1996 United States Senate elections

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

The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, 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.

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 a net 2 seats up in the elections to the United States House of Representatives held the same day, the Republicans had a net gain of 2 seats in the Senate, following major Republican gains 2 years before 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 13 in total.

↓

45	55
Democratic	Republican

Does not include Oregon's January 1996 special election. Includes Kansas's special election for the Class III seat vacated by Bob 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 by 3 Republicans		—	—	3
	Result	5	8	—	—	13
Incumbent ran		7	14[a]	—	—	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

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.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Alabama	Howell Heflin	Jeff Sessions
Arkansas	David Pryor	Tim Hutchinson
Colorado	Hank Brown	Wayne Allard
Georgia	Sam Nunn	Max Cleland
Illinois	Paul Simon	Dick Durbin
Kansas (regular)	Nancy Kassebaum	Pat Roberts
Louisiana	Bennett Johnston	Mary Landrieu
Maine	William Cohen	Susan Collins
Nebraska	Jim Exon	Chuck Hagel
New Jersey	Bill Bradley	Robert Torricelli
Oregon (regular)	Mark Hatfield	Gordon H. Smith
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell	Jack Reed
Wyoming	Alan Simpson	Mike Enzi

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.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Kansas (special)	Sheila Frahm	Sam Brownback
South Dakota	Larry Pressler	Tim Johnson

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

State	Senator	Replaced by
Oregon (special)	Bob Packwood	Ron Wyden

After the January 1996 special election in Oregon.

D1 Ore. (Sp) Gain	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Mass. Ran	D39 La. Retired	D38 Iowa Ran	D37 Ill. Retired	D36 Ga. Retired	D35 Del. Ran	D34 Ark. Retired	D33 Ala. Retired	D32	D31
D41 Mich. Ran	D42 Minn. Ran	D43 Mont. Ran	D44 Neb. Retired	D45 N.J. Retired	D46 R.I. Retired	D47 W.Va. Ran	R53 Wyo. Retired	R52 Va. Ran	R51 Texas Ran
Majority →
R41 Me. Retired	R42 Miss. Ran	R43 N.H. Ran	R44 N.M. Ran	R45 N.C. Ran	R46 Okla. Ran	R47 Ore. (reg) Retired	R48 S.C. Ran	R49 S.D. Ran	R50 Tenn. Ran
R40 Ky. Ran	R39 Kan. (Sp) Ran	R38 Kan. (reg) Retired	R37 Idaho Ran	R36 Colo. Retired	R35 Alaska Ran	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Minn. Re-elected	D39 Mich. Re-elected	D38 Mass. Re-elected	D37 La. Hold	D36 Iowa Re-elected	D35 Ill. Hold	D34 Ga. Hold	D33 Del. Re-elected	D32	D31
D41 Mont. Re-elected	D42 N.J. Hold	D43 R.I. Hold	D44 W.Va. Re-elected	D45 S.D. Gain	R55 Neb. Gain	R54 Ark. Gain	R53 Ala. Gain	R52 Wyo. Hold	R51 Va. Re-elected
Majority →
R41 Me. Hold	R42 Miss. Re-elected	R43 N.H. Re-elected	R44 N.M. Re-elected	R45 N.C. Re-elected	R46 Okla. Re-elected	R47 Ore. (reg) Hold	R48 S.C. Re-elected	R49 Tenn. Re-elected	R50 Texas Re-elected
R40 Ky. Re-elected	R39 Kan. (Sp) Hold	R38 Kan. (reg) Hold	R37 Idaho Re-elected	R36 Colo. Hold	R35 Alaska Re-elected	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key	D# Democratic R# Republican

