The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.

Quick Facts 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

1996 United States Senate elections

← 1994 November 5, 1996 1998 →
34 of the 100 seats in the United 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 Elected Majority Leader Trent Lott Republican

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Republicans held a 54–46 majority going into 1996, however, a 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 the elections 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 previously in the 1994 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 won open seats previously held by Democrats in Alabama, Arkansas, and Nebraska. The only Democratic pickup occurred in South Dakota, where Democrat Tim Johnson narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Larry Pressler. The cycle featured an unusually high number of retirements, with thirteen in total.

Does not include Oregon's January 1996 special election. Includes Kansas's special election for the Class III seat vacated by Bob Dole.

More information Parties, Total ...

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 by 3 Republicans		—	—	3
	Result	5	8	—	—	13
Incumbent ran		7	14[lower-alpha 1]	—	—	21
	Won re-election	7	12	—	—	19
	Lost re-election	1 Republican replaced by 1 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

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Sources:

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

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

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Democrat Howell Heflin decided to retire. Republican and future Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming only the second Republican U.S. Senator elected to represent Alabama since Reconstruction. This seat would remain controlled by Republicans until the election of Doug Jones^[2] in 2017.

In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was listed as the "National Democratic".^[3] In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy 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 the Alabama Legislature.

Roger Bedford won the Democratic primary over Glen 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.

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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

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

In the general election, Stevens faced off against Democratic nominee Theresa Obermeyer, a former member of the Anchorage School Board,^[4] and Green 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.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Democrat David Pryor decided to retire. Republican Tim Hutchinson ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Arkansas Attorney General Winston Bryant defeated State Senator Lu Hardin narrowly in the Democratic primary runoff. Hutchinson narrowly prevailed in the general election despite Bill Clinton's victory in the state, winning the open seat.

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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

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Incumbent Republican Hank Brown decided to retire instead of seeking a second term. Republican Congressman Wayne Allard won the open seat after defeating Gale Norton in the primary, beating Democrat Tom Strickland, attorney and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, who himself had defeated Gene Nichol in the Democratic primary.

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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

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

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Democrat Sam Nunn decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Republicans nominated Guy Millner, a multi-millionaire businessman who was also the unsuccessful candidate who ran against Zell Miller in the 1994 gubernatorial election. Millner emerged as the victor from a crowded 6-person primary in July 1996, which included State Senator Clint Day and former gubernatorial candidate Johnny Isakson. However, Max Cleland, the Secretary of State of Georgia ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Despite being held by Democrats since 1852, the election for this seat became tightly contested between Cleland and Millner. It was the closest race for that seat since at least 1852. Nonetheless, Max Cleland defeated Guy Millner on November 5. Max Cleland narrowly edged out a victory with 1,103,993 votes (48.87%) to Guy 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 the previous election, Sam Nunn was unanimously re-elected and defeated Mike Hicks by an almost 60% margin in 1984. Republican Paul Coverdell narrowly unseated Democrat Wyche Fowler in Georgia's other United States Senate seat in 1992. On October 9, 1995, 4-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, 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 the University of Georgia, noted that defeated rival Johnny 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. Johnny Isakson was later elected United States Senator after Zell Miller retired from his seat in 2004. Opponent Max Cleland quickly labeled Millner as an extremist, saying that "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 8 people voted for Independent Arlene Rubinstein.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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

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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

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Incumbent Democrat Paul Simon opted to retire rather than seek a third term. In the Democratic primary, Congressman Dick Durbin emerged victorious over future governor Pat Quinn, while State Representative Al Salvi won the Republican primary in an upset over incumbent Lieutenant Governor Bob 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.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Democrat Tom Harkin sought re-election to a third term unopposed in the Democratic primary, and he was challenged by Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot from Iowa's 3rd congressional district, who won the Republican primary over Maggie 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 of Bob Dole campaigning for the Presidential election, there were two elections in Kansas as both seats were up for election.

