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]

1996 United States Senate election in Minnesota

November 5, 1996

Nominee Paul Wellstone Rudy Boschwitz Dean Barkley Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Reform Popular vote 1,098,430 901,194 152,328 Percentage 50.3% 41.3% 7.0%

County results Wellstone:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Boschwitz:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Paul Wellstone Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone Democratic (DFL)

Primary elections

The primary election was held on September 10, 1996.

DFL

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary results[2]

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

Republican primary results[2]

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

General 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%
	Independent	Write-In	1,130	0.05%
Total votes			2,182,905	100.00%
	Democratic (DFL) hold

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1996

References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=173
2. "Primary Election Results". OurCampaigns.
3. "Star Tribune Archives".
4. Welch, William M. (September 11, 1996). "A classic, clear choice in Minnesota Liberal Wellstone vs. conservative Boschwitz". USA TODAY.
5. "Pioneer Press: Search Results". September 25, 1996.
6. 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.