1986 USFL season, Franchise changes
Arky's suicide also threatened the Birmingham Stallions' existence. Arky's father-in-law Marvin Warner had owned the Stallions, and the sequence of events that led to Arky's suicide, the exposure of securities fraud at Arky's company ESM Government Securities, sparked a bank run on Home State Savings Bank when it was revealed that most of ESM's money had been deposited in that bank, wiping out most of Warner's net worth. The team's limited partners, along with a bailout from the city of Birmingham, kept the team afloat during 1985.


1986 USFL season, Franchise changes
The loss of the Western Conference required a realignment of the league's (ostensibly) eight remaining teams. The three Florida teams would have joined Arizona as the "Independence Division", while the "Liberty Division" would comprise the four other teams.


1986 USFL season, Head coach changes
Three teams would have entered the 1986 season with new head coaches.


1986 USFL season, Head coach changes
The sudden cancellation of the 1986 season left the league's coaches out of work. While players were able to sign with other teams fairly quickly, other leagues' teams had already set their coaching staffs, meaning that Pardee, Orlando's Lee Corso and Tampa Bay's Steve Spurrier would have to wait until 1987 to find work. For Birmingham's Rollie Dotsch, it would be too late: by the time he returned to coaching as an NFL assistant in 1987, he had developed terminal cancer.


1986 USFL season, Head coach changes
Davis would find work as a consultant with the startup Arena Football League in 1986 and 1987, then jumped to the World Indoor Football League in 1988 before that league also folded before beginning play, after which joined the NFL as an assistant later that fall. Michaels, Memphis's Pepper Rodgers and Arizona's Frank Kush effectively ended their careers after the USFL ceased operations (Kush's personal services contract meant he would never have to work again; Rodgers would briefly return to coaching in 1995, while Michaels claimed he was blacklisted by the NFL in his efforts to find paying work afterward). Corso would move to broadcasting, beginning a long career working for ESPN as a college football analyst.


1986 USFL season, Head coach changes
Marv Levy, whose rights were still under contract to the suspended Chicago team, would find work during the 1986 season: after the Buffalo Bills fired Hank Bullough (who himself had been under contract to the Pittsburgh Maulers), the team hired Levy midseason. Levy would remain with the Bills for the next 12 seasons.


1986 USFL season, Draft
The 1986 USFL Draft was held May 6, 1986; as in 1983 and 1985, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City hosted the draft. The Orlando Renegades selected Mike Haight, an offensive tackle from the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, as the first overall pick; Haight would instead sign with the NFL's New York Jets before the USFL season was postponed.


1986 USFL season, Draft
The 1986 draft was complicated by the fact that a number of teams had traded draft picks to and from teams that had folded; under the draft rules for 1986, all teams, defunct or not, were included, and any draft pick that was held by a defunct team (either by trade or original award) was skipped over. (For example, the Bandits traded away their first round draft pick to the Denver Gold; as the Gold had pulled out of the league by 1986, and they held that pick, it was skipped over, even though the Bandits still existed.)


1986 USFL season, Draft
The 1986 USFL Territorial Draft was held April 23, 1986. No dispersal draft was conducted.


1986 USFL season, Season structure
The USFL planned to play its games on Saturdays and Sunday nights, with a weekly Thursday night game beginning in Week 3. The season was to last eighteen weeks, beginning Saturday, September 13, with no bye weeks. A single Tuesday night game was scheduled for October 28, with New Jersey playing at  Jacksonville. The league scheduled a game for Thanksgiving Day and also planned a full slate of four games on Christmas, imposing on a holiday the NFL had almost completely avoided (with the exception of two playoff games in 1971) up to that point. The league avoided competing with the bowl games of college football by scheduling its games for the first week of January for Friday through Sunday, January 2–4. The season would end January 11.


1986 USFL season, Season structure
Five teams would have made the playoffs, with a single play-in game to be held the weekend of January 17–18, two semifinals on January 25 and 26, and the league championship on February 1; the fourth USFL Championship Game was to be hosted at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
The USFL secured a television contract extension with ESPN to carry a game of the week during the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs.


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
The league had no over-the-air national broadcast partner for the 1986 season, a condition the league blamed on NFL coercion. One of the USFL's major points of contention in its antitrust lawsuit was that the NFL had allegedly conspired with the Big Three television networks to place the NFL on all three networks, preventing any competitor from gaining a contract. The jury rejected this claim. (The league, despite lack of support from the Big Three, nevertheless would have had options.


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
The Fox network, which would eventually rise to become the fourth major network after buying NFL rights in the 1990s, was launching just as the USFL had planned to move to fall. For reasons unknown—possibilities include Fox's status as a network still in its infancy and the network's desire to limit the amount of programming it carried to avoid regulations—neither the USFL nor Fox pursued a partnership with each other.


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
Einhorn also had access to his own TVS Television Network, an experienced sports syndicator; the USFL could have also relied on its local broadcast partners, many of which were independent stations not beholden to the NFL or Big Three, and regional sports networks to continue coverage had they chosen to do so.)


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
Another factor in the league's inability to secure a broadcast contract in the autumn was the court-ordered decentralization of college football telecasts; with more college football telecasts available in the mid-1980s, the USFL was facing an increasingly crowded market for televised football (part of the reason why, though ESPN and ABC were by this point owned by the same company and ABC had carried games the previous three years, ABC declined to carry games in 1986; USFL games had faced declining ratings and ABC also held contracts with all of the major college football conferences).


1986 USFL season, Broadcasting
By 1987, the NFL and ESPN had reached an agreement to expand into the time slot that the USFL had planned to use, when ESPN Sunday Night Football debuted.


1986 USSR Chess Championship
The 1986 Soviet Chess Championship was the 53rd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 2-28 April 1986 in Kiev. The title was won by Vitaly Tseshkovsky. Semifinals took place in Aktobe, Kostroma and Togliatti; two First League tournaments (also qualifying to the final) were held at Kharkov and Minsk.


1986 USSR Chess Championship, Qualifying, Semifinals
Semifinals took place at Aktobe, Kostroma and Togliatti in July 1985.


1986 USSR Federation Cup
The 1st USSR Federation Cup was brief and took place between 21 September through 4 November. Its final was played at the Republican Stadium in Kishinev.


1986 UTEP Miners football team
The 1986 UTEP Miners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the Western Athletic Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Bob Stull, the team compiled a 4–8 record.


1986 Uganda Cup
1986 Uganda Cup was the 12th season of the main Ugandan football Cup.


1986 Uganda Cup, Overview
The competition has also been known as the Kakungulu Cup and was won by SC Villa who beat Tobacco FC 2-0 in the final. The results are not available for the earlier rounds


1986 Uganda Super League
The 1986 Ugandan Super League was the 19th season of the official Ugandan football championship, the top-level football league of Uganda.


1986 Uganda Super League, Overview
The 1986 Uganda Super League was contested by 15 teams and was won by SC Villa, while Bell FC, Nytil FC and Masaka Union FC were relegated.


1986 Uganda Super League, Leading goalscorer
The top goalscorer in the 1986 season was Charles Letti of Tobacco FC with 29 goals.


1986 United Jersey Bank Classic
The 1986 United Jersey Bank Classic was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey in the United States and was part of the 1986 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and was held from August 18 through August 24, 1986. First-seeded Steffi Graf won the singles title and earned $29,000 first-prize money.


1986 United Jersey Bank Classic, Finals, Doubles
Betsy Nagelsen /  Elizabeth Smylie defeated  Steffi Graf /  Helena Suková 7–6(7–4), 6–3


1986 United Kingdom local elections
Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1986. There was a 3% reduction in the number of councillors, owing to the abolition of the Greater London Council and the Metropolitan County Councils.


1986 United Kingdom local elections
The national projected share of the vote was Labour 37%, Conservative 34%, Liberal-SDP Alliance 26%. The Conservatives lost 975 seats, Labour gained 13 seats and the Liberal-SDP Alliance gained 338 seats.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, London boroughs
In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, Metropolitan boroughs
All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Whole council
In 2 districts the whole council was up for election.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Whole council
In 2 districts there were new ward boundaries, following further electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Third of council
In 121 districts one third of the council was up for election.


