1996 United States Senate election in Kentucky
Open-knowledge reference entry
The 1996 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a third term with a 12.6% margin of victory over Democrat Steve Beshear, who later successfully ran in 2007 and 2011 for governor of Kentucky.
Republican primary
Candidates
Tommy Klein, perennial candidate
Mitch McConnell, incumbent U.S. senator
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Tom Barlow, former U.S. representative from Paducah (1993–95)
Steve Beshear, former lieutenant governor of Kentucky, former attorney general of Kentucky and former state representative
Shelby Lanier, perennial candidate
Results
General election
Candidates
Steve Beshear (Democratic), former lieutenant governor of Kentucky, former attorney general of Kentucky and former Kentucky state representative
Mac Elroy (U.S. Tax Payers)
Dennis Lacy (Libertarian)
Mitch McConnell (Republican), incumbent U.S. senator
Patricia Jo Metten (Natural Law)
Fundraising
Campaign
In 1996, Beshear started out trailing against McConnell, with an early general election poll placing McConnell ahead of Beshear 50% to 32%. The campaign ultimately became quite harsh, with the McConnell campaign sending "Hunt Man," a take off of Chicken George dressed in "the red velvet coat, jodhpurs, black riding boots and black helmet of a patrician fox hunter." This was done as a means of criticizing Beshear's membership in a fox hunting club in Lexington, and undercut the Beshear campaign's message that McConnell was a Republican in the mold of Newt Gingrich and that Beshear was the only friend of the working class in the race. Beshear did not make much traction with the electorate during the campaign. By October 1996, Beshear had narrowed the gap between himself and McConnell slightly, with McConnell leading Beshear 50% to 38%.
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