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 County results Wyden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Smith: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 1996 United States Senate special election in Oregon was held on January 30, 1996, to fill the seat vacated by Republican Bob Packwood, who had resigned from the Senate due to sexual misconduct allegations. Governor at the time John Kitzhaber did not appoint anyone to temporarily fill in for the rest of Packwood's term and called for a special election on January 30, 1996.
In the primaries held on December 5, 1995, Democratic U.S. Representative Ron Wyden and Republican President of the Oregon State Senate Gordon H. Smith were nominated. Wyden then defeated Smith in the general election.[1] Smith would win the regularly-scheduled election to the Senate later that year and serve alongside Wyden until 2009. Wyden's victory made him the first Democratic senator from Oregon since 1969, after Wayne Morse very narrowly lost re-election to Packwood.