1986 United Kingdom local elections, England, Local education authority
This was the first and only election to the directly elected local education authority established by the Local Government Act 1985. However it was short lived being abolished four years later by the Education Reform Act 1988.


1986 United Nations Security Council election
The 1986 United Nations Security Council election was held on 16 October 1986 during the Forty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Argentina, Italy, Japan, West Germany, and Zambia, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1987.


1986 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.


1986 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:


1986 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.


1986 United Nations Security Council election, Rules, Endorsed candidates
Prior to the election, the Mexican delegate on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group endorsed Argentina's candidacy, the West German delegate reiterated the Western European and Other Group's endorsement for Italy's candidacy as well as his country's, and the delegate of Senegal, speaking only for his own government, endorsed Zambia and clarified that his country's candidacy was for the following session.


1986 United Nations Security Council election, Result
Voting was conducted on a single ballot. Ballots containing more states from a certain region than seats allocated to that region were invalidated.


1986 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
The Alaska congressional election of 1986 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1986. The term of the state's sole Representative to the United States House of Representatives expired on January 3, 1987. The winning candidate would serve a two-year term from January 3, 1987, to January 3, 1989.


1986 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The 1986 congressional election for the Delegate from the District of Columbia was held on November 4, 1986. The winner of the race was Walter E. Fauntroy (D), who won his eighth re-election. All elected members would serve in 100th United States Congress.


1986 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the District of Columbia is elected for two-year terms.


1986 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia, Candidates
Walter E. Fauntroy, a Democrat, sought re-election for his ninth term to the United States House of Representatives. Fauntroy was opposed in this election by Republican challenger Mary King and Statehood Party candidate Julie McCall, who received 13.91% and 4.83%, respectively. This resulted in Fauntroy being elected with 80.09% of the vote.


1986 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming
The 1986 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming was held on November 8, 1986. Incumbent Representative Dick Cheney defeated Rick Gilmore with 69.28% of the vote.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections was held on November 4, 1986, in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's second term in office while he was still relatively popular with the American public. As in most midterm elections, the President's party—in this case, the Republican Party — lost seats, with the Democratic Party gaining a net of five seats and cementing its majority. These results were not as dramatic as those in the Senate, where the Republicans lost control of the chamber to the Democrats.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in California
The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1986 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 4, 1986. No districts switched parties, so the delegation remained at 27 Democrats and 18 Republicans.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in California, Results
Final results from the clerk of the House of Representatives:


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland
The 1986 congressional elections in Maryland were held on November 4, 1986, to determine who will represent the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. Maryland has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 100th Congress from January 3, 1987 until January 3, 1989.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 4, 1986, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 10 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 24. All four incumbents who ran were re-elected and the Democrats picked up one of the two open seats vacated by the Republicans. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was four Democrats and two Republicans.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1st congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Thomas F. Hartnett of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1981, chose to not seek re-election and instead made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor. The open seat was won by Republican state senator Arthur Ravenel, Jr.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2nd congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Democratic challenger Fred Zeigler.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 3rd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Butler Derrick of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Republican challenger Richard Dickson.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 4th congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Carroll Campbell of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1979, chose to not seek re-election and instead made a successful run for governor. The open seat was won by Democratic state senator Liz J. Patterson.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 5th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John M. Spratt, Jr. of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1983, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 6th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robin Tallon of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1983, defeated Republican challenger Robbie Cunningham.


1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia
The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia were held on November 4, 1986 to determine who will represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Virginia had ten seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.


1986 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 1986 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 3, 1986 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeremiah Denton ran for a second term, but was narrowly defeated by Democratic U.S. Representative Richard Shelby by around 7,000 votes.


1986 United States Senate election in Alabama, Democratic primary
Shelby, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat narrowly avoided a runoff and won nomination in the Democratic Party primary.


1986 United States Senate election in Alabama, Republican primary
Incumbent Senator Jeremiah Denton, a retired Rear Admiral and decorated Vietnam War veteran who six years earlier became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction, won the primary with little opposition.


1986 United States Senate election in Alabama, General election
Shelby won a very narrow victory of less than one percent over Denton.


1986 United States Senate election in Alaska
The 1986 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Frank Murkowski ran for a second term in the United States Senate and was primarily opposed by Alaska Pacific University President Glenn Olds. Following a highly competitive election in 1980, Murkowski faced a legitimate opponent in Glenn Olds, and the contest was fairly close. However, in the end, Murkowski was able to defeat Olds by a slightly wider margin than he won by six years prior.


1986 United States Senate election in Arizona
The 1986 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. The open seat was won by John McCain, a Republican congressman from Arizona's 1st congressional district and former Navy officer, as well as future 2008 presidential nominee against Democrat Barack Obama. McCain would remain in the Senate until his death on August 25, 2018.


1986 United States Senate election in Arizona, Campaign
Kimball's campaign was subject to negative press from the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness." McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of 21%.


1986 United States Senate election in Arkansas
The 1986 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers won re-election to a third term.


1986 United States Senate election in California
The 1986 United States Senate election in California took place on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Alan Cranston narrowly won re-election to a fourth term over Republican U.S. Congressman Ed Zschau.


1986 United States Senate election in Colorado
The 1986 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Hart decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Tim Wirth won the open seat.


1986 United States Senate election in Connecticut
The 1986 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 3, 1986, alongside other elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Dodd won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate election in Florida
The 1986 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 4, 1986 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins decided to run for re-election to second term, but was defeated by Democrat Bob Graham, the popular incumbent Governor of Florida . As of 2021, this was the last time an incumbent from Florida's Class 3 Senate seat lost re-election.


1986 United States Senate election in Georgia
The 1986 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 8, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly ran for re-election, but was defeated by Democrat Wyche Fowler in a close race. This was the last time until 2021 where Democrats won the class 3 senate seat on partisan lines. This was also the last time a Democrat was elected to the class 3 seat for a full term.


1986 United States Senate election in Hawaii
The 1986 United States Senate election in Hawaii was held on November 4, 1986.


1986 United States Senate election in Hawaii
Incumbent Senator Daniel Inouye was re-elected to a fifth term in office.


1986 United States Senate election in Hawaii, Democratic primary, Results
Senator Inouye was unopposed for renomination by the Democratic Party.


1986 United States Senate election in Idaho
The 1986 United States Senate election in Idaho took place on November 4, 1986 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Steve Symms won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate election in Illinois
The 1986 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 1986. The incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon won re-election to a second term. As of 2021, this is the last election in which an incumbent Senator won re-election to Illinois' Class 3 seat and was elected to more than one full term.


1986 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for House, as well as those for state offices.


1986 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
For the primaries, turnout was 21.84%, with 1,333,989 votes were cast.


1986 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
For the general election, turnout was 52.01%, with 3,122,833 votes cast.


1986 United States Senate election in Illinois, General election
Dixon easily won the senate race. Koehler fared poorly throughout most parts of the state, only winning 10 of the state's 102 counties.


1986 United States Senate election in Indiana
The 1986 United States Senate election in Indiana was held on November 5, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Quayle won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate election in Iowa
The 1986 United States Senate election in Iowa was held November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Chuck Grassley won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee, attorney John P. Roehrick in a landslide.


1986 United States Senate election in Kansas
The 1986 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican Bob Dole defeated Democratic nominee Guy MacDonald with 70.05% of the vote.


1986 United States Senate election in Kentucky
The 1986 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 4, 1986, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Wendell Ford won re-election in a landslide against Republican Jackson Andrews, winning every county in the state.


1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana
The 1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 1986. Democratic nominee John Breaux defeated Republican nominee Henson Moore with 52.82% of the vote.


