See also: 2016 United States Senate elections.
| Election Name: | 2016 United States Senate election in Connecticut |
| Country: | Connecticut |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2010 United States Senate election in Connecticut |
| Previous Year: | 2010 |
| Next Election: | 2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Nominee1: | Richard Blumenthal |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Alliance1: | Working Families |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,008,714 |
| Percentage1: | 63.19% |
| Nominee2: | Dan Carter |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 552,621 |
| Percentage2: | 34.62% |
| U.S. Senator | |
| Before Election: | Richard Blumenthal |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Richard Blumenthal |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2016 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Connecticut, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal won re-election to a second term in office. Blumenthal's final vote total of 1,008,714 at the time made him the largest vote-receiver in the history of statewide elections in the state. (Blumenthal's record was later broken by then Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election; Biden received 1,080,680 votes.) He also became the first person to exceed 1 million votes in the history of statewide elections in Connecticut. He remains the highest voter-receiver in the history of statewide elections besides the presidency.
The Republican state convention was held May 9, 2016, at the Connecticut Convention Center to select candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. State Representative Dan Carter received the nomination with 76.7% of the delegate vote. Neither Jack Orchulli nor August Wolf received the necessary 15% of the delegate vote necessary to be granted an automatic primary on August 9, 2016.[14] In the first round of voting, Wolf received 179 delegate votes, equalling 15.1% and qualifying for a primary. However, before balloting closed, Orchulli dropped from the race and publicly endorsed Dan Carter, urging his candidates to switch their votes. During the vote switching, an additional 56 delegates that had voted for Wolf also switched their vote, dropping him well below the 15% threshold.[15]
On May 11, 2016, Wolf announced an attempt to force a primary by collecting the signatures of 8,079 registered Republicans by June 7.[16] However, on June 21, 2016, it was announced that Wolf had failed to reach the required signature threshold to force a primary, and he conceded the Republican nomination to Carter as a result.[17]
| Candidate | Delegates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Carter | 907 | 76.7% |
| August Wolf | 123 | 10.4% |
| Jack Orchulli | 20 | 1.7% |
| Not Present | 132 | 11.2% |
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[19] | November 2, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[20] | November 7, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[21] | November 3, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Daily Kos[22] | November 8, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[23] | November 7, 2016 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Richard Blumenthal (D) | Dan Carter (R) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey[24] | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,387 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 63% | 34% | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[25] | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,173 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 62% | 35% | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[26] | October 28 – November 3, 2016 | 925 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 62% | 36% | 2% | |
| SurveyMonkey[27] | October 27 – November 2, 2016 | 753 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 62% | 36% | 2% | |
| SurveyMonkey[28] | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 616 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 60% | 38% | 2% | |
| SurveyMonkey[29] | October 25–31, 2016 | 554 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 59% | 38% | 3% | |
| Emerson College[30] | September 2–5, 2016 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | align=center | 54% | 33% | 9% | |
| Quinnipiac University[31] | June 1–5, 2016 | 1,330 | ± 2.7% | align=center | 60% | 30% | 10% |
with August Wolf
| Poll source | Richard Blumenthal (D) | August Wolf (R) | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Quinnipiac University[32] | October 7–11, 2015 | 1,735 | ± 2.4% | 61% | 26% | 13% | ||
| align=left | Quinnipiac University[33] | June 1–5, 2016 | 1,330 | ± 2.7% | 62% | 27% | 11% |
with Larry Kudlow
x
Blumenthal won all five congressional districts.[35]
| District | Blumenthal | Carter | Representative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68% | 30% | John B. Larson | |||
| 61% | 36% | Joe Courtney | |||
| 68% | 30% | Rosa DeLauro | |||
| 62% | 36% | Jim Himes | |||
| 58% | 40% | Elizabeth Esty | |||
Official campaign websites