United States Senate elections, 1996
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The U.S. Senate election, 1996 was an election for United States Senate which coincided with the re-election of Bill Clinton as president. It followed the major Republican gains of 1994. Because of the staggered nature of the Senate, some of the alignment shift of 1994 carried over to this year, even though the Republicans lost seats in the House.
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[edit] Results summary
| Parties | Breakdown | Total Seats | Popular Vote | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up | Elected | Not Up | 1994 | 1996 | +/- | Vote | % | ||
| Republican Party | 19 | 21 | 53 | 55 | +2 | ||||
| Democratic Party | 15 | 13 | 47 | 45 | -2 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 34 | 66 | 100 | 100 | - | 100.0% | ||
| Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk | |||||||||
[edit] Notable Races
[edit] Democratic Gains
- South Dakota: Three-term Senator Larry Pressler faced a tough challenge from Democratic Congressman Tim Johnson. Johnson would defeat Pressler by 2 points and become the only candidate to defeat an incumbent in this year's election cycle.
[edit] Republican Gains
- Alabama: Howell Heflin, one of the last Conservative Democrats in the Senate, retired after three terms. Republican nominee Jeff Sessions, the state Attorney General, defeated Democrat Roger Bedford in the general election
- Arkansas: Popular Democrat David Pryor chose not to seek a fourth term. The Democratic Party in Arkansas had been badly damaged by the resignation of Governor Jim Guy Tucker after being convicted of mail fraud. This helped Republican Congressman Tim Hutchinson defeat Democrat Winston Bryant to become Arkansas' first Republican Senator since Reconstruction.
- Nebraska: Democratic Governor Ben Nelson was expected to easily win the race to succeed retiring Democrat J. James Exon. Republican businessman Chuck Hagel, however, made it a highly competitive race and pulled off a huge fourteen point upset over the popular governor (Nelson won election to Nebraska's other Senate seat four years later).
[edit] Senate contests in 1996
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Howell Heflin | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 52 - 46 | Jeff Sessions (Republican) Roger Bedford (Democrat) |
| Alaska | Ted Stevens | Republican | Re-elected, 77 - 13 - 10 | Jeff Whittaker (Green) Theresa Obermeyer (Democrat) |
| Arkansas | David Pryor | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53 - 47 | Tim Hutchinson (Republican) Winston Bryant (Democrat) |
| Colorado | Hank Brown | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 51 - 46 | Wayne Allard (Republican) Tom Strickland (Democrat) |
| Delaware | Joe Biden | Democrat | Re-elected, 60 - 38 | Raymond J. Clatworthy (Republican) |
| Georgia | Sam Nunn | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 49 - 48 | Max Cleland (Democrat) Guy Millner (Republican) |
| Idaho | Larry E. Craig | Republican | Re-elected, 57 - 40 | Walt Minnick (Democrat) |
| Illinois | Paul Simon | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 56 - 41 | Richard J. Durbin (Democrat) Al Salvi (Republican) |
| Iowa | Tom Harkin | Democrat | Re-elected, 52 - 47 | Jim Ross Lightfoot (Republican) |
| Kansas | Nancy Kassebaum | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 62 - 34 | Pat Roberts (Republican) Sally Thompson (Democrat) |
| Kansas1 | Sheila Frahm | Republican | Defeated in Primary: Republican victory, 54 - 43 | Sam Brownback (Republican) Jill Docking (Democrat) |
| Kentucky | Mitch McConnell | Republican | Re-elected, 55 - 43 | Steve Beshear (Democrat) |
| Louisiana | Bennett Johnston Jr. | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 50 - 50 | Mary Landrieu (Democrat) Woody Jenkins (Republican) |
| Maine | William Cohen | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 49 - 44 | Susan M. Collins (Republican) Joe Brennan (Democrat) |
| Massachusetts | John Kerry | Democrat | Re-elected, 53 - 45 | William Weld (Republican) |
| Michigan | Carl Levin | Democrat | Re-elected, 58 - 40 | Ronna Romney (Republican) |
| Minnesota | Paul Wellstone | Democrat (DFL) | Re-elected, 50 - 41 - 7 | Rudy Boschwitz (Republican) Dean Barkley (Reform) |
| Mississippi | Thad Cochran | Republican | Re-elected, 71 - 27 | James Hunt (Democrat) |
| Montana | Max Baucus | Democrat | Re-elected, 50 - 45 | Dennis Rehberg (Republican) |
| Nebraska | J. James Exon | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 56 - 42 | Chuck Hagel (Republican) Ben Nelson (Democrat) |
| New Hampshire | Bob Smith | Republican | Re-elected, 49 - 46 | Dick Swett (Democrat) |
| New Jersey | Bill Bradley | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 53 - 43 | Robert Torricelli (Democrat) Dick Zimmer (Republican) |
| New Mexico | Pete Domenici | Republican | Re-elected, 64 - 30 | Art Trujillo (Democrat) |
| North Carolina | Jesse Helms | Republican | Re-elected, 53 - 46 | Harvey Gantt (Democrat) |
| Oklahoma | Jim Inhofe | Republican | Re-elected, 57 - 40 | James Boren (Democrat) |
| Oregon | Mark Hatfield | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 49 - 47 | Gordon H. Smith (Republican) Tom Bruggere (Democrat) |
| Rhode Island | Claiborne Pell | Democrat | Retired: Democratic victory, 63 - 35 | John F. Reed (Democrat) Nancy Mayer (Republican) |
| South Carolina | Strom Thurmond | Republican | Re-elected, 53 - 44 | Elliot Close (Democrat) |
| South Dakota | Larry Pressler | Republican | Defeated, 51 - 49 | Tim Johnson (Democrat) |
| Tennessee | Fred Thompson | Republican | Re-elected, 61 - 37 | Houston Gordon (Democrat) |
| Texas | Phil Gramm | Republican | Re-elected, 55 - 44 | Victor Morales (Democrat) |
| Virginia | John Warner | Republican | Re-elected, 53 - 47 | Mark Warner (Democrat) |
| West Virginia | Jay Rockefeller | Democrat | Re-elected, 77 - 23 | Betty Burkes (Republican) |
| Wyoming | Alan Simpson | Republican | Retired: Republican victory, 54 - 42 | Michael B. Enzi (Republican) Joyce Jansa Corcoran (Democrat) |
1 special election due to resignation of Robert Dole to pursue the presidency -- next regular election held in 1998
[edit] See also
[edit] Senate composition before and after elections
| 104th Congress Senate Composition | 105th Congress Senate Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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