1986 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 1986 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Charles Mathias Jr. decided to retire, instead of seeking a fourth term. Democratic nominee Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski defeated Reagan Administration official Linda Chavez for the open seat.


1986 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Mathias announced his retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate.


1986 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Chavez won the primary handily, defeating several Republican challengers. Later, she made comments that some Mikulski supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. In an article quoting Chavez's claim that Mikulski was a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat", The Washington Post reported that Chavez was directly implying that the never-married Mikulski was a lesbian. Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign. In defending her use of the phrase, Chavez stated the line "San Francisco Democrats" was a reference to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which Kirkpatrick coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal.". The phrase "San Francisco liberal" was common at the time.


1986 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote. She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).


1986 United States Senate election in Missouri
The 1986 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Eagleton decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Governor Kit Bond won the open seat.


1986 United States Senate election in Nevada
The 1986 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. U.S. Representative Democratic nominee Harry Reid won the open seat.


1986 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
The 1986 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Warren Rudman won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate election in New York
The 1986 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 4, 1986 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


1986 United States Senate election in New York
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Al D'Amato won re-election to a second term by a wide margin versus Democratic opponent Mark Green. D'Amato's performance was credited to his strength in suburban areas. During his Senate campaign, Green refused to accept money from special interest groups' political action committees (PACs) – which had accounted for 25% of all campaign spending in Congressional campaigns in 1984 – denouncing PACs as "legalized bribery."


1986 United States Senate election in New York
Former Representative and 1984 vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro had been widely expected to run for Senate. However, Ferraro chose to forgo a candidacy in December 1985 due to legal problems facing her and her husband.


1986 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Democratic, Role of Geraldine Ferraro
In the run-up to the Senate contest, former Representative Geraldine Ferraro was widely expected to run against D'Amato. Despite her presence on the losing presidential ticket in 1984, her high public stature led commentators to believe she'd be a formidable Senate candidate. In 1985, one year before the election, Ferraro did groundwork in Upstate New York towards that end.


1986 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Democratic, Role of Geraldine Ferraro
However, in December 1985, she said she would not run. She explained that she due to an ongoing U.S. Justice Department probe on her and her husband's finances stemming from 1984 campaign revelations.


1986 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Green vs. Dyson contest
The moderate Dyson was supported by many high-profile Democrats, and received the behind-the-scenes support of Governor Mario Cuomo. Green received the support of eight Democratic members of Congress. Despite spending $6 million on his campaign to the $600,000 raised by Green, Dyson was defeated by the more liberal Green in the primary. Upon hearing news of his victory, Green boasted:


1986 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Green vs. Dyson contest
"We were outspent by 800 percent and won by 600 percent. No one has ever been outspent in a primary by $6 million to $800,000 and still won.''


1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The 1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 8, 1986 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford. There were two separate elections held on the same day: a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987) and a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987). Sanford won both elections.


1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The primary elections would nominate candidates to the special and the regular election.


1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina, Democratic primary
Terry Sanford, then the outgoing president of Duke University, first said in September 1985 that he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate the next year but quickly withdrew, as it appeared that the party wanted a "fresh" face, most likely in the person of UNC System President William Friday. Then, Friday declined to run, as did other well-known politicians like former Gov. Jim Hunt.


1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina, Democratic primary
Former North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lauch Faircloth then made it known that he would run, but he was considered too conservative by many party leaders, who encouraged Sanford to enter the race in order to defeat Faircloth. Sanford agreed to run, which led Faircloth and another candidate, Judge Marvin K. Blount Jr., to withdraw before filing their candidacies. Six years later, Faircloth did run for the Senate against Sanford, but this time as a Republican.


1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina, Republican primary
Sen. East declined to run for a second term, citing his health. Longtime U.S. Representative Jim Broyhill entered the race with much of the establishment support, but David Funderburk had the backing of the organization of Senator Jesse Helms. Funderburk charged Broyhill with being insufficiently conservative, but in the end, Broyhill won the nomination handily in the May primary. The next month, Sen. East committed suicide, and Gov. James G. Martin appointed Broyhill to his seat.


1986 United States Senate election in North Dakota
The 1986 United States Senate election in North Dakota was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mark Andrews ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic-NPL nominee Kent Conrad.


1986 United States Senate election in North Dakota, Campaign
Andrews lost re-election by just over 2,000 votes after a rigorous campaign involving personal attacks and other strategies.


1986 United States Senate election in Ohio
The 1986 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 3, 1986. It was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator John Glenn won re-election to a third term.


1986 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
The 1986 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Don Nickles won re-election to his second term.


1986 United States Senate election in Oregon
The 1986 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 8, 1986. Incumbent Republican Bob Packwood ran for re-election. U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver received the Democratic nomination. A populist Democratic congressman from Eugene, Oregon, he was a darling of the environmentalists. Weaver supported the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984. Packwood was confident despite the popular opponent, because had more money and a better campaign organization. After winning the party nomination, Weaver was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into his campaign finances, and withdrew his candidacy. Rick Bauman was selected to replace Weaver on the ballot, and lost handily to Packwood.


1986 United States Senate election in Oregon, Democratic primary, Results
After the primary, a House Ethics Committee probe into Weaver's campaign finances led him to withdrew his candidacy and the Oregon Democratic State Central Committee selected Bauman to replace Weaver on the ballot in August, just 10 weeks before the general election.


1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
The 1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
Despite the popularity of his Republican counterpart John Heinz, Arlen Specter was viewed somewhat tepidly by the Pennsylvania electorate entering the race, although both men shared similar moderate profiles. Additionally, economic woes had dragged down the popularity of Republican candidates in the industrial states. Democrats sensed the vulnerability of the incumbent, and two men with similar experience in the U.S. House, but contrasting political views, vied for the nomination. Don Bailey, the state's incumbent Auditor General, projected a strong blue-collar image and had moderate positions that were often relatively close to Specter's.


1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
Bob Edgar, a Methodist minister and sitting Congressman, had more liberal viewpoints, as he was connected with the Vietnam War-era peace movement and the anti-corruption movement following the Watergate scandals. However, issues played a very minor role in the primary, which instead showcased the state's geographical divide, with Delaware County-based Edgar narrowly defeating Westmoreland County-based Bailey.


1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
True to his past as a political organizer, Edgar developed a strong grassroots campaign and reached out to alienated left-leaning voters. He attacked Specter as a politician who compromised his moderate political positions when pressured by the conservative administration of Ronald Reagan. Edgar, who had a history of winning tight races in a traditionally Rockefeller Republican congressional district, was a financial underdog, as Specter was able to raise nearly three times as much for his campaign warchest.


1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
Originally attempting a positive campaign, Specter changed his strategy in response to Edgar's personal attacks and characterized Edgar as soft on defense issues and as a liberal ideologue. Edgar was never able to find a message that resonated with voters in the western portion of the state, and Specter undercut Edgar's support in his suburban Philadelphia heartland by presenting himself as representative of the views of the average suburban voter.


1986 United States Senate election in South Carolina
The 1986 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1986 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Henry McMaster to win his fourth full term. This is also the last US Senate election in South Carolina where the Democrat won with a double-digit margin.


1986 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Campaign
The race was not seriously contested and was not a target by the Republicans. With little financial assistance, McMaster was unable to mount a credible challenge to Hollings' re-election in what became a difficult year for Republicans.


1986 United States Senate election in South Dakota
The 1986 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator James Abdnor ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democrat Tom Daschle.


1986 United States Senate election in South Dakota, Republican primary, Results
Although Abdnor won the primary by a fairly comfortable margin, it hurt him badly. Daschle was uncontested for the Democratic nomination and therefore was able to focus on the general election early, while Abdnor had to fight a challenge from a popular incumbent governor. Many political analysts say this was one of the factors in Abdnor's general election loss.


1986 United States Senate election in Utah
The 1986 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 4, 1986, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives as well as various state and local elections. Republican Jake Garn won re-election.


