# 1996 United States Senate special election in Oregon

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vte :
The 1996 United States Senate special election in Oregon was held on January 30, 1996, to fill the seat vacated by Republican Bob Packwood, who had resigned from the Senate due to sexual misconduct allegations. Governor at the time John Kitzhaber did not appoint anyone to temporarily fill in for the rest of Packwood's term and called for a special election on January 30, 1996.
In the primaries held on December 5, 1995, Democratic U.S. Representative Ron Wyden and Republican President of the Oregon State Senate Gordon H. Smith were nominated. Wyden then defeated Smith in the general election. Smith would win the regularly-scheduled election to the Senate later that year and serve alongside Wyden until 2009. Wyden's victory made him the first Democratic senator from Oregon since 1969, after Wayne Morse very narrowly lost re-election to Packwood.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Peter DeFazio, U.S. Representative
* Michael Donnelly, businessman and President of Wild Oregon Water
* Anna Nevenic, nurse and perennial candidate
* J.J.T. Van Dooremolen
* Ron Wyden, U.S. Representative

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ron Wyden | 212,532 | 49.46% |
| | Democratic | Peter DeFazio | 187,411 | 43.61% |
| | Democratic | Anna Nevenic | 11,201 | 2.61% |
| | Democratic | Michael Donnelly | 8,340 | 1.94% |
| | Democratic | Write-in Candidates | 7,959 | 1.85% |
| | Democratic | J.J.T. Van Dooremolen | 2,279 | 0.53% |
| Plurality | Plurality | Plurality | 25,121 | 5.85% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 429,722 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Sam Berry, attorney
* Brian Boquist, businessman and rancher
* Jeffrey Brady, dentist
* Valentine Christian, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992
* Robert J. Fenton
* Lex Loeb
* Norma Paulus, Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction, former Oregon Secretary of State, and nominee for Governor of Oregon in 1986
* Jack Roberts, Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
* Gordon H. Smith, President of the Oregon State Senate
* John Thomas, policeman
* Tony G. Zangaro

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Gordon H. Smith | 246,060 | 63.63 |
| | Republican | Norma Paulus | 98,158 | 25.38 |
| | Republican | Jack Roberts | 29,687 | 7.68 |
| | Republican | John Thomas | 3,272 | 0.85 |
| | Republican | Brian Boquist | 3,228 | 0.84 |
| | Republican | Tony G. Zangaro | 1,638 | 0.42 |
| | Republican | Sam Berry | 1,426 | 0.37 |
| | Republican | Jeffrey Brady | 1,160 | 0.3 |
| | Republican | Valentine Christian | 943 | 0.24 |
| | Republican | Robert J. Fenton | 632 | 0.16 |
| | Republican | Lex Loeb | 508 | 0.13 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 147,902 | 38.25% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 386,712 | 100 |

## General election
### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ron Wyden | 571,739 | 47.78% |
| | Republican | Gordon H. Smith | 553,519 | 46.26% |
| | American Independent | Karen Shilling | 25,597 | 2.14% |
| | Libertarian | Gene Nanni | 15,698 | 1.31% |
| | Independent | Write-In Candidates | 14,958 | 1.25% |
| | Socialist | Vickie Valdez | 7,872 | 0.66% |
| | Pacific Green | Lou Gold | 7,225 | 0.60% |
| Plurality | Plurality | Plurality | 18,220 | 1.52% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,196,608 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |