This was the second consecutive election held in a president's sixth year where control of the Senate changed hands, the first being in 2006. This was also the first time that the Democrats lost control of the Senate in a sixth-year midterm since 1918. With a total net gain of nine seats, the Republicans made the largest Senate gain by any party since 1980. This is also the first election since 1980 in which more than two incumbent Democratic Senators were defeated by their Republican challengers. Days after the election, the United States Election Project estimated that 36.4% of eligible voters voted, 4% lower than the 2010 elections, and possibly the lowest turnout rate since the 1942 election.