1986 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 1986 United States Senate election in Vermont was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy won reelection to a third term.


1986 United States Senate election in Washington
The 1986 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Slade Gorton ran for re-election, but was defeated by former Transportation Secretary Brock Adams. However, Gorton would later be returned to Washington's other Senate seat in 1988.


1986 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
The 1986 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 3, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Kasten won re-election to a second term.


1986 United States Senate elections
The 1986 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. The party not controlling the presidency gained seats, as usually occurs in mid-term elections.


1986 United States Senate elections, Democratic gains
Democrats gained a net eight seats, and recaptured control of the Senate from the Republicans with a 55–45 majority. They defeated seven incumbents, all but one of whom had been elected in 1980, and gained open seats held by retiring Republicans in Maryland and Nevada. Bob Dole (R-Kansas) and Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) exchanged positions as the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader.


1986 United States Senate elections, Democratic gains
This was the last election — until 2016 — in which the Democrats in this Class of Senators (1/3 of the Senate) amassed a gain in seats (not including special elections held in off-years in some states to fill the seats that had been vacated by Senators due to death, resignation, or otherwise).


1986 United States Senate elections, Republican gain
The only gain by the Republican Party was for the open seat in Missouri.


1986 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Special election
In this special election, the winner was seated during 1986.


1986 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1987; ordered by state.


1986 United States Senate elections, Closest races
In sixteen races the margin of victory was under 10%.


1986 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Incumbent Republican Jeremiah Denton ran for a second term but lost to Democrat Richard Shelby.


1986 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Shelby, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat avoided a primary runoff and won nomination in the Democratic Party primary.


1986 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Incumbent Senator Jeremiah Denton, a retired Rear Admiral and decorated Vietnam War veteran who six years earlier became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction, won the Republican primary with little opposition.


1986 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Shelby won a very narrow victory over Denton (less than one percent).


1986 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski ran for a second term and was primarily opposed by Alaska Pacific University President Glenn Olds and Libertarian Chuck House, field representative for Eastman Kodak Company. Following a highly competitive election in 1980, Murkowski faced a legitimate opponent in Glenn Olds, and the contest was fairly close. However, in the end, Murkowski was able to defeat Olds by a slightly wider margin than he won by six years prior.


1986 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Incumbent Republican Barry Goldwater decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. The open seat was won by Republican John McCain, a Congressman and former Navy Officer who beat Democratic State Legislator Richard Kimball.


1986 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Kimball's campaign was subject to negative press from the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness." McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of 20%.


1986 United States Senate elections, Arkansas
Incumbent Democrat Dale Bumpers won re-election to a third term over Republican U.S. Attorney Asa Hutchinson.


1986 United States Senate elections, California
Incumbent Democratic Alan Cranston narrowly won re-election to a fourth term over Republican Ed Zschau, U.S. Congressman from the 12th district.


1986 United States Senate elections, Colorado
Incumbent Democrat Gary Hart retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Tim Wirth won the open seat over Republican U.S. Representative Ken Kramer.


1986 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
Incumbent Democrat Chris Dodd won re-election to a second term over Republican Roger Eddy of the Republican National Committee


1986 United States Senate elections, Florida
Incumbent Republican Paula Hawkins decided to run for re-election to second term, but lost to popular Governor of Florida Bob Graham.


1986 United States Senate elections, Georgia
Incumbent Republican Mack Mattingly decided to run for re-election and lost a close race to Democratic U.S. Congressman Wyche Fowler.


1986 United States Senate elections, Hawaii
Incumbent Democratic Daniel Inouye won re-election to a fifth term over Republican Frank Hutchinson.


1986 United States Senate elections, Idaho
Incumbent Republican Steve Symms won re-election to a second term over Democratic Governor John V. Evans.


1986 United States Senate elections, Illinois
The incumbent Democratic Alan J. Dixon won re-election to a second term over Republican State Representative Judy Koehler. This is also the last time as of 2016 that a winning Senate Candidate was elected to this seat twice.


1986 United States Senate elections, Illinois
Dixon easily won the senate race. Koehler fared poorly throughout most parts of the state, only winning 10 of the states 102 counties.


1986 United States Senate elections, Indiana
Incumbent Republican Dan Quayle won re-election to a second term over Democratic Valparaiso City Councilwoman Jill L. Long.


1986 United States Senate elections, Iowa
Incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley ran for re-election to a second term, which he won easily over Democratic nominee John P. Roehrick, an attorney.


1986 United States Senate elections, Kansas
Incumbent Republican Bob Dole ran for re-election to a fourth term, which he won easily over Democratic nominee Guy MacDonald, a school teacher.


1986 United States Senate elections, Kentucky
Democrat Wendell Ford won re-election, He defeated Republican Jackson Andrews.


1986 United States Senate elections, Louisiana
Incumbent Democratic Russell B. Long decided to retire instead of seeking an eighth term. The open seat was won by Democrat U.S. Representative John Breaux, who beat Republican  U.S. Representative Henson Moore.


1986 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Incumbent Republican Charles Mathias, Jr. decided to retire, instead of seeking a fourth term. Democratic  Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski defeated Republican Reagan Administration official Linda Chavez for the open seat.


1986 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Mathias announced his retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate.


1986 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Chavez won the primary handily, defeating several Republican challengers. Later, she made comments that some Mikulski supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. In an article quoting Chavez's claim that Mikulski was a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat", The Washington Post reported that Chavez was directly implying that the never-married Mikulski was a lesbian. Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign. In defending her use of the phrase, Chavez stated the line "San Francisco Democrats" was a reference to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which Kirkpatrick coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal.". The phrase "San Francisco liberal" was common at the time.


1986 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote. She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).


1986 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Incumbent Democrat Tom Eagleton decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Governor Kit Bond won the open seat, beating Democratic Lieutenant Governor Harriett Woods.


1986 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Incumbent Republican Paul Laxalt decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. U.S. Representative Democratic nominee Harry Reid won the open seat over Republican former U.S. Representative James David Santini.


1986 United States Senate elections, New Hampshire
Incumbent Republican Warren Rudman won re-election to a second term, beating the Democratic former Governor of Massachusetts Endicott Peabody.


1986 United States Senate elections, New York
Incumbent Republican Al D'Amato won re-election to a second term over Democrat Mark Green, the Chief Speechwriter for U.S. Senator Gary Hart and former congressional candidate.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
Incumbent Republican Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford. There were two separate elections held on the same day: a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987) and a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987). Sanford won both elections.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
The primary elections would nominate candidates to the special and the regular election.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina, North Carolina (regular)
Terry Sanford, then the outgoing president of Duke University, first said in September 1985 that he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate the next year but quickly withdrew, as it appeared that the party wanted a "fresh" face, most likely in the person of UNC System President William Friday. Then, Friday declined to run, as did other well-known politicians like former Gov. Jim Hunt.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina, North Carolina (regular)
Former North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lauch Faircloth then made it known that he would run, but he was considered too conservative by many party leaders, who encouraged Sanford to enter the race in order to defeat Faircloth. Sanford agreed to run, which led Faircloth and another candidate, Judge Marvin K. Blount Jr., to withdraw before filing their candidacies. Six years later, Faircloth did run for the Senate against Sanford, but this time as a Republican.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina, North Carolina (regular)
Sen. East declined to run for a second term, citing his health. Longtime U.S. Representative Jim Broyhill entered the race with much of the establishment support, but David Funderburk had the backing of the organization of Senator Jesse Helms. Funderburk charged Broyhill with being insufficiently conservative, but in the end, Broyhill won the nomination handily in the May primary. The next month, Sen. East committed suicide, and Gov. James G. Martin appointed Broyhill to his seat.


1986 United States Senate elections, North Carolina, North Carolina (special)
This was a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987), being held contemporaneously with a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987).


1986 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mark Andrews lost re-election to a second term to Dem-NPL nominee Kent Conrad, State Tax Commissioner. Andrews lost re-election by just over 2,000 votes after a rigorous campaign involving personal attacks and other strategies.