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.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Oregon (Class 3)	Bob Packwood	Republican	1968 1974 1980 1986 1992	Incumbent resigned. New senator elected January 30, 1996 and seated February 6, 1996. Democratic gain.	▌Y Ron Wyden (Democratic) 47.8% ▌Gordon H. Smith (Republican) 46.2% Others ▌Karen Shilling (American Independent) 2.1% ▌Gene Nanni (Libertarian) 1.3% ▌Vickie Valdez (Socialist) 0.7% ▌Lou Gold (Pacific Green) 0.6%
Kansas (Class 3)	Sheila Frahm	Republican	1996 (appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 5, 1996 and seated November 7, 1996. Republican hold.	▌Y Sam Brownback (Republican) 53.9% ▌Jill Docking (Democratic) 43.3% ▌Donald R. Klaassen (Reform) 2.8%

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.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Howell Heflin	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	▌Y Jeff Sessions (Republican) 52.5% ▌Roger Bedford Jr. (Democratic) 45.5% Others ▌Mark Thornton (Libertarian) 1.4% ▌Charles R. Hebner (Natural Law) 0.6%
Alaska	Ted Stevens	Republican	1968 (appointed) 1970 1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ted Stevens (Republican) 76.7% ▌Jeff Whittaker (Green) 12.5% ▌Theresa Obermeyer (Democratic) 10.3%
Arkansas	David Pryor	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	▌Y Tim Hutchinson (Republican) 52.7% ▌Winston Bryant (Democratic) 47.3%
Colorado	Hank Brown	Republican	1990	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Wayne Allard (Republican) 51.4% ▌Tom Strickland (Democratic) 45.7% ▌Randy MacKenzie (Natural Law) 2.9%
Delaware	Joe Biden	Democratic	1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Joe Biden (Democratic) 60.0% ▌Raymond J. Clatworthy (Republican) 38.1% Others ▌Mark Jones (Libertarian) 1.2% ▌Jacqueline Kossoff (Natural Law) 0.6%
Georgia	Sam Nunn	Democratic	1972 (special) 1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Max Cleland (Democratic) 48.9% ▌Guy Millner (Republican) 47.5% ▌John Gregory Cashin (Libertarian) 3.6%
Idaho	Larry Craig	Republican	1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Larry Craig (Republican) 57.0% ▌Walt Minnick (Democratic) 39.9% Others ▌Mary J. Charbonneau (Independent) 2.0% ▌Susan Vegors (Natural Law) 1.0%
Illinois	Paul Simon	Democratic	1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Dick Durbin (Democratic) 56.1% ▌Al Salvi (Republican) 40.7% Others ▌Steven H. Perry (Reform) 1.4% ▌Robin J. Miller (Libertarian) 1% ▌Chad Koppie (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.4% ▌James E. Davis (Natural Law) 0.3%
Iowa	Tom Harkin	Democratic	1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tom Harkin (Democratic) 51.8% ▌Jim Ross Lightfoot (Republican) 46.7% Others ▌Sue Atkinson (Independent) 0.8% ▌Fred Gratzon (Natural Law) 0.3% ▌Joe Sulentic (Independent) 0.2% ▌Shirley E. Pena (Socialist Workers) 0.2%
Kansas	Nancy Kassebaum	Republican	1978 1978 (appointed) 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Pat Roberts (Republican) 62.0% ▌Sally Thompson (Democratic) 34.4% Others ▌Mark S. Marney (Reform) 2.3% ▌Steven Rosile (Libertarian) 1.2%
Kentucky	Mitch McConnell	Republican	1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mitch McConnell (Republican) 55.5% ▌Steve Beshear (Democratic) 42.8% Others ▌Dennis L. Lacy (Libertarian) 0.7% ▌Patricia Jo Metten (Natural Law) 0.6% ▌Mac McElroy (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.4%
Louisiana	Bennett Johnston	Democratic	1972 1972 (appointed) 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Mary Landrieu (Democratic) 50.1% ▌Woody Jenkins (Republican) 49.9%
Maine	William Cohen	Republican	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Susan Collins (Republican) 49.2% ▌Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic) 43.8% ▌John Rensenbrink (Green) 4.0% ▌William P. Clarke (U.S. Taxpayers) 3%
Massachusetts	John Kerry	Democratic	1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Kerry (Democratic) 52.2% ▌Bill Weld (Republican) 44.7% ▌Susan Gallagher (Conservative) 2.7% ▌Robert Stowe (Natural Law) 0.3%
Michigan	Carl Levin	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Carl Levin (Democratic) 58.4% ▌Ronna Romney (Republican) 39.9% Others ▌Kenneth L. Proctor (Libertarian) 1.0% ▌William Roundtree (Workers World) 0.3% ▌Joseph S. Mattingly (Natural Law) 0.3% ▌Martin P. McLaughlin (Socialist Equality) 0.2%
