1996 United States Senate election in Alabama

1996 United States Senate election in Alabama

← 1990 November 5, 1996 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

Elections in Alabama
Federal government Presidential elections 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Presidential primaries and caucuses Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 U.S. Senate elections 1819 1822 1822 (sp) 1826 (sp) 1828 1831 1834 1837 1837 (sp) 1840 1841 (sp) 1842 1847 1848 (sp) 1849 (sp) 1853 1855 1858 1868 1870 1872 1872 (sp) 1876 1878 1878 (sp) 1880 (sp) 1882 1884 1888 1890 1894 1896 1897 1900 1903 1907 1907 (sp) 1908 1911 1914 1914 (sp) 1918 1920 1920 (sp) 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 (sp) 1942 1944 1946 (sp) 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1978 (sp) 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2017 (sp) 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1819 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1869 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1883 sp. 8th 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1894 sp. 3rd 1896 1898 1900 1900 sp. 8th 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1914 sp. 8th 1916 1918 1920 1920 sp. 5th 1921 sp. 4th 1922 1923 sp. 2nd 1924 1926 1928 1928 sp. 3rd 1928 sp. 5th 1930 1932 1933 sp. 8th 1934 1935 sp. 1st 1936 1938 1938 sp. 2nd 1940 1940 sp. 7th 1941 sp. 7th 1942 1943 sp. 3rd 1944 1944 sp. 3rd 1946 1947 sp. 8th 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1972 sp. 3rd 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1989 sp. 3rd 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 sp. 1st 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government State-wide elections 2004 2010 2014 2018 2020 Gubernatorial elections 1819 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Senate elections 2010 2014 2018 State House elections 2010 2018 Ballot measures 2000: Amendment 2 2006: Amendment 774 2020: Amendment 1
Birmingham Mayoral elections 2017 2021
Mobile Mayoral elections 2021
Montgomery Mayoral elections 2007 2009 (special) 2011 2015 2019
Government
v t

The 1996 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howell Heflin decided to retire. Republican Jeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming the first Republican popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction.

Background[]

In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and 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".^[1] 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.

Three-term incumbent Howell Heflin decided not to seek re-election. A 75-year-old moderate-to-conservative Democrat, Heflin was re-elected in 1990 with over 60%. Until 2017, Heflin remained the last member of the Democratic Party to win a Senate seat in Republican-turning Alabama (his colleague, Richard Shelby, elected twice as a Democrat, switched to Republican in 1994 and still remains in the Senate).

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

• Roger Bedford, State Senator
• Marilyn Q. Bromberg
• Glen Browder, U.S. Representative since 1989
• Natalie Davis, professor of political science at Birmingham-Southern College^[2]

Results[]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

• Jimmy Blake, Birmingham City Councilman
• Walter D. Clark, podiatrist and Vietnam veteran
• Albert Lipscomb, State Senator
• Sid McDonald, former State Senator
• Frank McRight, attorney and Democratic nominee for AL-01 in 1984
• Jeff Sessions, Alabama Attorney General
• Charles Woods, businessman and perennial candidate

Results[]

General election[]

Candidates[]

• Roger Bedford (D), State Senator
• Charles Hebner (NL), activist
• Jeff Sessions (R), Attorney General of Alabama
• Mark Thornton (L), economist

Results[]

See also[]

• 1996 United States Senate elections

References[]

External links[]

• Race details on OurCampaign