1996 United States Senate election in Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 five terms in the Senate.
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November 5, 1996
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| Turnout | 63.79% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Durbin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Salvi: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Background
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (president and House), as well as those for state offices.
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
- Jalil Ahmad, real estate agent
- Dick Durbin, incumbent U.S. Representative from Illinois's 20th congressional district
- Ronald F. Gibbs, advisor to former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington
- Paul H. D. Park, member of Chicago's Economic Development Commission[3]
- Pat Quinn, former Illinois State Treasurer
Declined
- Neil Hartigan, former Illinois Attorney General (1983–1991), former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1973–1977), and Democratic nominee for Governor in 1990[4][5]
- William M. Daley, attorney, political consultant, and member of the Daley family (endorsed Hartigan)[6]
Results
| 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 | ||
- Quinn 40–50%
- Durbin 40–50%
- Durbin 50–60%
- Durbin 60–70%
- Durbin 70–80%
-
Durbin >90%
Republican primary
Candidates
- Al Salvi, incumbent State Representative
- Martin Paul Gallagher
- Wayne S. Kurzeja
- Bob Kustra, incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
- Robert Marshall, perennial candidate
Results
| 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, attorney from Bloomington[3]
- Robin J. Miller, businessman from East Peoria, Illinois[3]
Results
| 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.
| 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 | ||||