1986 United States Senate elections, Ohio
Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator John Glenn won re-election to a third term over Republican U.S. Congressman Tom Kindness.


1986 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Incumbent Republican Don Nickles won re-election to his second term, over Democratic U.S. Congressman James R. Jones.


1986 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Incumbent Bob Packwood ran for re-election. U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver received the Democratic nomination. A populist Democratic congressman from Eugene, Oregon, he was a darling of the environmentalists. Weaver supported the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984. Packwood was confident despite the popular opponent, because had more money and a better campaign organization. After winning the party nomination, Weaver was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into his campaign finances, and withdrew his candidacy. Rick Bauman was selected to replace Weaver on the ballot, and lost handily to Packwood.


1986 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Incumbent Republican Arlen Specter won re-election to a second term over Democratic U.S. Congressman Bob Edgar. Despite the popularity of his Republican counterpart John Heinz, Arlen Specter was viewed somewhat tepidly by the Pennsylvania electorate entering the race, although both men shared similar moderate profiles. Additionally, economic woes had dragged down the popularity of Republican candidates in the industrial states. Democrats sensed the vulnerability of the incumbent, and two men with similar experience in the U.S. House, but contrasting political views, vied for the nomination.


1986 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Don Bailey, the state's incumbent Auditor General, was viewed as the initial favorite, as he projected a strong blue collar image and had moderate positions that were often relatively close to Specter's. Bob Edgar, a Methodist minister and sitting Congressman, had more liberal viewpoints, as he was connected with the Vietnam War-era peace movement and the anti-corruption movement following the Watergate scandals. However, issues played a very minor role in the primary, which instead showcased the state's geographical divide, with Delaware County-based Edgar narrowly defeating Westmoreland County-based Bailey.


1986 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
True to his past as a political organizer, Edgar developed a strong grassroots campaign and reached out to alienated left-leaning voters. He attacked Specter as a politician who compromised his moderate political positions when pressured by the conservative administration of Ronald Reagan. Edgar, who had a history of winning tight races in his congressional district, was a financial underdog, as Specter was able to raise nearly three times as much for his campaign warchest.


1986 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Originally attempting a positive campaign, Specter changed his strategy in response to Edgar's personal attacks and characterized Edgar as soft on defense issues and as a liberal ideologue. Edgar was never able to find a message that resonated with voters in the western portion of the state, and Specter undercut Edgar's support in both candidates' suburban Philadelphia home by presenting himself as representative of the views of the average suburban voter.


1986 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Popular incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican U.S. Attorney and future Governor Henry McMaster to win his fourth full term.


1986 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
The race was not seriously contested and was not a target by the Republicans. With little financial assistance, McMaster was unable to mount a credible challenge to Hollings's re-election in what became a difficult year for Republicans.


1986 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Incumbent Republican James Abdnor ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic Congressman Tom Daschle.


1986 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Despite Abdnor winning the primary by a fairly comfortable margin, it hurt him badly. Daschle was uncontested for the Democratic nomination and therefore was able to focus on the general election early, while Abdnor had to fight a challenge from an incumbent governor. Many political analysts say this was one of the factors in Abdnor's general election loss.


1986 United States Senate elections, Vermont
Incumbent Democrat Patrick Leahy won re-election to a third term over Republican former Governor of Vermont Richard A. Snelling and Liberty Unionist sociologist and perennial candidate Jerry Levy.


1986 United States Senate elections, Washington
Incumbent Republican Slade Gorton lost re-election to U.S. Congressman Brock Adams, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation.


1986 United States Senate elections, Wisconsin
Incumbent Republican Bob Kasten won re-election to a second term over Democratic former Deputy Attorney General of Wisconsin Ed Garvey.


1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina
The 1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina was held on November 8, 1986 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford. This was a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987), being held contemporaneously with a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987). Sanford won both elections.


1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina
The primary elections would nominate candidates to the special and the regular election.


1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina, Democratic primary
Terry Sanford, then the outgoing president of Duke University, first said in September 1985 that he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate the next year but quickly withdrew, as it appeared that the party wanted a "fresh" face, most likely in the person of UNC System President William Friday. Then, Friday declined to run, as did other well-known politicians like former Gov. Jim Hunt.


1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina, Democratic primary
Former North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lauch Faircloth then made it known that he would run, but he was considered too conservative by many party leaders, who encouraged Sanford to enter the race in order to defeat Faircloth. Sanford agreed to run, which led Faircloth and another candidate, Judge Marvin K. Blount Jr., to withdraw before filing their candidacies. Six years later, Faircloth did run for the Senate against Sanford, but this time as a Republican.


1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina, Republican primary
Sen. East declined to run for a second term, citing his health. Longtime U.S. Representative Jim Broyhill entered the race with much of the establishment support, but David Funderburk had the backing of the organization of Senator Jesse Helms. Funderburk charged Broyhill with being insufficiently conservative, but in the end, Broyhill won the nomination handily in the May primary. The next month, Sen. East committed suicide, and Gov. James G. Martin appointed Broyhill to his seat.


1986 United States bombing of Libya
The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, consisted of air strikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps via air strikes, in retaliation for the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier. There were 40 reported Libyan casualties, and one U.S. plane was shot down. One of the claimed Libyan deaths was of a baby girl, reported to be Muammar Gaddafi's daughter, Hana Gaddafi. However, there are doubts as to whether she was really killed, or whether she really even existed.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Origins
Libya represented a high priority for President Ronald Reagan shortly after his 1981 inauguration. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was firmly anti-Israel and had supported violent organizations in the Palestinian territories and Syria. There were reports that Libya was attempting to become a nuclear power and Gaddafi's occupation of Chad, which was rich in uranium, was of major concern to the United States. Gaddafi's ambitions to set up a federation of Arab and Muslim states in North Africa were alarming to U.S. interests. Furthermore, then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig wanted to take proactive measures against Gaddafi because he had been using former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives to help set up terrorist camps (most notably Edwin P. Wilson and Frank E. Terpil).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Origins
After the December 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks, which killed 19 and wounded approximately 140, Gaddafi indicated that he would continue to support the Red Army Faction, the Red Brigades, and the Irish Republican Army as long as the European governments supported anti-Gaddafi Libyans.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Origins
After years of occasional skirmishes with Libya over Libyan territorial claims to the Gulf of Sidra, the United States contemplated a military attack to strike targets within the Libyan mainland. In March 1986, the United States, asserting the 12-nautical-mile (22 km; 14 mi) limit to territorial waters according to international law, sent a carrier task force to the region. Libya responded with aggressive counter-maneuvers on 24 March that led to a naval engagement in the Gulf of Sidra.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Origins
On 5 April 1986, Libyan agents bombed "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, killing three people, including a U.S. serviceman, and injuring 229 people. West Germany and the United States obtained cable transcripts from Libyan agents in East Germany who were involved in the attack.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Origins
More detailed information was retrieved years later when Stasi archives were investigated by the reunited Germany. Libyan agents who had carried out the operation from the Libyan embassy in East Germany were identified and prosecuted by Germany in the 1990s.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Preparations
The attack mission against Libya had been preceded in October 1985 by an exercise in which the 20th TFW stationed at RAF Upper Heyford airbase in the UK, which was equipped with F-111Es, received a top-secret order to launch a simulated attack mission on 18 October, with ten F-111Es armed with eight 500-lb practice bombs, against a simulated airfield located in Newfoundland, Canada south of CFB Goose Bay. The mission was designated Operation Ghost Rider. The mission was a full rehearsal for a long-range strike against Libya. The mission was completed successfully, with the exception of one aircraft that had all but one of its eight bombs hang up on one of its wing racks. The lessons learned were passed on to the 48th TFW which was equipped with the newer "F" models of the F-111.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Preparations
Elements of the then-secret 4450th Tactical Group (USAF) were put on standby to fly the strike mission against Libya. Over 30 F-117s had already been delivered to Tactical Air Command (USAF) and were operating from Tonopah Test Range Airport in Nevada. Commanders in the North Africa/Mediterranean theaters knew nothing about the capabilities of the F-117, or that the aircraft even existed. Within an hour of the planned launch of the F-117s, the Secretary of Defense scrubbed the stealth mission, fearing a compromise of the secret aircraft and its development program. The air strike was carried out with conventional U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force aircraft. The F-117 would remain completely unknown to the world for several more months, before being unveiled in 1988 and featured prominently in media coverage of Operation Desert Storm.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Preparations
For the Libyan raid, the United States was denied overflight rights by France, Spain, and Italy as well as the use of European continental bases, forcing the Air Force portion of the operation to be flown around France and Spain, over Portugal and through the Straits of Gibraltar, adding 1,300 miles (2,100 km) each way and requiring multiple aerial refuelings. The French refusal alone added 2,800 km. French President François Mitterrand refused overflight clearance because the United States was interested in limited action in Libya while France was more interested in major action that would remove Gaddafi from power. Another factor in the French decision was the United States' last-minute failure to participate in a retaliatory air raid on Iranian positions after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Targets
After several unproductive days of meetings with European and Arab nations, and influenced by an American serviceman's death, Ronald Reagan, on 14 April, ordered an air raid on the following Libyan targets:


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Strike force
Among operational United States tactical aircraft, only the General Dynamics F-111 and the A-6 Intruder possessed the ability to attack at night with the required precision. Although the F-111s would be required to fly from distant bases, they were essential to mission success, because the eighteen A-6 available aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43) and USS America (CV-66) could not carry enough bombs to simultaneously inflict the desired damage on the five targets selected.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Strike force, United States Air Force
Twenty-eight McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenders and Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers took off from RAF Mildenhall and RAF Fairford shortly after 19:00 on 14 April. These tankers would conduct four silent refueling operations over the 6,000 mi (9,700 km) round-trip route the F-111s would fly to target. Within minutes the tankers were followed by twenty-four F-111F strike aircraft of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying from RAF Lakenheath and five EF-111A Ravens of the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing from RAF Upper Heyford. Six F-111s and one EF-111 were designated spares who returned to base after the first refueling was completed without any system failures among the designated strike aircraft.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Strike force, United States Navy
America was on station in the Gulf of Sidra, but Coral Sea was preparing to leave the Mediterranean, and made a high-speed return from Spain. Naval aviators were dismayed when pre-raid news broadcasts eliminated any element of surprise by listing their mission times and target areas. America's air group would strike targets in downtown Benghazi and provide fighter and suppression support for the Air Force bombers, while Coral Sea's planes would strike the Benina airfield outside Benghazi and provide fighter and suppression support for the Navy bombers. About 01:00 America launched six A-6 strike aircraft with Mark 82 bombs against the Jamahiriyah Guard barracks and six A-7 strike support aircraft. Coral Sea, operating east of America simultaneously launched eight A-6 and six F/A-18s. Additional fighters were launched for combat air patrol (CAP).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, The raid
The raid began in the early hours of 15 April, with the stated objectives of sending a message and reducing Libya's ability to support and train terrorists. Reagan warned that "if necessary, [they] shall do it again."


1986 United States bombing of Libya, The raid
Coordinated jamming by the EF-111s and EA-6B Prowlers began at 01:54 (Libyan time) as the A-7s and F/A-18s began launching AGM-88 HARM and AGM-45 Shrike for surface-to-air missile (SAM) suppression. The attack began at 0200 hours (Libyan time), and lasted about twelve minutes, with 60 tons of munitions dropped. The F-111 bombers' rules of engagement required target identification by both radar and Pave Tack prior to bomb release to minimize collateral damage. Of the nine F-111s targeting Bab al-Azizia, only three placed their GBU-10 Paveway II bombs on target.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, The raid
One F-111 was shot down by a Libyan ZSU-23-4 over the Gulf of Sidra and one F-111's bombs missed the barracks, striking diplomatic and civilian sites in Tripoli, and narrowly missing the French embassy. All three F-111s assigned to Sidi Bilal released their GBU-10 bombs on target. One of the six F-111s assigned to bomb the Tripoli airfield aborted its mission with a terrain-following radar malfunction, but the remaining five dropped BSU-49 high drag bombs destroying two Il-76 transport aircraft. America's A-6s damaged the Jamahiriyah MiG assembly warehouse and destroyed four MiG shipping crates. Two A-6s from Coral Sea aborted their mission, but five A-6s with CBU-59 APAM cluster bombs and one with Mk 82 bombs struck Benina airfield destroying three or four MiGs, two Mil Mi-8 helicopters, one Fokker F27 Friendship transport, and one small straight-wing aircraft.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, The raid
Some Libyan soldiers abandoned their positions in fright and confusion, and officers were slow to give orders. Libyan anti-aircraft fire did not begin until after the planes had passed over their targets. No Libyan fighters launched, and HARM launches and jamming prevented any of the 2K12 Kub, S-75 Dvina, S-125 Neva/Pechora, or Crotale SAM launches from homing.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, The raid
Within twelve minutes, all United States aircraft were "feet wet" outbound over the Mediterranean. Navy strike aircraft had been recovered aboard their carriers by 02:53 (Libyan time) and surviving Air Force planes, with the exception of one F-111 which landed in Rota, Andalusia with an overheated engine, had returned to Britain by 10:10 (Libyan time).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Casualties, Libyan
Forewarned by a telephone call, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family rushed out of their residence in the Bab al-Azizia compound moments before the bombs dropped. It was long thought that the call came from Malta's Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. However, Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi was the person who actually warned Gaddafi, according to Giulio Andreotti, Italy's foreign minister at the time, and to Abdel Rahman Shalgham, Libya's then-ambassador to Italy. Shalgham's statement was also confirmed by Margherita Boniver, foreign affairs chief of Craxi's Socialist Party at the time.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Casualties, Libyan
According to medical staff in a nearby hospital, two dozen casualties were brought in wearing military uniforms, and two without uniforms. Total Libyan casualties were estimated at 60, including those at the bombed airbases. An infant girl was among the casualties; her body was shown to American reporters, who were told she was Gaddafi's recently adopted daughter Hana. However, there was and remains much skepticism over the claim. She may not have died; the adoption may have been posthumous; or he may have adopted a second daughter and given her the same name after the first one died.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Casualties, American
Two U.S. Air Force captains—Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci and Paul F. Lorence—were killed when their F-111 fighter-bomber was shot down over the Gulf of Sidra. In the hours following the attack, the U.S. military refused to speculate as to whether or not the fighter-bomber had been shot down, with Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger suggesting that it could have experienced radio trouble or been diverted to another airfield. The next day, the Pentagon had announced it was no longer searching for the F-111 believed to be downed by a Libyan missile.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Casualties, American
On 25 December 1988, Gaddafi offered to release the body of Lorence to his family through Pope John Paul II. The body, returned in 1989, was identified as Ribas-Dominicci's from dental records. An autopsy conducted in Spain confirmed that he had drowned after his plane was shot down over the Gulf of Sidra. Libya denies that it held Lorence's body. However, Lorence's brother said that he and his mother saw television footage of a Libyan holding a white helmet with the name "Lorence" stenciled on the back. Furthermore, William C. Chasey, who toured the Bab al-Azizia barracks, claimed to have seen two flight suits and helmets engraved with the names "Lorence" and "Ribas-Dominicci", as well as the wreckage of their F-111.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In Libya, Gaddafi's announcements
Gaddafi announced that he had "won a spectacular military victory over the United States" and the country was officially renamed the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah".


