1996 United States Senate election in Tennessee
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| Turnout | 62.77%  [1] 6.15 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Thompson: 50–60% 60—70% 70–80% Gordon: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1996 Tennessee United States Senate election was held on November 5, 1996, to elect the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Republican Senator Fred Thompson ran for re-election to a full six-year term. Thompson defeated the Democratic challenger, Covington lawyer Houston Gordon in the general election. This is the last time that Tennessee voted for a Senate candidate and a presidential candidate of different political parties.
Candidates
Democratic Party
- Houston Gordon, attorney
Republican Party
- Fred Thompson, incumbent U.S. Senator
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Thompson (Incumbent) | 1,091,554 | 61.37% | +0.93% | |
| Democratic | Houston Gordon | 654,937 | 36.82% | -1.79% | |
| Independent | John Jay Hooker | 14,401 | 0.81% | ||
| Independent | Bruce Gold | 5,865 | 0.33% | ||
| Independent | Robert O. Watson | 5,569 | 0.31% | ||
| Independent | Greg Samples | 4,104 | 0.23% | ||
| Independent | Philip L. Kienlen | 2,173 | 0.12% | ||
| Write-ins | 61 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 436,617 | 24.55% | +2.71% | ||
| Turnout | 1,778,664 | ||||
| Republican hold | |||||
