Businessman Walt Minnick was one of several wealthy Democrats recruited to take on Republican incumbents in the fall campaign. Many of them did not fare too well; Charles Sanders lost the North Carolina Democratic primary to Harvey Gantt and Mark Warner lost the Virginia Senate election to incumbent John Warner.

Minnick fared no better, losing to Idaho Sen. Larry Craig. A Democratic victory would have given a boost to the party’s chances of taking back the Senate. So too would Democratic victories in either Colorado or Wyoming, both of which had open Senate seats as a result of Republican retirements. But Mike Enzi kept the Wyoming seat in GOP hands. As did Wayne Allard in Colorado.

After first being viewed as very vulnerable, Democrat Max Baucus has rebounded to comfortably hold on to his Montana Senate seat.

In Idaho, controversial Republican Rep. Helen Chenoworth, in a race that seemed to be going down to the wire on election night, later pulled ahead and won by 6,500 votes.