- Democracy in Action « Campaign Literature Archive Main Page « 2020 U.S. Senate Races
Nov. 3,
2020 U.S. Senate Races |
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2020 was a
difficult cycle for literature. The
COVID-19 pandemic limited in-person
campaigning and canvassing and as a result a
number of campaigns did not produce
introductory lit. pieces. The campaign
manager for one of the Democratic U.S. Senate
races noted, "Because the only
canvassing we did during the general election
was GOTV (because of covid), we don't real have
general election lit." The GOTV
pieces typically do not have a lot of
substance. A few mail pieces and several
primary pieces are included above.
After
Nov. 3, 2020: 50R,
46D, 2I and 2tbd.
After Jan. 5, 2021: 50R, 48D, 2I. |
Margin of Victory in Percentage
Points
*Seat changed
parties. Georgia numbers are for the runoffs.
**Cassidy 59.32% in jungle primary.
25.01
+ |
20.01-25.0 |
15.01-20.0 |
10.01-15.0 |
5.01-10.0 |
0-5.0 |
0-5.0 |
5.01-10.0 |
10.01-15.0 |
15.01-20.0 |
20.01-25.0 |
25.01
+ |
MA 33.11 RI 33.12 |
DE 20.83 |
NH 15.65 IL 16.06 NJ 16.31 OR 17.59 |
VA 12.08 |
MN 5.24 NM 6.11 CO 9.32* |
GA 1.22* MI 1.68 GA(s) 2.08* AZ 2.35* |
NC 1.75 |
IA 6.59 ME 8.59 TX 9.64 MS 9.97 |
MT 10.02 SC 10.27 KS 11.43 AK 12.71 |
KY 17.53 |
AL 20.36* | TN 27.04 ID 29.38 OK 30.16 SD 31.48 AR 33.06 NE 38.31 LA 40.30** WV 43.28 WY 46.09 |
2020 SENATE RACE
OVERVIEW [links]
Democrats had high hopes they would be able to reclaim the majority as part of a repudiation of President Trump. They pointed to half a dozen or more seats in play; even "red" states such as Kansas, Kentucky and South Carolina were seen as competitive. Democrats also enjoyed a significant cash advantage. However, when the results were tallied, Republican candidates prevailed in most of the targeted races. Control of the Senate came down to the two runoffs in Georgia. Trump's post-election crusade to overturn the election contributed to a perfect storm, and Democrats improbably, unbelievably won both seats and the narrowest of majorities. Balance before Nov. 3, 2020: 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and 2 Independents. 35 seats at stake: 12 held by Democrats, 23 by Republicans. 4 seats open due to retirement: 1 Democrat, 3 Republicans. D: Tom Udall (NM). R: Pat Roberts (KS), Lamar Alexander (TN), Mike Enzi (WY). 0 incumbents defeated in primaries. 5 incumbents defeated in the general election: 1 Democrat, 4 Republicans. D: Doug Jones (AL). R: Martha McSally (AZ), Cory Gardner (CO), David Perdue (GA), Kelly Loeffler (GA). 0 open seats flipped. 9 new Senators elected: 5 Democrats, 4 Republicans. D: Mark Kelly (AZ), John Hickenlooper (CO), Ben Ray Lujan (NM), Jon Ossoff (GA), Raphael Warnock (GA). R: Tommy Tuberville (AL), Roger Marshall (KS), Bill Hagerty (TN), Cynthia Lummis (WY). Balance after Jan. 5, 2021: 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats and 2 Independents. |
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HIGHLIGHTS
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Basic Content
Analysis of 2020 U.S. Senate Campaign Literature
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Democratic candidates |
8,938 |
Republican candidates |
10,167 |
|
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. |
Vote Senate Work Protect Family State People Health Fight Job Healthcare Expand Access School Afford |
87 81 66 50 37 36 35 34 33 33 27 28 28 26 26 |
Senate Support President Fight Job Work Tax Protect Trump Family Business Vote Conservative New Military |
102 60 58 52 52 51 48 46 42 41 38 36 35 35 35 |
- As discussed on
the Governor races page, although individual
words such as COVID, coronavirus and
pandemic did not make the top 15 tally list,
a significant number of lit. pieces do refer
to the pandemic.
- "Vote"
topped the Democratic list because quite
several of the Democratic pieces were GOTV
pieces with little substance and more emphasis
on making a plan to vote; the Republican
sample included very little of this kind of
piece.
- Excluding
"Senate," the top words across candidates from
both parties combined was "work" followed by
"protect."
- Health/health
care was a top issue for Democrats (health,
healthcare, expand, access) while support for
President Trump was a top issue for
Republicans (president, support, Trump).
"Trump" even finished above "family" and
conservative" in the sample.
- In addition to the mentions of President Trump, six Republican candidates included images of Trump in their basic lit. pieces.
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