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In Libya, Gaddafi's announcements
Gaddafi said reconciliation between Libya and the United States was impossible so long as Reagan was in the White House; of the president he said, "He is mad. He is foolish. He is an Israeli dog." He said he had no plans to attack the United States or U.S. targets. He claimed that Reagan wanted to kill him, stating "Was Reagan trying to kill me? Of course. The attack was concentrated on my house and I was in my house", he also described how he rescued his family. When asked that if he is in danger of losing power, he told "Really, these reports and writings are not true. As you can see I am fine, and there has been no change in our country."


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In Libya, Other events
The Government of Libya said that the United States had fallen prey to arrogance and madness of power and wanted to become the world's policeman. It charged that any party that did not agree to become an American vassal was an outlaw, a terrorist, and a devil.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In Libya, Other events
Gaddafi quashed an internal revolt, the organization of which he blamed on the United States, although Gaddafi appeared to have left the public sphere for a time in 1986 and 1987.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In Libya, Other events
The Libyan Post dedicated several postage stamps issues to the event, from 1986 until 2001. The first issue was released in 1986, 13 July (ref. Scott catalogue n.1311 – Michel catalogue n.1699). The last issue was released in 2001, 15 April (ref. Scott catalogue n.1653 – Michel catalogue n.2748–2763).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Immediate
Libya responded by firing two Scud missiles at a United States Coast Guard station on the Italian island of Lampedusa which passed over the island and landed in the sea.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
The Libyan government was alleged to have ordered the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan on 5 September 1986, which resulted in the deaths of 20 people. The allegation did not come to light until it was reported by The Sunday Times in March 2004—days after British Prime Minister Tony Blair paid the first official visit to Tripoli by a Western leader in a generation.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
In May 1987, Australia expelled diplomats and broke off relations with Libya, claiming Libya sought to fuel violence in Australia and Oceania.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
In late 1987 French authorities stopped a merchant vessel, the MV Eksund, which was attempting to deliver 150 tons of Soviet arms from Libya to the Irish Republican Army (IRA).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
In Beirut, Lebanon, two British hostages held by the Libyan-supported Abu Nidal Organization, Leigh Douglas and Philip Padfield, along with an American named Peter Kilburn, were shot dead in revenge. In addition, journalist John McCarthy was kidnapped, and tourist Paul Appleby was murdered in Jerusalem. Another British hostage named Alec Collett was also killed in retaliation for the bombing of Libya. Collett was shown being hanged in a video tape. His body was found in November 2009.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
On 21 December 1988 Libya bombed Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded in mid-air and crashed on the town of Lockerbie in Scotland after a bomb detonated, killing all 259 people aboard, and 11 people in Lockerbie. Iran was initially thought to have been responsible for the bombing in revenge for the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the American missile cruiser USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf, but in 1991 two Libyans were charged, one of whom was convicted of the crime in a controversial judgement on 31 January 2001.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Libyan retaliation, Later Libyan-connected terrorism
The Libyan Government accepted responsibility for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing on 29 May 2002, and offered $2.7 billion to compensate the families of the 270 victims. The convicted Libyan, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was suffering from terminal prostate cancer, was released in August 2009 by the Scottish Government on compassionate grounds. He died in 2012. In May 2014 a group of relatives of the Lockerbie victims continued to campaign for al-Megrahi's name to be cleared by reopening the case.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
The attack was condemned by many countries. By a vote of 79 in favor to 28 against with 33 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 41/38 which "condemns the military attack perpetrated against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on 15 April 1986, which constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law."


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
A meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement said that it condemned the "dastardly, blatant and unprovoked act of aggression". The League of Arab States expressed that it was outraged at the United States aggression and that it reinforced an element of anarchy in international relations. The Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union in its declaration said that the deliberate attempt to kill Libyans violated the principles of international law.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
The Government of Iran asserted that the attack constituted a policy of aggression, gunboat diplomacy, an act of war, and called for an extensive political and economic boycott of the United States. Others saw the United States motive as an attempt to eliminate Libya's revolution. China stated that the U.S. attack violated norms of international relations and had aggravated tension in the region. The Soviet Union said that there was a clear link between the attack and U.S. policy aimed at stirring up existing hotbeds of tension and creating new ones, and at destabilizing the international situation. West Germany stated that international disputes required diplomatic and not military solutions, and France also criticized the bombing.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
Some observers held the opinion that Article 51 of the UN Charter set limitations on the use of force in exercising the legitimate right of self-defense in the absence of an act of aggression, and affirmed that there was no such act by Libya. It was charged that the United States did not exhaust the Charter provisions for settling disputes under Article 33.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
The Wall Street Journal protested that if other nations applied Article 51 as cavalierly as the United States, then "the Nicaraguan government, very reasonably predicting that the U.S. is planning an attack on its territory, has the right to bomb Washington." British Shadow Foreign Secretary Denis Healey told ABC News that, "by this same rationale of defense against future attack, Britain could bomb apartment blocks in New York and Chicago on the ground that they contained people sending money and military supplies to the Irish Republican Army."


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
Others asserted that Libya was innocent in the bombing of the West Berlin discotheque.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
The U.S. received support from the UK, Canada, Australia, Israel, and 25 other countries. Its doctrine of declaring a war on what it called "terrorist havens" was not repeated until 1998, when President Bill Clinton ordered strikes on six terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Margaret Thatcher's approval of the use of Royal Air Force bases led to substantial public criticism, including an unprecedented story in The Sunday Times suggesting the Queen was upset by an "uncaring" Prime Minister. However, the Americans strongly endorsed Thatcher, and the long-standing Special Relationship between the United States and Britain was strengthened.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
Although the Soviet Union was ostensibly friendly with Libya, it had, by the time of the Libya bombing, made its increasing ambivalence toward Libya apparent in public communications. Gaddafi had a history of verbally attacking the policy agendas and ideology of the Soviet Union, and he often engaged in various international interventions and meddling that conflicted with Soviet goals in a variety of spheres. During a period where the Soviet Union was apparently attempting to lead a subtle diplomatic effort that could impact its global status, close association with the whims of Gaddafi became a liability.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
In the entire crisis, the Soviet Union explicitly announced that it would not provide additional help to Libya beyond resupplying basic armaments and munitions. It made no attempt to militarily intimidate the United States, despite the ongoing American operations in the Gulf of Sidra and its previous knowledge that the United States might launch an attack. The Soviet Union did not completely ignore the event, issuing a denunciation of this 'wild' and 'barbaric' act by the United States.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
After the raid, Moscow did cancel a planned visit to the United States by foreign affairs minister Eduard Shevardnadze. At the same time, it clearly signaled that it did not want this action to affect negotiations about the upcoming summer summit between the United States and the Soviet Union and its plans for new arms control agreements.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, Immediate
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, acting for Libyan citizens who had been killed or injured in the bombing raid by the U.S. using British air bases, brought suit under international law against the United States and the United Kingdom in U.S. federal court. The lawsuit was dismissed as frivolous. A subsequent appeal was denied, and monetary sanctions against Clark were allowed. Saltany v. Reagan, 886 F. 2d 438 (D.C. Cir. 1989).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, UN response
Every year, between at least 1994 and 2006, the United Nations General Assembly scheduled a declaration from the Organization of African Unity about the incident, but systematically deferred the discussion year after year until formally putting it aside (along with several other issues which had been similarly rescheduled for years) in 2005.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, First anniversary
On the first anniversary of the bombing, April 1987, European and North American left-wing activists gathered to commemorate the anniversary. After a day of social and cultural networking with local Libyans, including a tour of Gaddafi's bombed house, the group gathered with other Libyans for a commemoration event.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, International response, 2009 comment
In June 2009, during a visit to Italy, Colonel Gaddafi criticized American foreign policy and, asked as to the difference between al-Qaeda attacks and the 1986 U.S. bombing of Tripoli, he commented: "If al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has no state and is an outlaw, America is a state with international rules."


