The 1996 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut were held on November 5, 1996, to elect the six members of the U.S. House, one from each of the state's congressional districts, to represent Connecticut in the 105th Congress. These elections coincided with a U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the state legislature.

Democrats picked up the 5th district held by incumbent Republican Gary Franks, while all other incumbents successfully ran for re-election.

Overview United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 1996PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/– Democratic 723,504 55.90% 4 +1 Republican 547,084 42.27% 2 -1 Concerned Citizens 8,385 0.65% 0 0 Independence 6,477 0.50% 0 0 Natural Law 4,677 0.36% 0 0 Libertarian 4,206 0.32% 0 0 Write-in candidates 2 0.00% 0 0 Totals 1,294,335 100.00% 6 —

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Kennelly, who was originally elected in 1981, defeated Republican nominee Kent Sleath with 73.5% of the vote.

Results

District 2

After a narrow reelection in 1994 in which he only won by 21 votes, incumbent Democrat Sam Gejdenson won reelection to a ninth term in his third contest against former state Senator Edward W. Munster.

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Edward W. Munster, former state Senator from the 33rd district (1991-1993) and candidate for this seat in 1992 and 1994

Eliminated in primary Andrew Norton, state Representative from the 48th district

General election Results

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro won re-election to a fourth term, defeating Republican nominee John Coppola with 71.4% of the vote.

Results

District 4

Incumbent Republican Christopher Shays, originally elected in 1987, defeated Democratic nominee and Bridgeport councilman Bill Finch with 60.5% of the vote.

Results

District 5

Incumbent Republican Gary Franks lost re-election in a re-match against former state Senator James H. Maloney.

This was the first time that a congressional district in Connecticut had changed partisan control since Republican John G. Rowland defeated incumbent Democrat William R. Ratchford in the 5th district in 1984.

Results

District 6

Incumbent Republican Nancy Johnson, originally elected in 1982, won re-election to an eighth term, narrowly defeating Democratic nominee Charlotte Koskoff with only 49.6% of the vote.

Results

Notes

References