Kansas (regular)

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Main article: 1996 United States Senate election in Kansas

Incumbent Republican Nancy Kassebaum decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Pat Roberts won the open seat, beating the Democratic Kansas 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 group Americans 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 was elected to a fourth term in office.

More information Party, Candidate ...

Democratic Party primary^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sally Thompson	121,476	100.00%
Total votes			121,476	100.00%

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More information Party, Candidate ...

Republican primary^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Roberts	245,411	78.21%
	Republican	Tom Little	25,052	7.98%
	Republican	Tom Oyler	23,266	7.42%
	Republican	Richard L. Cooley	20,060	6.39%
Total votes			313,789	100.00%

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More information Party, Candidate ...

General election^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pat Roberts	652,677	62.02%	-11.57%
	Democratic	Sally Thompson	362,380	34.44%	+8.05%
	Reform	Mark S. Marney	24,145	2.29%
	Libertarian	Steven Rosile	13,098	1.25%
Majority			290,297	27.59%	-19.61%
Turnout			1,052,300
	Republican hold		Swing

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Kansas (special)

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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

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Main article: 1996 United States Senate special election in Kansas

Incumbent Republican Sheila Frahm, who was recently appointed to the seat, was defeated in the primary by Sam Brownback, who went on to win the general election by ten points over Jill Docking, businesswoman and daughter-in-law of former Kansas Governor Robert Docking, who herself had defeated Joan Finney in the Democratic primary. Brownback would remain in office until 2011, since he retired to run for Governor of Kansas in 2010, a race and a gubernatorial election which he eventually won.

More information Party, Candidate ...

Democratic primary^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jill Docking	127,012	74.39%
	Democratic	Joan Finney	43,726	25.61%
Total votes			170,738	100.00%

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More information Party, Candidate ...

Republican primary^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Brownback	187,914	54.82%
	Republican	Sheila Frahm (Incumbent)	142,487	41.57%
	Republican	Christina Campbell-Cline	12,378	3.61%
Total votes			342,779	100.00%

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More information Party, Candidate ...

General election^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sam Brownback	574,021	53.91%	-8.78%
	Democratic	Jill Docking	461,344	43.33%	+12.30%
	Reform	Donald R. Klaassen	29,351	2.76%
Majority			112,677	10.58%	-21.08%
Turnout			1,064,716
	Republican hold		Swing

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Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell won re-nomination over Tommy Klein and then won re-election to a third term with a 12.6% margin of victory over Steve Beshear, a former Lieutenant Governor, who had defeated Tom Barlow in the Democratic primary. McConnell's landslide victory occurred at the same time President Bill 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 of Chicken George dressed in "the red velvet coat, jodhpurs, black riding boots and black helmet of a patrician fox hunter." This was done as a means of criticizing Beshear's membership in a fox hunting club in Lexington, and undercut the Beshear campaign's message that McConnell was a Republican in the mold of Newt 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 in 2007.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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Incumbent Democrat J. Bennett Johnston chose to retire. After the jungle primary election, state treasurer Mary Landrieu went into a runoff election with State Representative Woody 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, Democrat Bill Clinton carried Louisiana by a considerable margin of 927,837 votes to 712,586 cast for Republican Bob Dole.

The multi-candidate field for the primary included Democratic state Attorney General Richard Ieyoub and the former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, running again as a Republican. Among the minor candidates was Peggy Wilson, an at-large member of the New Orleans City Council, and Troyce Guice, who had sought the same seat thirty years earlier when it was held by the veteran Senator Allen J. Ellender.

Jenkins refused to concede and charged massive election 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 by C-SPAN, the Senate 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 that FBI 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 the 105th 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 Senator John H. Overton claimed the renomination and hence reelection of Senator Joseph E. Ransdell was tainted by fraud. In 1932, Senator Edwin S. Broussard claimed that his primary defeat by Overton was fraudulent. In both cases, the Senate seated the certified winners, Ransdell and Overton, respectively.