# 1996 United States Senate election in Illinois

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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vte :
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 several terms in the Senate.

## 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. For the general election, turnout was 63.79%, with 4,250,722 votes cast.

## 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
* 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
* William M. Daley, attorney, political consultant, and member of the Daley family (endorsed Hartigan)

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 790,055 | 100 |

## 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

Republican primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 791,645 | 100 |

## Libertarian primary
### Candidates

* David F. Hoscheidt, attorney from Bloomington
* Robin J. Miller, businessman from East Peoria, Illinois

### Results

Libertarian primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Libertarian | Robin J. Miller | 1,258 | 73.74 |
| | Libertarian | David F. Hoscheidt | 448 | 26.26 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,706 | 100 |

## General election
### Results

Durbin won the election easily.
United States Senate election in Illinois, 1996 :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 655,204 | 15.41% | −14.72% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,250,722 | 63.79 | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |