1996 United States Senate elections

← 1994 November 5, 1996 January 30(Oregon special) 1998 →
← 1990 2002 →
34 of the 100 seats in theUnited States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Trent Lott Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader since June 12, 1996 January 3, 1995 Leader's seat Mississippi South Dakota Seats before 53 47 Seats won 55 45 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 24,785,416[1] 23,951,995[1] Percentage 49.5% 47.8% Seats up 19 15 Races won 21 13
Results of the elections (excluding Oregon's Senate special election):      Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Republican gain     Republican hold      No election Rectangular inset (Kansas): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election Trent Lott Republican ElectedMajority Leader Trent Lott Republican

The1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, with the 33 seats ofClass 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with thepresidential election of the same year, in whichDemocratBill Clinton was re-elected president.

Republicans held a 54–46 majority going into 1996, buta January special election in Oregon resulted in Democrats reducing the majority to 53–47. Despite the re-election of Clinton and Gore, and despite Democrats picking up a net two seats in theelections to the United States House of Representatives held the same day, the Republicans had a net gain of two seats in the Senate, following major Republican gains two years before in the1994 elections. As such, Clinton became the only president to be re-elected without ever having any Senate coattails since the ratification of the 17th Amendment. The Republicans' 55–45 majority also marked the highest number of Senate seats that the party has held since1920; this achievement would later be tied with the results of the1998 and2004 elections.

The Republicans won open seats previously held by Democrats inAlabama,Arkansas, andNebraska. The only Democratic pickup occurred inSouth Dakota, where DemocratTim Johnson narrowly defeated incumbent RepublicanLarry Pressler. The cycle featured an unusually high number of retirements, with 13 in total.

Does not includeOregon's January 1996 special election. IncludesKansas's special election for the Class III seat vacated byBob Dole.

Parties						Total
		Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Other
Last elections (1994)		48	52	0	0	100
Before these elections		47	53	0	0	100
Not up		32	34	—	—	66
Up		15	19	—	—	34
	Class 2 (1990→1996)	15	18	—	—	33
	Special: Class 3	—	1	—	—	1
Incumbent retired		8	5	—	—	13
	Held by same party	5	5	—	—	10
	Replaced by other party	3 Democrats replaced by3 Republicans		—	—	3
	Result	5	8	—	—	13
Incumbent ran		7	14[a]	—	—	21
	Won re-election	7	12	—	—	19
	Lost re-election	1 Republican replaced by1 Democrat		—	—	1
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	1	—	—	1
	Result	8	13	—	—	21
Total elected		13	21	0	0	34
Net gain/loss		2	2			2
Nationwide vote		23,951,995	24,785,416	362,208	969,246	50,068,865
	Share	47.84%	49.50%	0.72%	1.94%	100%
Result		45	55	—	—	100

Sources:

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789–Present, via Senate.gov
• Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives:^[1]

Five Republicans and eight Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

One Republican sought re-election but lost in the general election. One Republican also sought election to finish the unexpired term but lost in the primary.

One Republican seat was vacant and was filled by a Democrat.

After the January 1996special election in Oregon.

In these special elections, the winner was seated in the fall of 1996 (excluding Oregon), once they qualified and their elections were certified. Sorted by election date, then state, then class.

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1997; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

Sixteen races, as well as the Oregon special election in January, had margins less than 10%:

Alabama election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Jeff Sessions Roger Bedford Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 786,436 681,651 Percentage 52.5% 45.5%

County results Sessions:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Bedford:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election Howell Heflin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions Republican

Incumbent DemocratHowell Heflin decided to retire. Republican and future Attorney General of the United StatesJeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming only the second Republican U.S. Senator elected to representAlabama sinceReconstruction. This seat would remain controlled by Republicans until the election ofDoug Jones^[2] in2017.

Inthe 1968 presidential election, Alabama supportedAmerican Independent Party candidateGeorge Wallace over bothRichard Nixon andHubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was listed as the "National Democratic".^[3] In1976, Democratic candidateJimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that.

Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in theAlabama Legislature.

Roger Bedford won the Democratic primary overGlen Browder. Sessions won the Republican primary over Sid McDonald and Charles Woods, defeating McDonald in the runoff. Sessions then defeated Bedford by a seven-point margin.

Alaska election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Ted Stevens Jed Whittaker Party Republican Green Popular vote 177,893 29,037 Percentage 76.71% 12.52%   Nominee Theresa Obermeyer Party Democratic Popular vote 23,977 Percentage 10.34%

Results by state house district Stevens:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. senator before election Ted Stevens Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Republican

Incumbent RepublicanTed Stevens ran for re-election to a sixth term. He defeated RepublicanDave W. Cuddy in the open primary.

In the general election, Stevens faced off against Democratic nomineeTheresa Obermeyer, a former member of theAnchorage School Board,^[4] andGreen Party nominee Jed Whittaker, a commercial fisherman.

The race drew national attention for Obermeyer's erratic behavior: she blamed Stevens for her husband's failure to pass the bar exam and contended that he had passed the bar by fraud. She "trailed" him to campaign events, frequently wearing a prisoner's outfit and once dragging a ball and chain behind her. During the campaign, she was arrested and served 30 days in prison in California and Oregon for probation violations.^[5]

Stevens was re-elected in an overwhelming landslide and Whittaker finished ahead of Obermeyer.

Arkansas election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Tim Hutchinson Winston Bryant Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 445,942 400,241 Percentage 52.7% 47.3%

County results Hutchinson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Bryant:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election David Pryor Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson Republican

Incumbent DemocratDavid Pryor decided to retire. RepublicanTim Hutchinson ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Arkansas Attorney GeneralWinston Bryant defeated State Senator Lu Hardin narrowly in the Democratic primary runoff. Hutchinson narrowly prevailed in the general election despiteBill Clinton's victory in the state, winning the open seat.

Colorado election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Wayne Allard Tom Strickland Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 750,315 667,600 Percentage 51.4% 45.7%

County results Allard:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Strickland:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Hank Brown Republican Elected U.S. Senator Wayne Allard Republican

Incumbent RepublicanHank Brown decided to retire instead of seeking a second term. Republican CongressmanWayne Allard won the open seat after defeatingGale Norton in the primary, beating DemocratTom Strickland, attorney and formerU.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, who himself had defeatedGene Nichol in the Democratic primary.

Delaware election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Joe Biden Raymond Clatworthy Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 165,465 105,088 Percentage 60.0% 38.1%

County results Biden:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Joe Biden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Biden Democratic

Incumbent DemocratJoe Biden won re-election to a fifth term, beating Republican businessman Raymond Clatworthy, who claimed the Republican nomination in a landslide.^[12]

Georgia election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Max Cleland Guy Millner Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,103,993 1,073,969 Percentage 48.9% 47.5%

County results Cleland:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Millner:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Sam Nunn Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Cleland Democratic

Incumbent DemocratSam Nunn decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Republicans nominatedGuy Millner, a multi-millionaire businessman who had also run unsuccessfully againstZell Miller in the1994 gubernatorial election. Millner emerged as the victor from a crowded six-person primary in July 1996, which included State SenatorClint Day and former gubernatorial candidateJohnny Isakson. However,Max Cleland, theSecretary of State of Georgia, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Despite this seat being held by Democrats since 1852, the election became tightly contested between Cleland and Millner. It was the closest race for that seat since at least 1852. Nonetheless, Cleland defeated Millner on November 5. Cleland narrowly edged out a victory with 1,103,993 votes (48.87%) to Millner's 1,073,969 votes (47.54%) – a margin of 1.33%.

The Class 2 United States Senate seat had been reliably Democratic, with a member of that party holding it since 1852. Additionally, no Republican had ever held this seat since it was established in 1789. In fact, during theprevious election, Sam Nunn was unanimously re-elected and defeated Mike Hicks by an almost 60% margin in1984. RepublicanPaul Coverdell narrowly unseated DemocratWyche Fowler in Georgia's other United States Senate seat in1992. On October 9, 1995, four-term incumbent Class 2 Senator Sam Nunn announced his retirement.^[14] This left the seat open for the first time since 1972.

After the retirement of Sam Nunn, Democrats began seeking a successor for him. Eventually, Secretary of State of Georgia Max Cleland entered the race. Cleland was the only Democratic candidate to file for election, and thus he became the nominee by default on July 9, 1996. During the primary, he received 517,697 votes – 100%.

