1996 United States Senate election in Alabama

The 1996 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howell Heflin decided to retire. Republican Jeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming the first of his party to win this seat since Reconstruction in 1868 and only the second Republican ever to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama.

The swearing-in or the inauguration of Jeff Sessions marked the first time since 1871 that Republicans simultaneously held both Senate seats. This was the first time ever that a Republican won a full term to this Senate seat.

Background
In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was listed as the "National Democratic". In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that.

Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature.

Three-term incumbent Howell Heflin decided not to seek re-election. A 75-year-old moderate-to-conservative Democrat, Heflin was re-elected in 1990 with over 60% of the vote. Until 2017, Heflin remained the last member of the Democratic Party to win a Senate seat in Republican-turning Alabama (his colleague, Richard Shelby, elected twice as a Democrat, switched his party affiliation to Republican in 1994).

Candidates

 * Roger Bedford, State Senator
 * Marilyn Q. Bromberg
 * Glen Browder, U.S. Representative from Jacksonville since 1989
 * Natalie Davis, professor of political science at Birmingham-Southern College

Results
[[File:1996 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Alabama results map by county.svg|thumb|Democratic primary first round results by county {{legend|#7996E2|Bedford}}

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{{legend|#FF9955|60–70%}} [[File:1996 United States Senate Democratic primary runoff election in Alabama results map by county.svg|thumb|Democratic primary runoff results by county {{legend|#7996E2|Bedford}}
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Candidates

 * Jimmy Blake, Birmingham City Councilman
 * Walter D. Clark, podiatrist and Vietnam veteran
 * Albert Lipscomb, State Senator
 * Sid McDonald, former State Senator
 * Frank McRight, attorney and Democratic nominee for AL-01 in 1984
 * Jeff Sessions, Alabama Attorney General
 * Charles Woods, businessman and perennial candidate

Results
[[File:1996 United States Senate Republican primary election in Alabama results map by county.svg|thumb|Republican primary first round results by county {{legend|#E27F7F|Sessions}}

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{{legend|#C21B18|80–90%}} {{legend|#5fd35f|McDonald}}

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[[File:1996 United States Senate Republican primary runoff election in Alabama results map by county.svg|thumb|Republican primary runoff results by county {{legend|#E27F7F|Sessions}}

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{{legend|#A80000|>90%}} {{legend|#5fd35f|McDonald}}

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Candidates

 * Roger Bedford (D), State Senator
 * Charles Hebner (NL), activist
 * Jeff Sessions (R), Attorney General of Alabama
 * Mark Thornton (L), economist