1996Final results
1996 election for Alabama's 7th District
U.S. House · Alabama
Earl Hilliard (D) won with 71.1% of the vote, defeating Joe Powell (R) by 44.0 points.
Earl HilliardDemocrat · winner
71.1%136,651
Joe PowellRepublican
27.1%52,142
Ken HagerLibertarian
1.6%3,157
192,113 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Earl HilliardJoe Powell
$254.3K
Raised by the campaign
$224.4K
$255.9K
Spent by the campaign
$224K
$9.3K
Cash on hand
$382
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1996.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1996