Minnesota	Paul Wellstone	DFL	1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Paul Wellstone (DFL) 50.3% ▌Rudy Boschwitz (Republican) 41.3% ▌Dean Barkley (Reform) 7% Others ▌Tim Davis (Grass Roots) 0.6% ▌Roy Ezra Carlton (Libertarian) 0.2% ▌Steve Johnson (Natural Law) 0.2% ▌Thomas A. Fiske (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Mississippi	Thad Cochran	Republican	1978 1978 (appointed) 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Thad Cochran (Republican) 71.0% ▌James Hunt (Democratic) 27.4% ▌Ted Weill (Independence) 1.6%
Montana	Max Baucus	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Max Baucus (Democratic) 49.5% ▌Denny Rehberg (Republican) 44.7% ▌Becky Shaw (Reform) 4.7% ▌Stephen Heaton (Natural Law) 1%
Nebraska	Jim Exon	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican gain.	▌Y Chuck Hagel (Republican) 56.1% ▌Ben Nelson (Democratic) 41.7%
New Hampshire	Bob Smith	Republican	1990 1990 (appointed)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Smith (Republican) 49.3% ▌Richard N. Swett (Democratic) 46.2% ▌Ken Blevens (Libertarian) 4.5%
New Jersey	Bill Bradley	Democratic	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Robert Torricelli (Democratic) 52.7% ▌Dick Zimmer (Republican) 42.5% Others ▌Richard J. Pezzullo (Independent) 1.8% ▌Mary Jo Christian (Independent) 0.8% ▌Paul A. Woomer (Independent) 0.5% ▌Olga L. Rodriguez (Independent) 0.5% ▌Mark Wise (Independent) 0.5% ▌Wilburt Kornegay (Independent) 0.4% ▌Steven J. Baeli (Independent) 0.3%
New Mexico	Pete Domenici	Republican	1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Pete Domenici (Republican) 64.7% ▌Art Trujillo (Democratic) 29.8% ▌Abraham Guttman (Green) 4.4% ▌Bruce M. Bush (Libertarian) 1.1%
North Carolina	Jesse Helms	Republican	1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jesse Helms (Republican) 52.6% ▌Harvey Gantt (Democratic) 45.9% Others ▌Ray Ubinger (Libertarian) 1.0% ▌J. Victor Pardo (Natural Law) 0.4%
Oklahoma	Jim Inhofe	Republican	1994 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jim Inhofe (Republican) 56.7% ▌James Boren (Democratic) 40.1% Others ▌Bill Maguire (Independent) 1.3% ▌Agnes Marie Regier (Libertarian) 1.2% ▌Chris Nedbalek (Independent) 0.7%
Oregon	Mark Hatfield	Republican	1966 1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Gordon H. Smith (Republican) 49.8% ▌Tom Bruggere (Democratic) 45.9% Others ▌Brent Thompson (Reform) 1.5% ▌Gary Kutcher (Green) 1.0% ▌Paul Mohn (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌Christopher Phelps (Socialist) 0.4% ▌Michael L. Hoyes (Natural Law) 0.3%
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell	Democratic	1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Jack Reed (Democratic) 63.3% ▌Nancy J. Mayer (Republican) 35% ▌Donald W. Lovejoy (Independent) 1.7%
South Carolina	Strom Thurmond	Republican	1954 (write-in)[b] 1954 (appointed) 1956 (resigned) 1956 (special) 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Strom Thurmond (Republican) 53.4% ▌Elliot Close (Democratic) 44.0% Others ▌Richard T. Quillian (Libertarian) 1.1% ▌Peter J. Ashy (Reform) 0.8% ▌Annette C. Estes (Natural Law) 0.7%
South Dakota	Larry Pressler	Republican	1978 1984 1990	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	▌Y Tim Johnson (Democratic) 51.3% ▌Larry Pressler (Republican) 48.7%
Tennessee	Fred Thompson	Republican	1994 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Fred Thompson (Republican) 61.4% ▌J. Houston Gordon (Democratic) 36.8% Others ▌John Jay Hooker (Independent) 0.8% ▌Bruce Gold (Independent) 0.3% ▌Robert O. Watson (Independent) 0.3% ▌Greg Samples (Independent) 0.2% ▌Philip L. Kienlen (Independent) 0.1%
Texas	Phil Gramm	Republican	1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Phil Gramm (Republican) 54.8% ▌Victor Morales (Democratic) 43.9% Others ▌Michael Bird (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌John Huff (Natural Law) 0.4%
Virginia	John Warner	Republican	1978 1979 (appointed) 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Warner (Republican) 52.5% ▌Mark Warner (Democratic) 47.4%
West Virginia	Jay Rockefeller	Democratic	1984 1990	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jay Rockefeller (Democratic) 76.6% ▌Betty Burks (Republican) 23.4%
Wyoming	Alan Simpson	Republican	1978 1979 (appointed) 1984 1990	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Mike Enzi (Republican) 54.1% ▌Kathy Karpan (Democratic) 42.2% ▌W. David Herbert (Libertarian) 2.5% ▌Lloyd Marsden (Natural Law) 1.2%

