The 1996 United States Senate special election in Kansas was held November 5, 1996, concurrently with the presidential election and the regularly scheduled election for the state's Class 2 seat. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Republican nominee for president, had resigned on June 11, 1996, in order to focus on his presidential campaign. Lieutenant Governor Sheila Frahm was appointed to the seat upon Dole's resignation, but she was defeated in the primary by Representative Sam Brownback, who went on to win the general election over Democrat Jill Docking.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Brownback: 40–50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Docking: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Brownback served in the U.S. Senate from 1996 to 2011 and later as Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018; in his successful 2014 gubernatorial re-election campaign, he had faced off again against Docking when she was the unsuccessful Democratic Lieutenant Gubernatorial nominee.
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Sam Brownback, U.S. Congressman and former Kansas Secretary of Agriculture
- Sheila Frahm, incumbent U.S. Senator and former Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
- Christina Campbell-Cline, accountant
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sam Brownback | 187,914 | 54.82% | |
| Republican | Sheila Frahm (incumbent) | 142,487 | 41.57% | |
| Republican | Christina Campbell-Cline | 12,378 | 3.61% | |
| Total votes | 342,779 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Jill Docking, businesswoman and daughter-in-law of former Kansas Governor Robert Docking
- Joan Finney, former Governor of Kansas and former Kansas State Treasurer
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jill Docking | 127,012 | 74.39% | |
| Democratic | Joan Finney | 43,726 | 25.61% | |
| Total votes | 170,738 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editCandidates
edit- Sam Brownback (R), U.S. Congressman and former Kansas Secretary of Agriculture
- Jill Docking (D), businesswoman and daughter-in-law of former Kansas Governor Robert Docking
- Donald Klaassen (Reform), businessman
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sam Brownback | 574,021 | 53.91% | −8.78% | |
| Democratic | Jill Docking | 461,344 | 43.33% | 12.30% | |
| Reform | Donald R. Klaassen | 29,351 | 2.76% | ||
| Majority | 112,677 | 10.58% | −21.08% | ||
| Turnout | 1,064,716 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Aftermath
editBrownback was elected to a full term in 1998, and was re-elected to a second full term in 2004. In 2010, Brownback was elected governor, and won a second term in 2014. He resigned as governor on January 31, 2018, to accept an ambassadorship and was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer.
Brownback's seat is now held by Jerry Moran, a U.S. Representative from Kansas' 1st district for seven terms (1997-2011).
Docking was the running mate of the Democratic nominee, state representative and Minority Leader Paul Davis, in the 2014 gubernatorial election.