Several veteran senators coasted to new terms, including Republicans Orrin Hatch in Utah, Richard Lugar in Indiana, Trent Lott in Mississippi and Olympia Snowe in Maine; Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, Craig Thomas in Wyoming; Jon Kyl in Arizona and John Ensign in Nevada and Democrats Robert C. Byrd in West Virginia; Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts; Tom Carper in Delaware; Debbie Stabenow in Michigan; Herb Kohl in Wisconsin; Jeff Bingaman in New Mexico, Ben Nelson in Nebraska, Kent Conrad in North Dakota; Dianne Feinstein in California; Maria Cantwell in Washington and Daniel Akaka in Hawaii. In Florida, Bill Nelson thumped former secretary of state Katherine Harris to win a second term.

Incumbent governors winning at the polls included Republicans M. Jodi Rell, who ascended to her post in Connecticut when scandal-scarred Gov. John Rowland resigned, Bob Riley in Alabama, Rick Perry in Texas, Sonny Perdue in Georgia, Mark Sanford in South Carolina, Mike Rounds in South Dakota, Linda Lingle in Hawaii, James Douglas in Vermont and Dave Heinemann in Nebraska. Also, Democrats Phil Bredesen in Tennessee, Brad Henry in Oklahoma, Rod Blagojevich in Illinois, Ed Rendell in Pennsylvania, Dave Freudenthal in Wyoming; Jennifer Granholm in Michigan; Janet Napolitano in Arizona, Bill Richardson in New Mexico; Kathleen Sebelius in Kansas, John Lynch in New Hampshire; Ted Kulongoski in Oregon; John Baldacci in Maine and Mike Doyle in Wisconsin.

Voters also filled state legislative seats and decided hundreds of statewide ballot initiatives on issues ranging from proposed bans on gay marriage to increases in the minimum wage.