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

State	Party of winner	Margin
Louisiana	Democratic	0.34%
Georgia	Democratic	1.3%
Oregon (special)	Democratic (flip)	1.5%
South Dakota	Democratic (flip)	2.6%
New Hampshire	Republican	3.0%
Oregon (regular)	Republican	3.9%
Montana	Democratic	4.9%
Virginia	Republican	5.1%
Iowa	Democratic	5.1%
Maine	Republican	5.3%
Arkansas	Republican (flip)	5.4%[c]
Colorado	Republican	5.7%
North Carolina	Republican	6.7%
Alabama	Republican (flip)	7.0%
Massachusetts	Democratic	7.5%
Minnesota	Democratic	9.0%
South Carolina	Republican	9.4%

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 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.

June 4 Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roger Bedford	141,360	44.77%
	Democratic	Glen Browder	91,203	28.89%
	Democratic	Natalie Davis	71,588	22.67%
	Democratic	Marilyn Q. Bromberg	11,573	3.67%
Total votes			315,724	100.00%

June 25 Democratic runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roger Bedford	141,747	61.59%
	Democratic	Glen Browder	88,415	38.41%
Total votes			230,162	100.00%

June 4 Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	82,373	37.81%
	Republican	Sid McDonald	47,320	21.72%
	Republican	Charles Woods	24,409	11.20%
	Republican	Frank McRight	21,964	10.08%
	Republican	Walter D. Clark	18,745	8.60%
	Republican	Jimmy Blake	15,385	7.06%
	Republican	Albert Lipscomb	7,672	3.52%
Total votes			217,868	100.00%

June 25 Republican runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	81,681	59.26%
	Republican	Sid McDonald	56,156	40.74%
Total votes			137,837	100.00%

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	786,436	52.45%
	Democratic	Roger Bedford	681,651	45.46%
	Libertarian	Mark Thornton	21,550	1.44%
	Natural Law	Charles Hebner	9,123	0.61%
	Independent	Write-ins	633	0.04%
Total votes			1,499,393	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

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 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.

