098,493 | 901,282 | 197,211 |
Mississippi | 1996 | 240,647 | 624,154 | -383,507 |
Montana | 1996 | 201,935 | 182,111 | 19,824 |
Nebraska | 1996 | 281,904 | 379,933 | -98,029 |
New Hampshire | 1996 | 227,397 | 242,304 | -14,907 |
New Jersey | 1996 | 1,519,328 | 1,227,817 | 291,511 |
New Mexico | 1996 | 164,356 | 357,171 | -192,815 |
North Carolina | 1996 | 1,173,875 | 1,345,833 | -171,958 |
Oklahoma | 1996 | 474,162 | 670,610 | -196,448 |
Oregon | 1996 | 624,370 | 677,336 | -52,966 |
Rhode Island | 1996 | 230,676 | 127,368 | 103,308 |
South Carolina | 1996 | 510,951 | 619,859 | -108,908 |
South Dakota | 1996 | 166,533 | 157,954 | 8,579 |
Tennessee | 1996 | 654,937 | 1,091,554 | -436,617 |
Texas | 1996 | 2,428,776 | 3,027,680 | -598,904 |
Virginia | 1996 | 1,115,982 | 1,235,744 | -119,762 |
West Virginia | 1996 | 456,526 | 139,088 | 317,438 |
Wyoming | 1996 | 89,103 | 114,116 | -25,013 |
Alabama | 1998 | 474,568 | 817,973 | -343,405 |
Alaska | 1998 | 43,743 | 165,227 | -121,484 |
Arizona | 1998 | 275,224 | 696,577 | -421,353 |
Arkansas | 1998 | 385,878 | 295,870 | 90,008 |
California | 1998 | 4,411,705 | 3,576,351 | 835,354 |
Colorado | 1998 | 464,754 | 829,370 | -364,616 |
Connecticut | 1998 | 628,306 | 312,177 | 316,129 |
Florida | 1998 | 2,436,407 | 1,463,755 | 972,652 |
Hawaii | 1998 | 315,252 | 70,964 | 244,288 |
Idaho | 1998 | 107,375 | 262,966 | -155,591 |
Illinois | 1998 | 1,610,496 | 1,709,041 | -98,545 |
Indiana | 1998 | 1,012,244 | 552,732 | 459,512 |
Iowa | 1998 | 289,049 | 648,480 | -359,431 |
Kansas | 1998 | 229,718 | 474,639 | -244,921 |
Kentucky | 1998 | 563,051 | 569,817 | -6,766 |
Louisiana | 1998 | 630,395 | 314,580 | 315,815 |
Maryland | 1998 | 1,062,810 | 444,637 | 618,173 |
Missouri | 1998 | 690,208 | 830,625 | -140,417 |
Nevada | 1998 | 208,650 | 208,222 | 428 |
New Hampshire | 1998 | 88,883 | 213,477 | -124,594 |
New York | 1998 | 2,386,314 | 1,680,203 | 706,111 |
North Carolina | 1998 | 1,029,237 | 945,943 | 83,294 |
North Dakota | 1998 | 134,747 | 75,013 | 59,734 |
Ohio | 1998 | 1,482,054 | 1,922,087 | -440,033 |
Oklahoma | 1998 | 268,898 | 570,682 | -301,784 |
Oregon | 1998 | 682,425 | 377,739 | 304,686 |
Pennsylvania | 1998 | 1,028,839 | 1,814,180 | -785,341 |
South Carolina | 1998 | 562,791 | 488,132 | 74,659 |
South Dakota | 1998 | 162,884 | 95,431 | 67,453 |
Utah | 1998 | 163,172 | 316,652 | -153,480 |
Vermont | 1998 | 154,567 | 48,051 | 106,516 |
Washington | 1998 | 1,103,184 | 785,377 | 317,807 |
Wisconsin | 1998 | 890,059 | 852,272 | 37,787 |
Arizona | 2000 | uncontested | 962,065 | -962,065 |
California | 2000 | 5,313,577 | 3,449,962 | 1,863,615 |
Connecticut | 2000 | 824,346 | 445,312 | 379,034 |
Delaware | 2000 | 181,387 | 142,683 | 38,704 |
Florida | 2000 | 2,981,667 | 2,698,770 | 282,897 |
Georgia | 2000 | 1,390,443 | 933,697 | 456,746 |
Hawaii | 2000 | 251,130 | 84,657 | 166,473 |
Indiana | 2000 | 684,242 | 1,419,629 | -735,387 |
Maine | 2000 | 197,341 | 430,665 | -233,324 |
Maryland | 2000 | 1,171,151 | 678,376 | 492,775 |
Massachusetts | 2000 | 1,880,261 | 333,535 | 1,546,726 |
Michigan | 2000 | 2,034,342 | 1,991,507 | 42,835 |
Minnesota | 2000 | 1,180,335 | 1,048,244 | 132,091 |
Mississippi | 2000 | 293,332 | 624,602 | -331,270 |
Missouri | 2000 | 1,191,424 | 1,142,552 | 48,872 |
Montana | 2000 | 194,003 | 207,500 | -13,497 |
Nebraska | 2000 | 330,366 | 318,368 | 11,998 |
Nevada | 2000 | 238,243 | 330,663 | -92,420 |
New Jersey | 2000 | 1,457,081 | 1,360,758 | 96,323 |
New Mexico | 2000 | 365,462 | 223,278 | 142,184 |
New York | 2000 | 3,422,027 | 2,681,221 | 740,806 |
North Dakota | 2000 | 177,148 | 111,872 | 65,276 |
Ohio | 2000 | 1,539,001 | 2,590,952 | -1,051,951 |
Pennsylvania | 2000 | 2,134,734 | 2,473,118 | -338,384 |
Rhode Island | 2000 | 164,634 | 225,887 | -61,253 |
Tennessee | 2000 | 619,599 | 1,253,412 | -633,813 |
Texas | 2000 | 2,025,024 | 4,078,954 | -2,053,930 |
Utah | 2000 | 241,327 | 501,919 | -260,592 |
Vermont | 2000 | 72,909 | 188,070 | -115,161 |
Virginia | 2000 | 1,283,557 | 1,409,467 | -125,910 |
Washington | 2000 | 1,197,429 | 1,194,886 | 2,543 |
West Virginia | 2000 | 462,340 | 118,223 | 344,117 |
Wisconsin | 2000 | 1,559,669 | 939,186 | 620,483 |
Wyoming | 2000 | 47,039 | 157,316 | -110,277 |
Sub 1996 | 23,962,484 | 24,785,744 | -823,260 | |
Sub 1998 | 25,977,887 | 24,429,242 | 1,548,645 | |
Sub 2000 | 37,106,570 | 36,751,306 | 355,264 | |
Totals for 1996-2000 | 87,046,941 | 85,966,292 | 1,080,649 | |
These figures include require the following explanations:
1. The above figures for the 1998 NY Senate race (Schumer/D'Amato) include only those votes cast for the candidates as a democrat or republican respectively. Schumer and D'Amato both received votes under other party banners, which are not included in these tallies.
2. Paul Coverdell (republican) won the GA Senate race in 1998, subsequently died, and was replaced by Zell Miller. The figures for the 1998 race have been omitted, and the figures for the more recent special election between Miller and Mattingly are used in their place.
3. The figures for the 1996 and 1998 elections are from FEC website data, and presumably reflect full and accurate totals. The figures from the 2000 election are from the NYT website (http://www.nytimes.com/specials/election2000/election2000results.html), and reflect nearly complete results, though some races were only 99% tallied in the figures posted to the site.
Scott A. Anderson is a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Chicago.