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 County resultsMcConnell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Beshear: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
- Tom Barlow, former U.S. Representative from Paducah (1993–95)
- Steve Beshear, former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, former Attorney General of Kentucky and former State Representative
- Shelby Lanier, perennial candidate
Results
| 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
- Mitch McConnell, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Tommy Klein, perennial candidate
Results
| 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
- Steve Beshear (Democratic), former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, former Attorney General of Kentucky and former Kentucky State Representative
- Mac Elroy (U.S. Tax Payers)
- Dennis Lacy (Libertarian)
- Mitch McConnell (Republican), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Patricia Jo Metten (Natural Law)
Fundraising
| Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1996 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Mitch McConnell (R) | $5,030,245 | $5,031,293 | $189,324 |
| Steve Beshear (D) | $1,772,276 | $1,770,035 | $1,448 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission | |||
Campaign
In 1996, Beshear started out trailing against McConnell, with an early general election poll placing McConnell ahead of Beshear 50% to 32%. 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. 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%.
Results
| 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) - "Candidate financial totals". Federal Election Commission.
- 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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