1996 Missouri gubernatorial election

1996 Missouri gubernatorial election
	County results; Carnahan: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Kelly: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Mel Carnahan; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Mel Carnahan; Democratic

The 1996 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996, and resulted in a victory for the Democratic nominee, incumbent Governor Mel Carnahan, over the Republican candidate, State Auditor Margaret B. Kelly, and Libertarian J. Mark Oglesby.

Governor Carnahan died in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, near the end of this term, and was replaced by Lt. Governor Roger B. Wilson.^[1]

Primary Results

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mel Carnahan (incumbent)	347,488	81.70%
	Democratic	Ruth Redel	33,452	7.87%
	Democratic	Edwin W. Howald	29,890	7.03%
	Democratic	Nicholas Clement	14,490	3.40%
Total votes			425,320	100.0%

Republican primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Margaret B. Kelly	219,435	77.73%
	Republican	John M. Swenson	29,675	10.51%
	Republican	David Andrew Brown	18,755	6.64%
	Republican	Lester W. Duggan Jr.	14,448	5.12%
Total votes			282,313	100.0%

1996 gubernatorial election, Missouri^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mel Carnahan (incumbent)	1,224,801	57.17	−1.51
	Republican	Margaret B. Kelly	866,268	40.43	−0.89
	Libertarian	J. Mark Oglesby	51,432	2.40	+2.40
	N/A	V. Marvalene Pankey (write-in)	10	0.00
	N/A	Jock Peacock (write-in)	7	0.00
Majority			358,533	16.73	−0.63
Turnout			2,142,518	41.87	−3.94
	Democratic hold		Swing