The 1992 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler did not receive a simple majority in the general election, which demanded a runoff. Coverdell edged out Fowler in the runoff with a narrow margin, concurrent with Democrat Bill Clinton's win in the state in the presidential election.[1] It was the first Senate runoff election to be held in Georgia since runoffs were first mandated in 1964.
Republican primary
The general primary was held July 21, 1992.[2] A run-off between the top two Republican contenders was held on August 11, in which Paul Coverdell defeated Bob Barr.
Results[3] for the first round showed that since Paul Coverdell did not win a majority of the vote, a runoff was held between him and Barr. Coverdell subsequently won the runoff.
1992 Georgia U.S. Senate Republican primary election
The Georgia Legislature, then controlled by Democrats, changed the state's laws requiring a run-off election only if the winning candidate received less than 45% of the vote. In the 1996 Senate election, the winner, Democrat Max Cleland won with only 48.9% (1.4% ahead of Republican Guy Millner) thus avoiding a run-off. In 2005 after Republicans took control of the legislature, the run-off requirement was changed back to 50%.[4]