1996 United States Senate election in Oregon

none the simulatenous Class III special election to complete Bob Packwood's unexpired term held in parallel earlier in the year 1996 United States Senate special election in Oregon March 2026 September 2023 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon Oregon presidential no 1990 United States Senate election in Oregon 1990 2002 United States Senate election in Oregon 2002 November 5, 1996 File:Gordon Smith.jpg 150x150px Gordon Smith Republican Party (United States) 667,336 49.80% 3x4.svg Tom Bruggere Democratic Party (United States) 624,370 45.90% 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon results map by county.svg 260px County results Smith: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Bruggere: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield Republican Party (United States) Gordon H. Smith Republican Party (United States) The 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Mark Hatfield decided to retire after thirty years in the Senate. Oregon State Senate President Gordon H. Smith, who had run for the Senate earlier that year, won the Republican primary, while businessman Tom Bruggere won a contested Democratic primary. The contest between Smith and Bruggere was one of the toughest that year, but ultimately, Smith was able to keep the seat in the Republican column and defeated Bruggere by a narrow margin. This is the last time that Oregon simultaneously voted for presidential and U.S. Senate candidates of different political parties. Democratic primary Candidates Tom Bruggere, businessman Bill Dwyer, State Senator Harry Lonsdale, businessman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1990 Anna Nevenich, nurse and perennial candidate Jerry Rust, candidate for Governor of Oregon in 1982 Results thumb|Results by county, Democratic primary:Tom Bruggere #5555ffff 55–60%#7777ffff 50–55%#9999ffff 45–50%#afb0ffff 40–45%#cdcdffff 35–40%#ebebffff 25–30% Harry Lonsdale #b2ffb2ff 30–35%#c8ffc8ff 25–30% Democratic primary resultshttp://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6920720 Content Manager WebDrawer - 1996 Primary Election Official Results Tom Bruggere Democratic Party (United States) 151,288 49.61% Harry Lonsdale Democratic Party (United States) 76,059 24.94% Bill Dwyer Democratic Party (United States) 30,871 10.12% Jerry Rust Democratic Party (United States) 27,773 9.11% Anna Nevenich Democratic Party (United States) 16,827 5.52% Write-ins Democratic Party (United States) 2,150 0.70% 304,968 100.00% Republican primary Candidates Kirby Brumfield Robert J. Fenton, candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1996 special election Jeff Lewis, nominee for the State House of Representatives in 1994 Lon Mabon, conservative activist Gordon H. Smith, President of the Oregon State Senate and nominee for the U.S. Senate in the 1996 special election Results Republican primary results Gordon H. Smith Republican Party (United States) 224,428 78.06% Lon Mabon Republican Party (United States) 23,479 8.17% Kirby Brumfield Republican Party (United States) 15,744 5.48% Jeff Lewis Republican Party (United States) 13,359 4.65% Robert J. Fenton Republican Party (United States) 8,958 3.12% Write-ins Republican Party (United States) 1,532 0.53% 287,500 100.00% General election Campaign This was the second Senatorial race for Gordon Smith in 1996; he had previously lost to Ron Wyden in the special election to fill Bob Packwood's seat. Both candidates spent heavily from their own resources. Bruggere won the Democratic nomination with $800,000 of his own money in the primary race, Dignified contest slips a bit; race for Senate takes lower road into negativism The Boston Globe October 1, 1996 Curtis Wilkie and was one of 134 candidates for the U.S. Congress to finance their own elections in excess of $50,000 in that cycle. More and more candidates financing own campaigns The Seattle Times July 21, 1996 Cass Connie Smith had already spent $2.5 million of his own money earlier that same year in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Democrat Ron Wyden in the 1996 special election to replace Bob Packwood, who had resigned. Shortly after their respective primary victories, the rivals met for a highly publicized lunch, and agreed to run issue-oriented campaigns. However, in the final weeks of the campaign, Bruggere supporters ran advertisements alleging a pollution problem with Smith's frozen foods business, which the Smith campaign characterized as a breach of that agreement. A Boston Globe profile highlighted their similarities as corporate candidates with minimal political experience. In the general election race, most Oregon daily newspapers endorsed Smith over Bruggere. Most Oregon dailies pick Smith over Bruggere The Columbian November 3, 1996 The race was close, with neither side claiming victory for several days after the election, as absentee ballots were tallied. After all votes were counted, Smith won by 4 percentage points. GOP Oregon Senate seat - Tycoon wins close race to succeed Hatfield The Chicago Tribune November 9, 1996 The Associated Press It was the last of the 1996 Senate elections to be determined; overall, the Republicans gained two seats in the Senate, increasing their majority from 53 to 55 seats. Smith wins tight Oregon Senate race Helen Dewar The Washington Post November 9, 1996 Results United States Senate election in Oregon, 1996Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Clerk of the United States House of Representatives Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1996election.pdf U.S. Government Printing Office 54 Republican Party (United States) Gordon H. Smith 677,336 49.80% -3.89% Democratic Party (United States) Tom Bruggere 624,370 45.90% -0.29% Reform Party (United States) Brent Thompson 20,381 1.50% Pacific Green Party Gary Kutcher 14,193 1.04% Libertarian Party (United States) Stormy Mohn 12,697 0.93% Socialist Party USA Christopher Phelps 5,426 0.40% Natural Law Party (United States) Michael L. Hoyes 4,425 0.33% Write-ins 1,402 0.10% 52,966 3.89% -3.60% 1,360,230 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) See also 1996 United States Senate elections References 30em Oregon 1996 Senate