1996 Iowa U.S. Senate Election

Iowa · 6 candidates · See every 1996 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1996 Iowa U.S. Senate Election?

Tom Harkin won the 1996 Iowa U.S. Senate Election. Tom Harkin received 634,166 popular votes (51.81%). The main challenger was Jim Lightfoot (46.71%).

See the full head-to-head between Harkin and Lightfoot

Harkin +5.1 pts · won by 62,359 votes

Tom Harkin DemocraticWINNER51.81%

634,166 votes

Jim Lightfoot Republican46.71%

571,807 votes

Sue AtkinsonNominated By Petition0.8%

9,768 votes

Fred GratsonNatural Law0.35%

4,248 votes

Joe SulenticNominated By Petition0.16%

1,941 votes

Shirley E. PenaSocialist Workers0.15%

1,844 votes

Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.