Complex sentence: Picard was elected to his first full term as senator in the fall of 1979 and again in 1983, and 1987, when he defeated fellow Democrat Wade Vincent, 16,933 votes (73 percent) to 6,203 (27 percent).
Split into simpler sentences: Picard was elected to his first full term as senator in the fall of 1979 and again in 1983, and 1987. Also in 1987, he defeated fellow Democrat Wade Vincent, 16,933 votes (73 percent) to 6,203 (27 percent).