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 County results Shelby: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Denton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Alabama |
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The 1986 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 4, 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 Senator Jeremiah Denton lost re-election to Democrat Richard Shelby by 6,823 votes.
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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeremiah Denton (incumbent) | 29,805 | 88.55% | |
| Republican | Richard Vickers | 3,854 | 11.45% | |
| Total votes | 33,659 | 100.00% | ||
Shelby, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat narrowly avoided a runoff and won nomination in the Democratic Party primary.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Shelby | 420,155 | 51.33% | |
| Democratic | Jim Allen, Jr. | 284,206 | 34.72% | |
| Democratic | Ted McLaughlin | 70,784 | 8.65% | |
| Democratic | Margaret Stewart | 26,723 | 3.27% | |
| Democratic | Steve Arnold | 16,722 | 2.04% | |
| Total votes | 818,590 | 100.00% | ||
Shelby won a very narrow victory of less than one percent over Denton.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Shelby | 609,360 | 50.28% | |
| Republican | Jeremiah Denton (incumbent) | 602,537 | 49.72% | |
| Total votes | 1,211,897 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
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