Republicans also saw opportunity with an open Senate seat in Georgia. Six candidates filled to enter the primary election and become the Republican nominee after July 9, 1996.

After the Republican primary, Guy Millner emerged as the nominee. Charles Bullock, a political scientist at theUniversity of Georgia, noted that defeated rivalJohnny Isakson was more likely to win the moderate vote due to his pro-abortion rights views on abortion. Several polls earlier that year showed Cleland defeating both Millner and Isakson. In contrast to Isakson's opinion, Guy Millner was opposed to abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. Isakson was later elected United States senator after Zell Miller retired from hisseat in 2004. Opponent Max Cleland quickly labeled Millner as an extremist, saying, "I think people in this state want to elect a moderate ... not an extremist, not an ideologue, and not somebody hung up on some ideological agenda." In response, Millner began campaigning on other issues to capture more moderate voters.^[15]

On election day, Democratic nominee Max Cleland narrowly won against Republican Guy Millner. It was one of the closest United States Senate elections in the history of Georgia. Cleland received 1,103,993 votes to Millner's 1,073,969 votes. Libertarian candidate Jack Cashin obtained 81,262 votes, while only eight people voted for Independent Arlene Rubinstein.

Idaho election

← 1990 November 4, 1996 2002 →

Nominee Larry Craig Walt Minnick Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 283,532 198,422 Percentage 57.0% 39.9%

County results Craig:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Minnick:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Larry Craig Republican Elected U.S. Senator Larry Craig Republican

Incumbent Larry Craig won re-election against Democrat Walt Minnick, businessman and formerNixon Administration official, in a landslide.

Illinois election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Dick Durbin Al Salvi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,384,028 1,728,824 Percentage 56.09% 40.67%

County results Durbin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Salvi:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Paul Simon Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Democratic

Incumbent DemocratPaul Simon opted to retire rather than seek a third term. In the Democratic primary, CongressmanDick Durbin emerged victorious over future governorPat Quinn, whileState RepresentativeAl Salvi won the Republican primary in an upset over incumbent Lieutenant GovernorBob Kustra. Though the election was initially anticipated to be close, Durbin defeated Salvi by a comfortable 15-point margin of victory, allowing him to win what would be the first of several terms in the Senate.

Iowa election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Tom Harkin Jim Ross Lightfoot Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 634,166 571,807 Percentage 51.81% 46.71%

County results Harkin:     30-40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Lightfoot:     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%      70–80%     80-90%

U.S. senator before election Tom Harkin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Tom Harkin Democratic

Incumbent DemocratTom Harkin sought re-election to a third term unopposed in the Democratic primary, and he was challenged by CongressmanJim Ross Lightfoot fromIowa's 3rd congressional district, who won the Republican primary overMaggie Tinsman. Lightfoot had won the Republican primary against two opponents, while Harkin had won his primary uncontested, so both moved on to the general election, where they engaged in a toughly-fought campaign. Ultimately, Harkin was successful in his bid, and defeated Lightfoot, albeit by the thinnest margin of his career — 5.1 points.

Due to the resignation ofBob Dole, who was campaigning for the presidential election, there were two elections in Kansas, as both seats were up for election.

Kansas election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Pat Roberts Sally Thompson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 652,677 362,380 Percentage 62.0% 34.4%

County results Roberts:     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90% Thompson:     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Nancy Kassebaum Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pat Roberts Republican

Incumbent RepublicanNancy Kassebaum decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. RepublicanPat Roberts won the open seat, beating the DemocraticKansas State Treasurer Sally Thompson. Thompson faced no primary opposition, while Roberts faced token opposition.

Term limits were an issue during the campaign; while Roberts said that he was not totally opposed to term limits, he was wary of limits that did not apply to current members of Congress, saying that the proposed limits should apply to everyone. While Thompson signed the national term limits pledge from the groupAmericans for Limited Terms, Roberts declined to do so, becoming the only major party candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1996 elections to not sign the pledge.^[20] However, he did say that "I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate."^[21] In 2014, he waselected to a fourth term in office.

