1996 United States Senate election in Illinois

The 1996 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Paul Simon chose to retire rather than seek a third term in office. In the Democratic primary, U.S. Representative Dick Durbin emerged victorious, while state representative Al Salvi won the Republican primary. Though the election was initially anticipated to be close, Durbin ended up defeating Salvi by a comfortable double-digit margin of victory, allowing him to win what would be the first of several terms in the Senate.

1996 United States Senate election in Illinois
November 5, 1996
Turnout63.79%
 
Nominee Dick Durbin Al Salvi
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,384,028 1,728,824
Percentage 56.09% 40.67%
County results
Durbin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Salvi:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Paul Simon
Democratic

 Elected U.S. Senator

Dick Durbin
Democratic

Elections in Illinois

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (president and House), as well as those for state offices.

Turnout

For the primaries, turnout was 25.85%, with 1,583,406 votes cast.[1] For the general election, turnout was 63.79%, with 4,250,722 votes cast.[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results
Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dick Durbin 512,520 64.87%
Democratic Pat Quinn 233,138 29.51%
Democratic Ronald F. Gibbs 17,681 2.24%
Democratic Jalil Ahmad 17,211 2.18%
Democratic Paul H. D. Park 9,505 1.20%
Total votes 790,055 100

Republican primary

Candidates

Results
Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Al Salvi 377,141 47.64%
Republican Bob Kustra 342,935 43.32%
Republican Robert Marshall 43,937 5.55%
Republican Martin Paul Gallagher 17,276 2.18%
Republican Wayne S. Kurzeja 10,356 1.31%
Total votes 791,645 100

Libertarian primary

Candidates
  • David F. Hoscheidt
  • Robin J. Miller

Results
Libertarian primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Robin J. Miller 1,258 73.74
Libertarian David F. Hoscheidt 448 26.26
Total votes 1,706 100

General election

Results

Durbin won the election easily.

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1996[2][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Dick Durbin 2,384,028 56.09% -8.98%
Republican Al Salvi 1,728,824 40.67% +5.74%
Reform Steven H. Perry 61,023 1.44%
Libertarian Robin J. Miller 41,218 0.97%
Constitution Chad N. Koppie 17,563 0.40%
Natural Law James E. Davis 13,838 0.33%
Write-ins 4,228 0.10%
Majority 655,204 15.41% -14.72%
Turnout 4,250,722 63.79
Democratic hold Swing
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gollark: Enjoy the neglected ND dragon!
gollark: So many turns recently.
gollark: Maybe fewer views is *better*. Who knows.

See also
  • United States Senate elections, 1996

References
  1. "State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election held on ..." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. "State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election ." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  3. "Federal Elections 96: 1996 U.S. Senate Results by State". Fec.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  4. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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