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 County results Precinct resultsWellstone: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Boschwitz: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Other: >90% Tie: 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1996 United States Senate election in Minnesotawas held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic senatorPaul Wellstone won re-election to a second term defeating Republican former senatorRudy Boschwitz in a rematch.[1]
Primary elections were held on September 10. Both Wellstone and Boschwitz were easily nominated.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Paul Wellstone (incumbent) | 194,699 | 86.41% | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Richard Franson | 16,465 | 7.31% | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Ed Hansen | 9,990 | 4.43% | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Oloveuse S. Savior | 4,180 | 1.86% | |
| Turnout | 225,334 | |||
The Minnesota Republican convention declined to endorse a candidate, having deadlocked on fourteen ballots over two days. Although McKasy led on every ballot, he never received more than 56 percent of the delegates' vote. 60 percent was required for an endorsement.[4] The non-endorsement was seen as a victory for Boschwitz, who was better known and more popular among the general Republican electorate.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rudy Boschwitz | 158,678 | 80.59% | |
| Republican | Stephen Young | 16,324 | 8.29% | |
| Republican | Bert McKasy | 12,711 | 6.46% | |
| Republican | Monti Moreno | 6,536 | 3.32% | |
| Republican | John J. Zeleniak | 2,655 | 1.35% | |
| Turnout | 196,904 | |||
| Source | Rating | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[6] | Toss Up | October 23, 1996 |
Wellstone had unseated the two-term senator Boschwitz in the 1990 election. Boschwitz filed for a rematch.[7] He released ads calling Wellstone "embarrassingly liberal" and "Senator Welfare",[8] and accused Wellstone of supportingflag burning, a move some believe backfired.[9] As in 1990, Wellstone had a massivegrassroots campaign that inspired college students, poor people and minorities to get involved in politics for the first time. Boschwitz significantly outspent Wellstone on campaign advertising and the race was closely contested, but Wellstone defeated Boschwitz by a nine-point margin in a three-way race. Dean Barkley received 7% of the vote[10] and was appointed by GovernorJesse Ventura to serve the last 60 days of Wellstone's term after Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the 2002 election.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Paul Wellstone (D) | Rudy Boschwitz (R) | Dean Barkley (Rf) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason-Dixon[11][A] | September 1–3, 1996 | 803 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 46% | 37% | 4% | 13% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Paul Wellstone (D) | Monte Moreno (R) | Dean Barkley (Rf) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason-Dixon[11][A] | September 1–3, 1996 | 803 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 51% | 20% | 6% | 23% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Paul Wellstone (D) | Steve Young (R) | Dean Barkley (Rf) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason-Dixon[11][A] | September 1–3, 1996 | 803 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 50% | 21% | 5% | 24% |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican | Reform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | |||||||
| Paul Wellstone | Rudy Boschwitz | Dean Barkley | |||||
| 1 | Sep. 16, 1996 | MinnesotaChamber of Commerce | Chris Conangla | C-SPAN | P | P | N |
| 2 | Oct. 29, 1996 | MinnesotaLeague of Women Voters WCCO-TV | Virginia Sweeney | C-SPAN | P | P | P |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Paul Wellstone (incumbent) | 1,098,430 | 50.32% | |
| Republican | Rudy Boschwitz | 901,194 | 41.28% | |
| Reform | Dean Barkley | 152,328 | 6.98% | |
| Grassroots | Tim Davis | 14,139 | 0.65% | |
| Libertarian | Roy Ezra Carlton | 5,428 | 0.25% | |
| Resource Party | Howard Hanson | 4,381 | 0.20% | |
| Natural Law | Steve Johnson | 4,321 | 0.20% | |
| Socialist Workers | Thomas A. Fiske | 1,554 | 0.07% | |
| Write-in | 1,130 | 0.05% | ||
| Total votes | 2,182,905 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
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