Kansas special election

← 1992 1998 →

Nominee Sam Brownback Jill Docking Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 574,021 461,344 Percentage 53.9% 43.3%

County results Brownback:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Docking:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Sheila Frahm Republican Elected U.S. Senator Sam Brownback Republican

Incumbent RepublicanSheila Frahm, who was recently appointed to the seat, was defeated in the primary bySam Brownback, who went on to win the general election by ten points over Jill Docking, businesswoman and daughter-in-law of former Kansas GovernorRobert Docking, who herself had defeatedJoan Finney in the Democratic primary. Brownback would remain in office until 2011, since he retired to successfully run forgovernor of Kansas in2010.

Kentucky election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Mitch McConnell Steve Beshear Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 724,794 560,012 Percentage 55.5% 42.9%

County results McConnell:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Beshear:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Mitch McConnell Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Republican

Incumbent RepublicanMitch McConnell won re-nomination over Tommy Klein and then won re-election to a third term with a 12.6% margin of victory overSteve Beshear, a former lieutenant governor, who had defeatedTom Barlow in the Democratic primary. McConnell's landslide victory occurred at the same time that PresidentBill Clinton was re-elected to a second term, winning by a 7.5% margin nationwide, but carrying Kentucky by a 0.9% margin.

In 1996, Beshear started out trailing against McConnell, with an early general election poll placing McConnell ahead of Beshear 50% to 32%.^[25] The campaign ultimately became quite harsh, with the McConnell campaign sending "Hunt Man," a take off ofChicken George dressed in "the red velvet coat, jodhpurs, black riding boots and black helmet of a patricianfox hunter." This was done as a means of criticizing Beshear's membership in a fox hunting club inLexington, and undercut the Beshear campaign's message that McConnell was a Republican in the mold ofNewt Gingrich and that Beshear was the only friend of the working class in the race.^[26] Beshear did not make much traction with the electorate during the campaign. By October 1996, Beshear had narrowed the gap between himself and McConnell slightly, with McConnell leading Beshear 50% to 38%.^[27] Beshear was later elected governor in2007.

Louisiana election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Mary Landrieu Woody Jenkins Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 852,945 847,157 Percentage 50.17% 49.83%

Parish results Landrieu:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Jenkins:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election J. Bennett Johnston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu Democratic

Incumbent DemocratJ. Bennett Johnston chose to retire. After thejungle primary election, state treasurerMary Landrieu went into a runoff election with State RepresentativeWoody Jenkins of Baton Rouge, a former Democrat who had turned Republican two years earlier. She prevailed by 5,788 votes out of 1.7 million cast, the narrowest national result of the thirty-three races for the U.S. Senate that year and one of the closest election margins in Louisiana history. At the same time, DemocratBill Clinton carried Louisiana by a considerable margin of 927,837 votes to 712,586 cast for RepublicanBob Dole.

The multi-candidate field for the primary included Democratic stateAttorney GeneralRichard Ieyoub and the formerKu Klux Klan leader,David Duke, running again as a Republican. Among the minor candidates wasPeggy Wilson, an at-large member of theNew Orleans City Council, and Troyce Guice, who had sought the same seat thirty years earlier when it was held by the veteran SenatorAllen J. Ellender.

Jenkins refused to concede and charged massiveelection fraud, orchestrated by the Democratic political organization of New Orleans, provided Landrieu's narrow margin of victory. He took his case to the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate and petitioned for Landrieu's unseating pending a new election. In a hearing, carried live byC-SPAN, theSenate Rules Committee in a party-line 8–7 vote agreed to investigate the charges. The decision briefly placed Landrieu's status in the U.S. Senate under a cloud.

Only a month into the probe, however, it emerged that Thomas "Papa Bear" Miller, a detective hired by Jenkins to investigate claims of fraud, had coached witnesses to claim they had participated in election fraud. Three witnesses claimed Miller had paid them to claim that they had either cast multiple votes for Landrieu or drove vans of illegal voters across town. The others told such bizarre tales thatFBI agents dismissed their claims out of hand. It also emerged that Miller had several felony convictions on his record, including a guilty plea to attempted murder. The Democrats walked out of the probe in protest, but the probe continued.^[30]

The investigation dragged on for over ten months, angering the Democrats and exacerbating partisan friction in the day-to-day sessions of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to which Landrieu was assigned as a freshman member of the105th Congress. Finally, in October 1997, the Rules Committee concluded that while there were major electoral irregularities, none of them were serious enough to burden Louisiana with a new election at that stage. It recommended that the results stand.

