1996 United States Senate election in Nebraska
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 would later be elected to Nebraska's other U.S. Senate seat in 2000 when Bob Kerrey retired and served alongside Hagel until 2009, when Hagel left the Senate after retiring.
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 County results Hagel: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
editCandidates
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Nelson | 93,140 | 97.00% | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 2,882 | 3.00% | |
| Total votes | 96,022 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Chuck Hagel, businessman
- Don Stenberg, Attorney General of Nebraska
Results
edit| 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% | ||
General election
editCandidates
edit- John DeCamp (L), former state senator
- Bill Dunn (NL)
- Chuck Hagel (R), businessman
- Ben Nelson (D), Governor of Nebraska
Results
edit| 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-ins | 663 | 0.10% | |||
| Majority | 98,029 | 14.48% | −3.49% | ||
| Turnout | 676,958 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ 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.