Which party had the most members in the U.S. Senate before the election?

Party with Senate majority before the election · Asked in 11 waves, 1982–2004 · 18,765 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses

Codes recoded to correct vs. incorrect for every year: the codebook's codes name the party too ('Republicans - correct', 'Democrats - incorrect'), so the categories changed whenever the Senate majority did. The party named is implied by the year: Republicans held the Senate before the 1982, 1984, 1986, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2004 elections, and Democrats before 1988-1994. Codes that include 'no Pre/Post IW' were dropped for respondents without that interview. Dropped only in years where the codebook names a design split (alternate form, half sample, abbreviated or web instrument): 9 in 1984. Kept and flagged: 8 (dk), 9 (no_answer).