1996 United States Senate election in Nebraska

1996 United States Senate election in Nebraska
November 5, 1996
 
Nominee Chuck Hagel Ben Nelson
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 379,933 281,904
Percentage 56.14% 41.65%
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

Elections in Nebraska
Federal offices
Presidential elections
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House of Representatives elections
State government
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
Secretary of State elections
Attorney General elections
State Treasurer elections
State Legislature elections
Ballot measures
2000
2008
2024
Bellevue
Mayoral elections
Grand Island
Mayoral elections
Lincoln
Mayoral elections
Omaha
Mayoral elections
City council
Government

The 1996 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator J. James Exon decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican nominee Chuck Hagel won the open seat by 14 points, defeating incumbent Democratic governor Ben Nelson. Nelson later held Nebraska’s other Senate seat from 2001 to 2013, serving alongside Hagel until he retired from the Senate in 2009.

As of 2025, this is the last time an incumbent governor failed to hold a Senate seat for his party. This was also the first time since Carl Curtis was elected to his final term in 1972 that a Republican was elected to either of Nebraska's Senate seats.[a]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Nelson 93,140 96.97%
Democratic Write-ins 2,912 3.03%
Total votes 96,052 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[1]
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%

Libertarian primary

Results

Libertarian primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Chuck Hagel (write-in) 14 23.33%
Libertarian John DeCamp (write-in) 11 18.33%
Libertarian Write-ins 35 58.33%
Total votes 60 100.00%

Nomination

No candidates filed for the Libertarian Party's nomination, but a primary election was still held, and 60 write-in votes were cast. Of those, 14 votes were cast for Republican Chuck Hagel and 11 for former State Senator John DeCamp. The Nebraska Board of State Canvassers voted 3-2 to certify Hagel as the nominee,[2] but Hagel ultimately declined the nomination, which then went to DeCamp, who accepted it.[3] Though the Nebraska Republican Party filed a lawsuit seeking to block DeCamp's nomination, the lawsuit was dismissed by a state trial court judge and DeCamp was placed on the ballot.[4]

General election

Candidates

Results

1996 United States Senate election in Nebraska[1]
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-in 663 0.10% —
Majority 98,029 14.48% −3.49%
Total votes 676,958 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ^ David Karnes was appointed to the Senate seat left vacant following the 1987 death of Democratic Senator Ed Zorinsky but was defeated in his bid for a full term by Democratic candidate and former Governor Bob Kerrey.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Moore, Scott (1996). Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska (PDF).
  2. ^ Kotok, C. David; Brennan, Joe (June 26, 1996). "Hagel Mulls Libertarian Decision". Omaha World-Herald. Omaha, Nebraska. p. 24. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "Senate campaign begins to heat up". Star-Herald. Scottsbluff, Nebraska. July 31, 1996. p. 3. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  4. ^ Barrette, John (September 13, 1996). "State GOP loses bid to remove candidates". Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. p. 3B. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.