Open primary^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	71,043	58.87%
	Republican	Dave W. Cuddy	32,994	27.34%
	Democratic	Theresa Obermeyer	4,072	3.37%
	Green	Jed Whittaker	3,751	3.11%
	Democratic	Joseph A. Sonneman	2,643	2.19%
	Democratic	Michael Beasley	1,968	1.63%
	Democratic	Henry J. Blake Jr.	1,157	0.96%
	Democratic	Lawrence Freiberger	921	0.76%
	Republican	Charles E. McKee	842	0.70%
	Democratic	Frank Vondersaar	655	0.54%
	Democratic	Robert Alan Gigler	631	0.52%
Total votes			138,492	100.00%

1996 United States Senate election in Alaska^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	177,893	76.71%	+10.48%
	Green	Jed Whittaker	29,037	12.52%
	Democratic	Theresa Obermeyer	23,977	10.34%	−21.85%
	Write-ins		1,009	0.44%
Majority			148,856	64.19%	+30.15%
Turnout			231,916
	Republican hold		Swing

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 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.

Arkansas U.S. Senate Election 1996^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Hutchinson	445,942	52.7%
	Democratic	Winston Bryant	400,241	47.3%
Majority			45,701	5.4%
Turnout			846,183	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

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 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.

Democratic primary^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Strickland	87,294	66.13%
	Democratic	Gene Nichol	44,709	33.87%
Total votes			132,003	100.00%

Republican primary^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Allard	115,064	56.83%
	Republican	Gale Norton	87,394	43.17%
Total votes			202,458	100.00%

General election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Allard	750,315	51.41%	−4.27%
	Democratic	Tom Strickland	667,600	45.74%	+4.08%
	Natural Law	Randy MacKenzie	41,620	2.85%
	Write-ins		66	<0.01%
Majority			82,715	5.67%	−8.35%
Turnout			1,459,601
	Republican hold		Swing

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

Republican primary^[13]

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%

General election^[7]

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
	Democratic hold		Swing

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 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.

General election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Cleland	1,103,993	48.87%
	Republican	Guy Millner	1,073,969	47.54%
	Libertarian	Jack Cashin	81,262	3.60%
	Independent	Arlene Rubinstein	8	0.00%
Majority			30,024	1.33%
Turnout			2,259,232
	Democratic hold

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 former Nixon Administration official, in a landslide.

Democratic primary^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Walt Minnick	34,551	100.00%
Total votes			34,551	100.00%

Republican primary^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Craig (Incumbent)	106,817	100.00%
Total votes			106,817	100.00%

General election^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Larry Craig (Incumbent)	283,532	57.02%	−4.27%
	Democratic	Walt Minnick	198,422	39.91%	+1.20%
	Independent	Mary J. Charbonneau	10,137	2.04%
	Natural Law	Susan Vegors	5,142	1.03%
Majority			85,110	17.12%	−5.47%
Turnout			497,233
	Republican hold		Swing

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 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.

Democratic primary^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin	512,520	64.87%
	Democratic	Pat Quinn	233,138	29.51%
	Democratic	Ronald F. Gibbs	17,681	2.24%
	Democratic	Jalil Ahmad	17,211	2.18%
	Democratic	Paul H. D. Park	9,505	1.20%
Total votes			790,055	100.00%

Republican primary^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Al Salvi	377,141	47.64%
	Republican	Bob Kustra	342,935	43.32%
	Republican	Robert Marshall	43,937	5.55%
	Republican	Martin Paul Gallagher	17,276	2.18%
	Republican	Wayne S. Kurzeja	10,356	1.31%
Total votes			791,645	100.00%

Illinois general election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin	2,384,028	56.09%	−8.98%
	Republican	Al Salvi	1,728,824	40.67%	+5.74%
	Reform	Steven H. Perry	61,023	1.44%
	Libertarian	Robin J. Miller	41,218	0.97%
	Constitution	Chad N. Koppie	17,563	0.40%
	Natural Law	James E. Davis	13,838	0.33%
	Write-ins		4,228	0.10%
Majority			655,204	15.41%	−14.72%
Turnout			4,250,722
	Democratic hold		Swing

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 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.

