609,360 602,537 Start date November 3, 1986 | 50.3% 49.7% | |
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The 1986 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 3, 1986 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeremiah Denton ran for a second term but lost to Democrat Richard Shelby.
Contents
Democratic primary
Shelby, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat avoided a runoff and won nomination in the Democratic Party primary.
Candidates
Republican primary
Incumbent Senator Jeremiah Denton, a retired Rear Admiral and decorated Vietnam War veteran who six years earlier became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction, won the primary with little opposition.
Candidates
General election
Shelby won a very narrow victory over Denton (less than one percent).