The Landrieu-Jenkins contest was not the only U.S. Senate election in 20th century Louisiana in which the results were hotly disputed. Future SenatorJohn H. Overton claimed the renomination and hence reelection of SenatorJoseph E. Ransdell was tainted by fraud. In 1932, SenatorEdwin S. Broussard claimed that his primary defeat by Overton was fraudulent. In both cases, the Senate seated the certified winners, Ransdell and Overton, respectively.

Maine election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Susan Collins Joseph E. Brennan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 298,422 266,226 Percentage 49.18% 43.88%

County results Collins:     40–50%     50–60% Brennan:     40–50%

U.S. senator before election William Cohen Republican Elected U.S. Senator Susan Collins Republican

Incumbent RepublicanWilliam Cohen decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. To replace him, Congressman and formergovernor of MaineJoseph E. Brennan won the Democratic primary overSean Faircloth and Richard A. Spencer, while political consultant and1994 nominee for governor of MaineSusan Collins won the Republican primary over W. John Hathaway. A competitive general election ensued, but Collins ultimately won out over Brennan, keeping the seat in the Republican column. With Collins's election to the Senate in 1996, Maine became only the second state after California to have two sitting women senators.

Massachusetts election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee John Kerry Bill Weld Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,334,135 1,143,120 Percentage 52.2% 44.7%

County results Municipality results Kerry   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Weld   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

U.S. senator before election John Kerry Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Kerry Democratic

Incumbent DemocratJohn Kerry won re-election to a third term over the Republicangovernor of Massachusetts,

On November 29, 1995, GovernorBill Weld announced his candidacy for the Senate seat occupied byU.S. Senator Kerry with a formal announcement on March 27, 1996. Kerry's previous two opponents in1984 and1990 had no prior elected office experience. The election was one of many competitive senate elections in 1996.

At the federal level, Democrats controlled both U.S. Senate seats and eight of ten U.S. House seats. No Republican won a senate election since1972. In the 1984 presidential election, PresidentRonald Reagan won 49 of 50 states, with Massachusetts being his worst performance (excludingWalter Mondale's home-state ofMinnesota. Reagan carried the state with just 51% of the vote. In 1994, incumbent DemocratTed Kennedy won re-election against businessmanMitt Romney with just 58% of the vote, the lowest percentage since his firstsenate election campaign in 1962.

The first debate between Weld and Kerry was held inFaneuil Hall on April 8 with a second debate held on June 3. A third debate was held at the Emerson Majestic Theater on July 2. The Weld and Kerry campaigns agreed to eight debates and a spending cap of $6.9 million negotiated at Senator Kerry's Beacon Hill home on August 7; Senator Kerry later mortgaged his house to raise funds in October. On the same day the spending cap was agreed upon, Governor Weld jumped into theCharles River. He later spoke at the1996 Republican National Convention on August 14 before debating U.S. Senator Kerry again on August 19. Senator Kerry spoke at the1996 Democratic National Convention and debated Governor Weld again on September 16.

Michigan election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Carl Levin Ronna Romney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,195,738 1,500,106 Percentage 58.4% 39.9%

County results Levin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Romney:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Carl Levin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Carl Levin Democratic

Incumbent DemocratCarl Levin won re-election to a fourth term overRonna Romney radio talk show host and former daughter-in-law ofMichigan governorGeorge W. Romney. Both ran unopposed in the primary.

Minnesota election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Paul Wellstone Rudy Boschwitz Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 1,098,430 901,194 Percentage 50.3% 41.3%   Nominee Dean Barkley Party Reform Popular vote 152,328 Percentage 7.0%

Wellstone:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Boschwitz:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Paul Wellstone Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone Democratic (DFL)

Incumbent DemocratPaul Wellstone won re-nomination in a landslide, and he faced RepublicanRudy Boschwitz, who had also handily won the Republican nomination in the general election. Wellstone won re-election to a second term with a majority, though he would die before his term expired.^[34]