1996 United States Senate election in Alaska

The 1996 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Ted Stevens ran for re-election to a fifth term in the United States Senate. Stevens faced off against Democratic nominee Theresa Obermeyer, a former member of the Anchorage School Board,[1] and Green Party nominee Jed Whittaker, a commercial fisherman.

1996 United States Senate election in Alaska

November 5, 1996

Nominee Ted Stevens Jed Whittaker Theresa Obermeyer Party Republican Green Democratic Popular vote 177,893 29,037 23,977 Percentage 76.71% 12.52% 10.34%

U.S. senator before election Ted Stevens Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Republican

Open primary

Democratic

• Michael Beasley, perennial candidate
• Henry J. Blake, Jr.
• Lawrence Freiberger, former congressional candidate
• Robert Alan Gigler
• Theresa Obermeyer, former Anchorage School Board member
• Joseph A. Sonneman, perennial candidate
• Frank Vondersaar, perennial candidate

Republican

• Ted Stevens, incumbent United States Senator since 1968
• David Cuddy, former Alaska State Representative
• Charles E. McKee

Green

• Jed Whittaker, commercial fisherman

Results

Open primary results[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	71,043	58.87%
	Republican	Dave W. Cuddy	32,994	27.34%
	Democratic	Theresa Obermeyer	4,072	3.37%
	Green	Jed Whittaker	3,751	3.11%
	Democratic	Joseph A. Sonneman	2,643	2.19%
	Democratic	Michael Beasley	1,968	1.63%
	Democratic	Henry J. Blake, Jr.	1,157	0.96%
	Democratic	Lawrence Freiberger	921	0.76%
	Republican	Charles E. McKee	842	0.70%
	Democratic	Frank Vondersaar	655	0.54%
	Democratic	Robert Alan Gigler	631	0.52%
Total votes			138,492	100.00%

General election

Campaign

The race drew national attention for Obermeyer's erratic behavior: she blamed Stevens for her husband's failure to pass the bar exam twenty-one times, and contended that Stevens had passed the bar by fraud. She "trailed" him to campaign events, frequently wearing a prisoner's outfit and once dragging a ball and chain behind her. In June and July 1996, she served a sentence of 30 days in prison for disorderly conduct because of her role in a disturbance at a federal courthouse, while on probation for a 1994 conviction of disorderly conduct for instigating another disturbance at the same courthouse.[3][4] Obermeyer attracted public attention, and possibly sympathy, during the campaign when, after serving seven days of her sentence in Alaska state prison, she was moved in the middle of the night to a Portland, Oregon county jail, and after a week there, she was moved to a federal prison in Dublin, California; her husband and attorney each complained about the moves, and a Federal prison official acknowledged that they were unusual.[4] During the televised debate before the general election, after discussing diseases of the brain, Stevens earnestly said to his opponent, "I think you need help, Mrs. Obermeyer," a response described fourteen years later in The Anchorage Daily News as one that "has become, it is safe to say, legendary."[5][6]

The televised primary election debates on August 21, 1996 also drew national attention for the unusual cast of characters seeking to oppose Stevens, particularly the seven candidates on the Democratic side. A column on the national PoliticsNow website, headlined "Alaska Displays the Scary Side of Democracy," described the debate as "what would happen if the Addams Family appeared on Meet the Press," leading to nationwide sales by public TV station KAKM of a record number of copies of the debate video.[7] Anchorage Daily News columnist Mike Doogan described the debate as "what would happen if the folks from Jabba the Hutt's headquarters dropped by the Mad Hatter's tea party."[8]

Remnant of Whittaker's campaign bumper sticker, photographed on a light pole on South Cushman Street in Fairbanks in 2014. The bumper sticker read "Tired of Ted? Vote for Jed!".

Results

In the general election, Stevens was re-elected in an overwhelming landslide, and Whittaker finished ahead of Obermeyer.

United States Senate election in Alaska, 1996[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	177,893	76.71%	+10.48%
	Green	Jed Whittaker	29,037	12.52%
	Democratic	Theresa Obermeyer	23,977	10.34%	-21.85%
	Write-ins		1,009	0.44%
Majority			148,856	64.19%	+30.15%
Turnout			231,916
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1996 United States Senate elections

References

1. Kirtley, Jane. "Gag Her with an Injunction | American Journalism Review". Ajr.org. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
2. "Official State of Alaska - Primary : August 27, 1996". Elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
3. "Aliens From Outer Space and Other Election Tales". The New York Times. November 7, 1996. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
4. Phillips, Natalie (4 July 1996). "Obermeyer Went on a Fast Track: U.S. Marshal Denies Special handling". Anchorage Daily News.
5. "Alaska 1996 US Senate campaign debate - Ted Stevens and Theresa Obermeyer (at 4:00)". Youtube. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
6. Alaska Beat (12 August 2010). "Video: 1996 debate, Stevens v. Obermeyer". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
7. Demer, Lisa (7 September 1996). "KAKM Debate Video Becoming Cult Classic". Anchorage Daily News.
8. Doogan, Mike (23 August 1996). "Democratic U.S. Senate Field is Crowded with Strange Rangers". Anchorage Daily News.
9. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2013.