1996Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1996 election for U.S. Senate in Alabama
U.S. Senate · Alabama
Jeff Sessions (R) won with 52.5% of the vote, defeating Roger Bedford (D) by 7.0 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Jeff SessionsRepublican · winner
52.5%786,436
Roger BedfordDemocrat
45.5%681,651
Mark ThorntonLibertarian
1.4%21,550
Charles R. HebnerNatural Law
0.6%9,123
1,499,393 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.
Roger BedfordJeff Sessions
$3.2M
Raised by the campaign
$3.9M
$3.1M
Spent by the campaign
$3.9M
$128.8K
Cash on hand
$43.5K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 30, 1996; FEC, through Dec 31, 1996.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1996
The candidates
Jeff Sessions (R)Roger Bedford (D)
Also on the ballot: Mark Thornton (Libertarian), 1.4%; Charles R. Hebner (Natural Law), 0.6%