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Settlement of claims
On 28 May 2008, the United States began negotiations with Libya on a comprehensive claims settlement agreement to resolve outstanding claims of American and Libyan nationals against each country in their respective courts. Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam publicly announced that an agreement was being negotiated in July of that year. On 14 August 2008, the resulting U.S.-Libya Comprehensive Claims Settlement Agreement was signed in Tripoli by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and by Libyan Secretary for American Affairs Ahmad Fituri.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Settlement of claims
In October 2008, Libya paid US$1.5 billion (in three installments of $300 million on 9 October 2008, $600 million on 30 October 2008, and US$600 million 31 October 2008) into a fund used to compensate the following victims and their relatives:


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Settlement of claims
To pay the settlement, Libya demanded US$1.5 billion from global oil companies operating in Libya's oil fields, under threat of "serious consequences" to their leases. Libya's settlement was at least partially funded by several companies, including some based in the U.S., that chose to cooperate with Libya's demand.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Settlement of claims
On 4 August 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, which had unanimously passed Congress on 31 July. The Act provided for the restoration of Libya's sovereign, diplomatic, and official immunities before U.S. courts if the Secretary of State certified that the United States Government has received sufficient funds to resolve outstanding terrorism-related death and physical injury claims against Libya.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, Settlement of claims
On 14 August 2008, the United States and Libya signed a comprehensive claims settlement agreement. Full diplomatic relations were restored between the two nations.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In songs and books
In 1986, hardcore punk band The Meatmen referred to the lack of French cooperation with the raid in their song 'French People Suck': "French people suck, I just gotta' say/made the jet fighter pilots fly out of their way." This song appears on the album Rock & Roll Juggernaut (Caroline Records).


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In songs and books
In 1987, Neil Young wrote "Mideast Vacation" a song from his live album, Life about the bombing.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In songs and books
On Roger Waters's third studio album, Amused to Death the songs Late Home Tonight, Part I and Late Home Tonight, Part II, recalls the bombing from the perspective of two "ordinary wives' and a young American F-111 pilot.


1986 United States bombing of Libya, Aftermath, In songs and books
In Nelson DeMille's book The Lion's Game, published in 2000, there is a detailed but fictionalised description of the attack from the point of view of one of the book's main protagonists.


1986 United States elections
The 1986 United States elections were held on November 4 and elected the members of the 100th United States Congress. The elections occurred in the middle of Republican President Ronald Reagan's second term.


1986 United States elections
In an instance of the six-year itch phenomenon, the Democrats won a net gain of eight seats to recapture control of the United States Senate, taking back the chamber for the first time since the 1980 elections. Democrats won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 7.7 percentage points, making a net gain of five seats. Despite Democratic congressional gains, in the gubernatorial elections, the Republican Party picked up a net of eight governorships.


1986 United States elections
The national campaign centered largely around the Senate, where Republicans defended a large freshmen class of Senators. Despite sweeping Democratic gains, many of the losing Republicans incumbents lost by small margins. The Republican loss of the Senate put an effective check on any further major conservative legislation during the Reagan administration. The elections also had a major impact on the Supreme Court, as Republican losses helped ensure that Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court would be defeated by the Senate. After the Senate rejected the conservative Bork, Reagan instead nominated Anthony Kennedy, who became a critical swing vote on the court.


1986 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 1986, in 36 states and two territories. The Democrats had a net loss of eight seats during this election, which coincided with the Senate and the House elections. This was despite the Democratic trend on a federal level.


1986 United States gubernatorial elections, Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.


1986 Upper Bann by-election
The 1986 Upper Bann by-election was one of the fifteen 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs). The MPs, from the Ulster Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Popular Unionist Party, did this to highlight their opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Each of their parties agreed not to contest seats previously held by the others, and each outgoing MP stood for re-election.


1986 Upper Bann by-election, Other references
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1986 Upper Bann by-election, Other references
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1986 Uruguayan Primera División
The 1986 Uruguayan Primera División was the 87th season of the league since its founding. It was contested by 13 teams, with Peñarol winning their 29th title.


1986 Utah State Aggies football team
The 1986 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA). The Aggies were led by first-year head coach Chuck Shelton and played their home games at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. They finished the season with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8, 3–4 PCAA).


1986 Utah Utes football team
The 1986 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Jim Fassel, the Utes compiled a 2–9 record (1–7 against WAC opponents), finished in last place in the WAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 444 to 278. The team played its home games in Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.


1986 Utah Utes football team
The team's statistical leaders included Larry Egger with 2,761 passing yards, Eddie Johnson with 1,046 rushing yards, and Loren Richey with 775 receiving yards.


1986 Utah Utes football team, After the season, NFL Draft
No Utah players were selected in the 1987 NFL Draft.


1986 V-League, First Phase
20 participants divided over 3 groups playing double round robin;top-2 of each to second phase


1986 VFA season
The 1986 Victorian Football Association season was the 105th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 26th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Williamstown Football Club, after it defeated Coburg in the Grand Final on 21 September by 13 points; it was Williamstown's eleventh Division 1 premiership, and its first since 1959. The Division 2 premiership was won by Box Hill; it was the club's second Division 2 premiership in three years, having competed in and been relegated from Division 1 in the intervening year.


1986 VFA season, Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the Junction Oval.


1986 VFA season, Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at Junction Oval.


1986 VFA season, Notable events, Interleague matches
The Association played one interleague match during the season, against the Victorian Amateur Football Association. Phil Cleary (Coburg) took over from Gary Brice as coach.


1986 VFL Grand Final
The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the  Hawthorn Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. The game was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League (VFL), staged to determine the premiers for the 1986 VFL season. The match, attended by 101,861 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 42 points, marking that club's sixth premiership victory.


1986 VFL Grand Final, Background
Hawthorn were playing their fourth successive grand final and had lost the last two, while Carlton were appearing in their first premiership decider since winning the 1982 VFL Grand Final. At the conclusion of the home and away season, Hawthorn had finished first on the VFL ladder with 18 wins and 4 losses. Carlton had finished third (behind Sydney) with 15 wins and 7 losses.


1986 VFL Grand Final, Background
In the finals series in the lead-up to the game, Carlton defeated Sydney in the qualifying final before meeting the Hawks in the second semi-final, which the Blues won by 28 points to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn, after this loss, convincingly defeated Fitzroy by 56 points in the preliminary final to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn entered the game as slight favourites despite their defeat to the Blues in the second semi-final.


1986 VFL Grand Final, Background
Hawks player Robert DiPierdomenico won the Brownlow Medal in the week leading up to the game. Meanwhile, the Blues were looking to give Bruce Doull, who was retiring after the game, a winning finish to his 18-season career.


1986 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
The Hawks jumped out of the blocks early and by early in the second quarter led by 37 points. A seven-goal burst by the Hawks in the third quarter sealed their win. In the final quarter Hawthorn kicked only one goal but by then the contest was effectively over. Hawthorn's Jason Dunstall, who was in just his second VFL season, kicked six goals to help the Hawks to victory, while Gary Buckenara kicked four goals for the Hawks, all of them in the first half of the game.


1986 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Hawthorn defender Gary Ayres for being judged the best player afield. Ayres was playing on Carlton wingman David Rhys-Jones, who had been a match-winner against Hawthorn in the second semi-final. Ayres, playing on the wing for the first time in five years, nullified Rhys-Jones and set up many attacking moves for the Hawks.


1986 VFL draft
The 1986 VFL draft was the third formal draft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating in Australian rules football's elite Victorian Football League. Held on 26 November 1986 after the end of the 1986 VFL season, it consisted only of the national draft itself, without a subsequent rookie or preseason draft. It was the first draft to be held since two initial drafts in 1981 and 1982, and as drafts have been held every year since, it is considered to be the first of the modern drafts.


1986 VFL draft, National draft
All twelve established clubs, along with one of the two teams set to debut in the competition, the Brisbane Bears, were given one pick in each of the five rounds, a total of 65 overall. Brisbane received the first selection in every round, and six pre-draft selections, as well as complete access to all players from Queensland.


1986 VFL draft, National draft
The other new side, West Coast, was also granted similarly exclusive home-state rights. However, with the superior range of players available from the West Australian Football League (WAFL), the club was excluded from the draft.