1996 United States Senate election in Minnesota
The 1996 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone won reelection to a second term defeating former Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz in a rematch.[1]
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  Wellstone: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Boschwitz: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Other: >90% Tie: 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Minnesota |
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Primary elections
The primary election was held on September 10, 1996.
DFL
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Paul Wellstone (incumbent) | 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
| 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 | |||
General election
Major candidates
- Dean Barkley (Reform), attorney
- Rudy Boschwitz (Republican), former U.S. Senator
- Paul Wellstone (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator
Campaign
Wellstone had unseated the two-term senator Boschwitz in the 1990 election. Boschwitz filed for a rematch.[3] He released ads calling Wellstone "embarrassingly liberal" and "Senator Welfare",[4] and accused Wellstone of supporting flag burning, a move some believe backfired.[5] As in 1990, Wellstone had a massive grassroots campaign that inspired college students, poor people and minorities to get involved in politics for the first time. Boschwitz significantly outspent Wellstone on campaign advertising and the race was closely contested, but Wellstone defeated Boschwitz by a nine-point margin in a three-way race. Dean Barkley received 7% of the vote[6] and was appointed by Governor Jesse Ventura to serve the last few months of Wellstone's term after Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the 2002 election.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | 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% | |
| Write-in | 1,130 | 0.05% | ||
| Total votes | 2,182,905 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL) hold | ||||
See also
References
- "Our Campaigns - MN US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1996".
- "Primary Election Results". OurCampaigns.
- "Star Tribune Archives".
- Welch, William M. (September 11, 1996). "A classic, clear choice in Minnesota Liberal Wellstone vs. conservative Boschwitz". USA TODAY.
- "Pioneer Press: Search Results". September 25, 1996.
- Banisky, Sandy (October 14, 1996). "Incumbent is liberal and proud; Campaign: In Hubert H. Humphrey's home state, a former Republican senator, Rudy Boschwitz, is using his incumbent opponent's views against him.; CAMPAIGN 1996". The Sun.