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 County results House district resultsBiden: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Clatworthy: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 46th President of the United States Tenure   | ||
The1996 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorJoe Biden won re-election to a fifth term. This was the first Senate election in his career in which Biden's margin of victory decreased from the prior election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Raymond J. Clatworthy | 18,638 | 82.24% | |
| Republican | Vance Phillips | 3,307 | 14.59% | |
| Republican | Wilfred Plomis | 717 | 3.17% | |
| Total votes | 22,662 | 100.00% | ||
In February 1996, Biden sold his home to John Cochran; a senior executive forMBNA. A pollster from Clatsworthy's campaign suggested in a phone survey that Cochran had paid twice the value of the house. In reality, Cochran had paid the $1.2 million it was on the market for. "Officials" from MBNA dismissed what the pollster had to say and Biden would make a 1992 document from the Delaware Appraisal Group public that said the home's value was $1.2 million. In 1998, the conservative magazineThe American Spectator published an article calling Biden "The Senator from MBNA".[5]
Libertarian Party NEWS reported that Mark Jones who was Libertarian Party's candidate would be the first candidate from the party in the state to campaign full time as he resigned his position as an assistant professor atGoldey–Beacom College.[6]
The first senatorial debate would be held on September 29, 1996, inWilmington and was hosted byWHYY-TV. The candidates that participated in the debate were: Joe Biden, Raymond Clatworthy, and Mark Jones.[7]
The debate would begin with candidates being given an introductory statement for two minutes. Biden would say his first followed by Jones and Clatworthy would last.[7]
After the opening statements there would be a discussion on social security with Biden and Clatworthy primarily participating although Jones did interject occasionally. After a discussion about social security ended, one of the moderators would ask the candidates which of theFounding Fathers they liked the best. Jones responded first sayingThomas Jefferson while Clatworthy saidGeorge Washington. Biden answered differently saying thatAbraham Lincoln was his favorite president and listed the accomplishments of presidents he thought were noble along with their achievements. He was reminded by a moderator who reminded him he was talking about the founding fathers. He would say that Thomas Jefferson was the most significant but didn't mention him as his favorite.[7]
For the rest of the debate topics discussed included Clatworthy's ties with theChristian Coalition, abortion, crime, terrorism, and foreign policy. A moderator would ask a final question to the candidates about how they saw themselves as being different from each other.[7]
The second senatorial debate would occur on October 29, 1996, inNew Castle. The four candidates who would participate in the debate were: Joe Biden, Raymond J. Clatworthy, Mark Jones, and Jacqueline Kossoff.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 165,465 | 60.04% | −2.64% | |
| Republican | Raymond J. Clatworthy | 105,088 | 38.13% | +2.30% | |
| Libertarian | Mark Jones | 3,340 | 1.21% | −0.28% | |
| Natural Law | Jacqueline Kossoff | 1,698 | 0.62% | ||
| Majority | 60,377 | 21.91% | −4.94% | ||
| Turnout | 275,591 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
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