HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1996 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996, alongside the election of both houses of the
Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...
. Incumbent Governor
Evan Bayh Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Indiana, 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997 and as a United States Senate, United States senator representing Indi ...
, a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits established by the
Indiana Constitution The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
. He was succeeded by Lt. Governor Frank O'Bannon, who won election over Republican Stephen Goldsmith with 52% of the vote.


Primaries


Democratic Party

Candidates *Lt. Governor
Frank O'Bannon Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. He is the most recent American state Governor to have died in office. O'Ba ...
O'Bannon was unchallenged in his party's primary, winning the Democratic nomination unanimously. He chose South Bend Mayor Joe Kernan as his running mate.


Republican Party

Candidates *Former Marine Sergeant Rex Early *Mayor of Indianapolis and nominee for lieutenant governor in
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
Stephen Goldsmith Stephen "Steve" Goldsmith (born December 12, 1946) is an Americans, American politician and writer who was the 46th List of mayors of Indianapolis, mayor of Indianapolis. He also served as the Mayor of New York City#Deputies, deputy mayor of Ne ...
*George Witwer Declined *Former vice president of the United States
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
With Governor Evan Bayh unable to seek another term in office, Indiana Republicans felt confident in their ability to win the general election. Of the three candidates for the nomination, the front-runner was Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. Goldsmith was by far the favorite for the nomination throughout the race, in some polls leading by as much as 20 points. The race was particularly heated: Indiana Republican Party Chairman Michael McDaniel, hoping to avoid alienating any voters, declined to endorse a candidate, instead hanging a Swiss flag in his office to symbolize his neutrality. Goldsmith easily won the primary. He endorsed no candidate for lieutenant governor, and Republican state convention delegates chose Witwer as his running mate.


Libertarian Party

Candidates *Steve Dillon The Libertarian Party nominated Steve Dillon as their second candidate to contest the Indiana governorship. Dillon's running mate was Leona McPherson.


General election

The only Great Lakes state to have a Democratic governor going into the 1996 elections, Indiana became the center of the Republican Party's attention in that year's gubernatorial elections. In this traditionally Republican state, Goldsmith and his party were considered to have the edge in the election. That changed, however, when questions about Goldsmith's performance as mayor of Indianapolis surfaced, specifically regarding an August 27 brawl in the city involving several drunken policemen. Goldsmith's campaign was further hurt when it was revealed that several comments made about O'Bannon's record as part of the Indiana state government had been statistically incorrect. The effect of these gaffes was to erase the double-digit lead Goldsmith had enjoyed throughout the summer, leaving him narrowly trailing O'Bannon. O'Bannon, meanwhile, was able to take credit for a thriving economy and a recent tax surplus that had occurred during Bayh's administration. The Democrat centered his campaign on his record in the Indiana State Senate, simultaneously attacking Goldsmith for controversial decisions made during his tenure as mayor of Indianapolis. By running what was later described as a "steady" campaign, O'Bannon was able to refute many of the charges Goldsmith brought against him while keeping the pressure on. Even so, the race remained tight down to election night, and Goldsmith reportedly settled in on November 5 expecting to be elected.


Results

O'Bannon won the election narrowly, carrying 52% of the vote to Goldsmith's 47%.


References

{{United States elections, 1996
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
November 1996 in the United States Joe Kernan (politician)