The 1996 United States Senate election in Kansas was held November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator
Nancy Kassebaum
Nancy Jo Kassebaum Baker (née Landon; born July 29, 1932) is an American politician who represented the State of Kansas in the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1 ...
decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican
Pat Roberts
Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...
won the open seat.
Term limits were an issue during the campaign; while Roberts said that he was not totally opposed to term limits, he was wary of limits that did not apply to current members of Congress, saying that the proposed limits should apply to everyone. While Thompson signed the national term limits pledge from the group
Americans for Limited Terms, Roberts declined to do so, becoming the only major party candidate for the U.S. Senate in the
1996 elections to not sign the pledge. However, he did say that "I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate."
In 2014, he was
re-elected to a fourth and final term in office, before retiring in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
Sally Thompson,
Kansas State Treasurer
The State Treasurer of Kansas is the chief custodian of Kansas’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The Treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation ...
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
*
Pat Roberts
Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...
, U.S. Representative
* Tom Little
* Tom Oyler
* Richard L. Cooley
Results
General election
Candidates
* Mark Marney (Reform)
*
Pat Roberts
Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...
(R), U.S. Representative
* Steven Rosile (L)
* Sally Thompson (D),
Kansas State Treasurer
The State Treasurer of Kansas is the chief custodian of Kansas’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The Treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation ...
Results
See also
*
1996 United States Senate elections
The 1996 United States Senate elections coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.
Despite the re-election of Clinton and Gore, and despite Democrats picking up a net two ...
References
{{United States elections, 1996
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
1996