1996 United States Senate election in Kentucky
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| | | Nominee | Mitch McConnell | Steve Beshear | | Party | Republican | Democratic | Popular vote | 724,794 | 560,012 | Percentage | 55.45% | 42.85% | |
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 | |
Elections in Kentucky |
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Government |
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The 1996 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a third term with a 12.6% margin of victory over Democrat Steve Beshear, who later successfully ran in 2007 and 2011 for Governor of Kentucky.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary results[1] 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
Candidates
Results
Republican primary results[2] Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Mitch McConnell (incumbent) | 88,620 | 88.59% |
| Republican | Tommy Klein | 11,410 | 11.41% |
Total votes | 100,030 | 100.00% |
General election
Candidates
Campaign
In 1996, Beshear started out trailing against McConnell, with an early general election poll placing McConnell ahead of Beshear 50% to 32%.[3] 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.[4] 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%.[5]
Results
General election results[6] 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% |
Total votes | 1,307,046 | 100.00% | |
| Republican hold |
See also
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Janofsky, Michael (June 25, 1996). "Political Briefing;The Campaigns for Congress". The New York Times.
- ^ Wines, Michael (August 11, 1996). "The Campaigns For Congress". The New York Times.
- ^ "McConnell Holds 12-Point Lead Over Beshear in Poll". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 6, 1996.
- ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
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