Democratic primary^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (Incumbent)	98,737	99.19%
	Democratic	Write-ins	810	0.81%
Total votes			99,547	100.00%

Republican primary^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Ross Lightfoot	101,608	61.48%
	Republican	Maggie Tinsman	40,955	24.78%
	Republican	Steve Grubbs	22,554	13.65%
	Republican	Write-ins	153	0.09%
Total votes			165,270	100.00%

Iowa general election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (Incumbent)	634,166	51.81%	−2.66%
	Republican	James Ross Lightfoot	571,807	46.71%	+1.30%
	Independent	Sue Atkinson	9,768	0.80%
	Natural Law	Fred Gratzon	4,248	0.35%
	Independent	Joe Sulentic	1,941	0.16%
	Socialist Workers	Shirley E. Pena	1,844	0.15%
	Write-ins		280	0.02%
Majority			62,359	5.09%	−3.96%
Turnout			1,224,054
	Democratic hold		Swing

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 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 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.

Democratic Party primary^[22]

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

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%

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

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 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.

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%

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%

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

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 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.

Democratic primary^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Beshear	177,859	66.38%
	Democratic	Tom Barlow	64,235	23.97%
	Democratic	Shelby Lanier	25,856	9.65%
Total votes			267,950	100.00%

Republican primary^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mitch McConnell (Incumbent)	88,620	88.59%
	Republican	Tommy Klein	11,410	11.41%
Total votes			72,373	100.00%

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.

General election^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mitch McConnell (Incumbent)	724,794	55.45%	+3.27%
	Democratic	Steve Beshear	560,012	42.85%	−4.97%
	Libertarian	Dennis L. Lacy	8,595	0.66%
	Natural Law	Patricia Jo Metten	8,344	0.64%
	U.S. Taxpayers	Mac Elroy	5,284	0.40%
	Write-ins		17	0.00%
Majority			164,782	12.61%	+8.23%
Turnout			1,307,046
	Republican hold		Swing

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 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.

Louisiana United States Senate jungle primary election, September 21, 1996^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Woody Jenkins	322,244	26.23%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu	264,268	21.51%
	Democratic	Richard Ieyoub	250,682	20.41%
	Republican	David Duke	141,489	11.52%
	Republican	Jimmy Hayes	71,699	5.84%
	Republican	Bill Linder	58,243	4.74%
	Republican	Chuck McMains	45,164	3.68%
	Republican	Peggy Wilson	31,877	2.60%
	Democratic	Troyce Guice	15,277	1.24%
	Independent	Nicholas J. Accardo	10,035	0.82%
	Independent	Arthur D. "Jim" Nichols	7,894	0.64%
	Democratic	Sadie Roberts-Joseph	4,660	0.38%
	Independent	Tom Kirk	1,987	0.16%
	Independent	Darryl Paul Ward	1,770	0.14%
	Independent	Sam Houston Melton, Jr.	1,270	0.10%
Turnout			1,228,559	100.00%

1996 Louisiana United States Senate election^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu	852,945	50.17%	−3.78%
	Republican	Woody Jenkins	847,157	49.83%	+6.35%
Majority			5,788	0.34%	−10.13%
Turnout			1,700,102
	Democratic hold		Swing

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.

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 Republican William Cohen decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. To replace him, Congressman and former Governor of Maine Joseph E. Brennan won the Democratic primary over Sean Faircloth and Richard A. Spencer, while political consultant and 1994 nominee for Governor of Maine Susan 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.

Democratic primary^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Brennan	48,335	56.68%
	Democratic	Sean Faircloth	21,204	24.87%
	Democratic	Richard A. Spencer	10,236	12.00%
	Democratic	Jean Hay Bright	4,524	5.31%
	Democratic	Jerald Leonard	939	1.10%
	Democratic	Write-ins	35	0.04%
Total votes			85,273	100.00%

Republican primary^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Susan Collins	53,339	55.50%
	Republican	W. John Hathaway	29,792	31.00%
	Republican	Robert A. G. Monks	12,943	13.47%
	Republican	Write-ins	33	0.03%
Total votes			96,107	100.00%

Maine general election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Susan Collins	298,422	49.18%	−12.16%
	Democratic	Joseph E. Brennan	266,226	43.88%	+5.24%
	Independent	John C. Rensenbrink	23,441	3.86%
	Constitution	William P. Clarke	18,618	3.07%
	Write-ins		70	0.01%
Majority			32,196	5.31%	−17.39%
Turnout			606,777
	Republican hold		Swing

