The Clintons were the most sought-after surrogates on the campaign trail this cycle. How Clintons' candidates did

Bill and Hillary Clinton were the most sought-after surrogates on the campaign trail this cycle — crisscrossing the country to stump for Democrats in places where President Barack Obama couldn’t.

They flew into red states to stump for vulnerable Democrats, aided candidates from their home states and campaigned for family friends, former aides and other longtime confidants. Their itineraries included several stops in the politically significant states of Iowa and New Hampshire for Democrats in competitive Senate and House races.


But not even the Clintons’ political star power could spare Democrats from Tuesday’s bloodbath. Just 22 candidates backed by either Clinton won, compared with 32 who lost. One race will go into a December runoff, and three races had yet to be called as of Wednesday afternoon.

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While Republicans, including potential 2016 Hillary Clinton rival Rand Paul, tried to cast the results as a referendum on the Clintons, the former first couple can’t defy political gravity. No one expected all — or even most — of their endorsed candidates to win in such a bad year for Democrats. It’s a safe bet that the Clintons went in knowing many of them would fall short.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how candidates whom the Clintons went to bat for fared:

House races

The Clintons’ House endorsements were concentrated largely in a handful of locations — the Northeast, California and in Arkansas, where Bill served as governor before heading to the White House.

Their New York allegiances were clear — between them, the Clintons boosted 10 Democratic candidates from the Empire State. Some were longtime loyalists, such as Rep. Nita Lowey and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a senior adviser to Bill Clinton at the White House.

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The former president was also a popular surrogate for Democratic incumbents who suddenly found themselves in political trouble — such as Rep. Steven Horsford in Nevada, who hosted Bill Clinton for a get-out-the-vote rally last week.

The Clintons began election night with two losses on their midterm scorecard already: In May, Marjorie Margolies, mother-in-law of daughter Chelsea, fell short in a House Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. And in March, Bill Clinton recorded a robocall in Florida for Democrat Alex Sink, who ultimately lost in a special election to Republican David Jolly.

—Pete Aguilar (California): No call

—Aimee Belgard (New Jersey): Loss

—Rep. Ami Bera (California): No call

—Erin Bilbray (Nevada): Loss

—Rep. Tim Bishop (New York): Loss

—Rep. Julia Brownley (California): No call

—Bonnie Watson Coleman (New Jersey): Win

—Sean Eldridge (New York): Loss

—Rep. John Garamendi (California): Win

—Gwen Graham (Florida): Win

—Patrick Henry Hays (Arkansas): Loss

—Rep. Steven Horsford (Nevada): Loss

—Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (New Hampshire): Win

—Mark Lester (Alabama): Loss

—Rep. Nita Lowey (New York): Win

—Rep. Dan Maffei (New York): Loss

—Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (New York): Win

—Marjorie Margolies (Pennsylvania): Loss in primary

—Rep. Patrick Murphy (Florida): Win

—Rep. Charles Rangel (New York): Win

—Domenic Recchia (New York): Loss

—Kathleen Rice (New York): Win

—Martha Robertson (New York): Loss

—Andrew Romanoff (Colorado): Loss

—Rep. Raul Ruiz (California): Win

—Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (New Hampshire): Loss

—Alex Sink (Florida): Loss in March special election

—Rep. Dina Titus (Nevada): Win

—James Lee Witt (Arkansas): Loss

—Aaron Woolf (New York): Loss

Senate races

Red-state Democrats fled from Obama but eagerly counted on Clintons to come to their rescue.

Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky — whose father, Jerry Lundergan, is a Clinton family friend — was an early beneficiary of the Clintons’ political largesse. As was Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a longtime friend for whom Bill Clinton hosted a fundraiser in June.

In the final weeks of the campaign, nearly every endangered Democrat brought the Clintons along on the stump — from Kay Hagan in North Carolina to Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, from Mark Udall in Colorado to Mark Pryor in Arkansas. But it was an overwhelming wipeout. Of the Clinton-backed candidates in the closest Senate races, only Shaheen hung on, while Landrieu was headed to a runoff.

—Bruce Braley (Iowa): Loss

—Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois): Win

—Sen. Al Franken (Minnesota): Win

—Alison Lundergan Grimes (Kentucky): Loss

—Sen. Kay Hagan (North Carolina): Loss

—Sen. Mary Landrieu (Louisiana): Advances to runoff

—Michelle Nunn (Georgia): Loss

—Gary Peters (Michigan): Win

—Sen. Mark Pryor (Arkansas): Loss

—Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire): Win

—Sen. Mark Udall (Colorado): Loss

Governor races

The Clintons also doled out their political star power in key gubernatorial battles nationwide — races that were among the Democrats’ few bright spots on election night.

Democrat Tom Wolf — for whom both Clintons campaigned in October — soundly defeated sitting Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in Pennsylvania. The Clintons also rallied on behalf of Democratic candidates in Wisconsin and Florida who mounted tough challenges to GOP incumbent governors but ultimately lost.

Bill Clinton was even the campaign closer for Democrat Charlie Crist in Florida — appearing at a get-out-the-vote rally for him on Monday.

—Anthony Brown (Maryland): Loss

—Mary Burke (Wisconsin): Loss

—Martha Coakley (Massachusetts): Loss

—Charlie Crist (Florida): Loss

—Gov. Andrew Cuomo (New York): Win

—Wendy Davis (Texas): Loss

—Gov. Mark Dayton (Minnesota): Win

—Fred DuVal (Arizona): Loss

—Gov. Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire): Win

—Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colorado): Win

—Gov. Dannel Malloy (Connecticut): Win

—Mike Michaud (Maine): Loss

—Pat Quinn (Illinois): Loss

—Gina Raimondo (Rhode Island): Win

—Mike Ross (Arkansas): Loss

—Mark Schauer (Michigan): Loss

—Tom Wolf (Pennsylvania): Win

Lucy McCalmont contributed to this report.