1996 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

The 1996 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Smith won re-election to a second term. Smith had established himself as the most conservative senator from the Northeast, and Bill Clinton's coattails nearly caused his defeat. That was to the point that on the night of the election many American media networks incorrectly projected that Dick Swett had won.

1996 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

← 1990 November 5, 1996 2002 →

Nominee Bob Smith Dick Swett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 242,304 227,397 Percentage 49.25% 46.22%

County results Municipality results Smith:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Swett:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Bob Smith Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bob Smith Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bob Smith, incumbent U.S. senator

Results

1996 Republican U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Smith (incumbent)	85,223	100.00%
Total votes			85,223	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Rauh, founder of Americans for Campaign Reform, former CEO of Griffon Corporation, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1990
• Dick Swett, former U.S. representative from Bow

Results

1996 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dick Swett	32,443	52.47%
	Democratic	John Rauh	29,393	47.53%
Total votes			61,836	100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

• Ken Blevens

Results

1996 Libertarian U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Ken Blevens	663	100.00%
Total votes			663	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Ken Blevens (Libertarian)
• Bob Smith, incumbent U.S. senator (Republican)
• Dick Swett, former U.S. representative from Bow (Democratic)

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Smith (incumbent)	242,304	49.25%	15.88
	Democratic	Dick Swett	227,397	46.22%	14.89
	Libertarian	Ken Blevens	22,265	4.53%	1.19
Total votes			491,966	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1996 United States Senate elections

References

1. Crabtree, Susan (December 2, 1996). "1996 Ad". Insight on the News. Retrieved April 29, 2012. An incorrect exit poll by Voter News Service, or VNS, resulted in an early and ultimately incorrect projection of victory in New Hampshire for Democratic Senate candidate Richard Swett over Republican incumbent Sen. Robert C. Smith. "Every election night, you know, its cardiac-arrest time in some state, in some race - sometimes in several races," CBS' Dan Rather explained at 9:40 p.m. EST. "This race is as hot and tight as a too-small bathing suit on a too-long car ride back from the beach." But the network "oops" came too late for a number of newspapers that featured Swett's exit-poll victory in their early editions.
2. Gardner, William M. (1997). State of New Hampshire Manual for the General Court, 1997. Concord, N.H.: Department of State. p. 294. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
3. "Our Campaigns - NH US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1996".