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 Democrat John Kerry won re-election to a third term over the Republican Governor of Massachusetts,

On November 29, 1995, Governor Bill Weld announced his candidacy for the Senate seat occupied by U.S. Senator Kerry with a formal announcement on March 27, 1996. Kerry's previous two opponents in 1984 and 1990 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 since 1972. In the 1984 presidential election, President Ronald Reagan won 49 of 50 states, with Massachusetts being his worst performance (excluding Walter Mondale's home-state of Minnesota. Reagan carried the state with just 51% of the vote. In 1994, incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election against businessman Mitt Romney with just 58% of the vote, the lowest percentage since his first senate election campaign in 1962.

The first debate between Weld and Kerry was held in Faneuil 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 the Charles River. He later spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention on August 14 before debating U.S. Senator Kerry again on August 19. Senator Kerry spoke at the 1996 Democratic National Convention and debated Governor Weld again on September 16.

General election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Kerry (incumbent)	1,334,135	52.20%
	Republican	William Weld	1,143,120	44.72%
	Conservative	Susan C. Gallagher	70,007	2.74%
	Natural Law	Robert C. Stowe	7,169	0.28%
		All others	1,511	0.06%
Turnout			2,555,942
	Democratic hold

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 Democrat Carl Levin won re-election to a fourth term over Ronna Romney radio talk show host and former daughter-in-law of Michigan governor George W. Romney. Both ran unopposed in the primary.

General election^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carl Levin (Incumbent)	2,195,738	58.4%
	Republican	Ronna Romney	1,500,106	39.9%
	Libertarian	Kenneth L. Proctor	36,911	1.0%
	Workers World	William Roundtree	12,235	0.3%
	Natural Law	Joseph S. Mattingly	11,306	0.3%
	Socialist	Martin P. McLaughlin	5,975	0.1%
Majority			695,632	18.5%
Turnout			3,763,371	100.00%
	Democratic hold

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 Democrat Paul Wellstone won re-nomination in a landslide, and he faced Republican Rudy 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]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Paul Wellstone	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

Republican primary^[35]

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

Boschwitz filed to run a rematch against Wellstone. The incumbent was an unapologetic liberal.^[36] Rudy released ads accusing Wellstone of being "embarrassingly liberal" and calling him "Senator Welfare".^[37] Boschwitz accused Wellstone of supporting flag burning, a move that some believe possibly backfired.^[38] Like the 1990 election, Wellstone had a massive grassroots campaign which inspired college students, poor people and minorities to get involved in politics for the very first time. Prior to that accusation, Boschwitz had significantly outspent Wellstone on campaign advertising and the race was closely contested, but Wellstone went on to beat Boschwitz by a nine-point margin in a three-way race (Dean Barkley received 7%).^[39] Despite losing here, Barkley was later appointed near the end of the next term after Wellstone's 2002 death.

Minnesota general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	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%
	Independent	Write-In	1,130	0.05%
Majority			197,236	9.04%
Total votes			2,182,905	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Mississippi election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Thad Cochran Bootie Hunt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 624,154 240,647 Percentage 71.0% 27.4%

County results Cochran:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Hunt:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Thad Cochran Republican Elected U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Republican

Incumbent Republican Thad Cochran won re-election to a fourth term, unopposed in the Republican primary, by a landslide over Democrat Bootie Hunt, who defeated Shawn O'Hara in the Democratic primary.

