How many incumbents were re-elected during the recent mid-term elections?

Quite a bit, actually.

Ninety-eight percent of the incumbents on the ballot won re-election. That means just 2 percent of the challengers with an incumbent in the race emerged victorious.

Each of the 29 Senate incumbents who ran for re-election won. This year’s Senate elections marked the first time in at least a century in which no incumbent senator up for re-election lost.

The sweep was completed Tuesday by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a runoff. Democrats increased their Senate majority by one, to 51-49, after successfully defending all 15 of their seats that were at stake and capturing a Pennsylvania seat from Republican control.

Like in the Senate, incumbent governors across the board seemed to do historically well. There was just one governor who lost re-election — Steve Sisolak of Nevada. That one loss marks the fewest losses by sitting governors in cycles in which at least 10 of them ran since at least 1948.

The 2022 elections claimed at least two dozen House incumbents, though more of them fell in primaries than in the general election. Among those who lost were Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, once a member of the House Republican leadership; New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee efforts this year; and longtime Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot, who was first elected in 1994. Two Texas Republicans lost under unique circumstances. Rep. Van Taylor withdrew from his race in March after being forced into a runoff; Taylor acknowledged he had been unfaithful to his wife as he dropped out of the race. Rep. Mayra Flores won a special election for an open seat under Texas’ old map in June, but was defeated last week by Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. in the revised 34th District.

The next big mid-term election happens in 2024. Of the 34 seats that are up for re-election in 2024, Democrats are defending 23 — including the seats of two independents who caucus with Democrats.

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The Informer is written by Crystal Stevenson, American Press executive editor. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.