Mississippi general election^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thad Cochran (Incumbent)	624,154	71.0%
	Democratic	Bootie Hunt	240,647	27.4%
	Independent	Ted Weill	13,861	1.6%
Majority			383,507	43.6%
Turnout			878,662	100.00%
	Republican hold

Montana election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Max Baucus Denny Rehberg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 201,935 182,111 Percentage 49.56% 44.69%

County results Baucus:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Rehberg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Max Baucus Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Baucus Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Max Baucus, who was first elected in 1978 and was re-elected in 1984 and 1990, ran for re-election. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced a stiff challenge in Denny Rehberg, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the Republican nominee, who had faced nominal opposition. Despite Bob Dole's victory over Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in the state that year in the presidential election, Baucus managed to narrowly win re-election over Rehberg to secure a fourth term in the Senate by just under five percent. Shaw and Heaton's totals were greater than Baucus's margin of victory over Rehberg. This was the closest election of Baucus's senate career, having won every other election by at least ten points.

Democratic Party primary^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (Incumbent)	85,976	100.00%
Total votes			85,976	100.00%

Reform primary^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Becky Shaw	930	68.03%
	Reform	Webb Sullivan	437	31.97%
Total votes			1,367	100.00%

Republican primary^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Denny Rehberg	82,158	73.81%
	Republican	Ed Borcherdt	14,670	13.18%
	Republican	John K. McDonald	14,485	13.01%
Total votes			111,313	100.00%

Montana general election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (Incumbent)	201,935	49.56%	−18.57%
	Republican	Denny Rehberg	182,111	44.69%	+15.31%
	Reform	Becky Shaw	19,276	4.73%
	Natural Law	Stephen Heaton	4,168	1.02%
Majority			19,824	4.86%	−33.88%
Turnout			407,490
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nebraska election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Chuck Hagel Ben Nelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 379,933 281,904 Percentage 56.1% 41.7%

County Results Hagel:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Nelson:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election J. James Exon Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Republican

Incumbent Democrat J. James Exon decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican businessman Chuck Hagel won the Republican primary over Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg. Ben Nelson, Governor of Nebraska, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Hagel won the open seat by 14 points over Nelson. Nelson would later serve alongside Hagel, being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000.

Democratic primary^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson	93,140	97.00%
	Democratic	Write-ins	2,882	3.00%
Total votes			96,022	100.00%

Republican primary^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Hagel	112,953	62.24%
	Republican	Don Stenberg	67,974	37.46%
	Republican	Write-ins	544	0.30%
Total votes			181,471	100.00%

General election^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chuck Hagel	379,933	56.14%	+15.21%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson	281,904	41.65%	−17.25%
	Libertarian	John DeCamp	9,483	1.40%
	Natural Law	Bill Dunn	4,806	0.71%
	Write-ins		663	0.10%
Majority			98,029	14.48%	−3.49%
Turnout			676,958
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

New Hampshire election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Bob Smith Richard Swett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 242,304 227,397 Percentage 49.2% 46.1%

County results Municipality results Smith:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Swett:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Bob Smith Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bob Smith Republican

Incumbent Republican Bob Smith won re-election to a second term over Democrat Richard Swett. Both were unopposed in their respective primaries. Smith had established himself as the most conservative Senator from the Northeast, and Bill Clinton's coattails nearly caused his defeat. On the night of the election many American media networks incorrectly projected that Swett had won.^[44] Smith would lose re-nomination to John Sununu in 2002 after briefly leaving the Republican party, and Sununu would succeed him in the Senate.

General election^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Smith (incumbent)	242,304	49.2%
	Democratic	Richard Swett	227,397	46.1%
	Libertarian	Ken Blevens	22,265	4.5%
Majority			14,907	3.1%
Turnout			491,996	100.00%
	Republican hold

New Jersey election

← 1990 2002 →

Nominee Robert Torricelli Dick Zimmer Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,519,328 1,227,817 Percentage 52.7% 42.6%

Torricelli:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Zimmer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Bill Bradley Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Robert G. Torricelli Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Bill Bradley decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Democratic Congressman Robert G. Torricelli won the election, beating Republican Congressman Dick Zimmer.

Zimmer was the front-runner for the GOP nomination from the start, getting endorsements from Republican leaders across the state, including Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. Both DuHaime, an anti-abortion candidate, and LaRossa, a pro-gun candidate, attempted to portray Mr. Zimmer as too liberal for the party. But Zimmer treated the two challengers as if they did not exist.^[46]

Republican Primary Results^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%