1976 United States Senate elections

November 2, 1976
33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mike Mansfield (retired) Hugh Scott (retired) Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1961 September 24, 1969 Leader's seat Montana Pennsylvania Seats before 61 37 Seats after 61 38 Seat change 1 Popular vote 31,790,526[1][lower-alpha 1] 24,562,431[1][lower-alpha 1] Percentage 53.7% 41.5% Seats up 21 10 Races won 21 11   Third party Fourth party   Party Independent Conservative Seats before 1 1 Seats after 1[lower-alpha 2] 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 890,778[1] 311,494[1] Seats up 1 1 Races won 1 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Independent hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected Majority Leader Robert Byrd Democratic

The 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. Held on November 2, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with Democrat Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democratic Party. Each party flipped seven Senate seats, although, one of the seats flipped by Democrats was previously held by a Conservative.

This was the first election in which the Libertarian Party competed, running candidates in 9 of the 33 contested seats. As of 2024 this is the first and so far only time both party leaders retired from the Senate in the same election cycle since the creation of the positions. This is the last time Democrats or any party won a 60% supermajority via direct elections (although Democrats briefly held one in the summer of 2009).

Results summary

Parties						Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Other
Last elections (1974) Before these elections		61	37	1	1	100
Not up		40	27	0	0	67
Up Class 1 (1970→1976)		21	10	1	1	33
Incumbent retired		5	3	0	0	8
	Held by same party	2	1	—	—	3
	Replaced by other party	3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats 2 Democrats replaced by 2 Republicans		—	—	5
	Result	6	2	—	—	8
Incumbent ran		16	7	1	1	25
	Won re-election	11	4	1	0	16
	Lost re-election	3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats 1 Conservative replaced by 1 Democrat 5 Democrats replaced by 5 Republicans				9
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	0	0	0	0
	Result	15	9	1	0	25
Total elected		21	11	1	0	33
Net gain/loss			1		1	1
Nationwide vote		31,790,526[lower-alpha 1]	24,562,431[lower-alpha 1]	1,173,414	1,647,636	59,174,007
	Share	53.72%	41.51%	1.98%	2.78%	100%
Result		61	38	1	0	100

Source: "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved February 25, 2013.

Gains, losses, and holds

Change in composition

Race summaries

Closest races

9 races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Nevada was the tipping point state with a margin of 31.6%.

Arizona

Arizona election

Nominee Dennis DeConcini Sam Steiger Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 400,334 321,236 Percentage 54.0% 43.3%

U.S. Senate election results map. Blue denotes counties won by DeConcini. Red denotes those won by Steiger.

U.S. senator before election Paul Fannin Republican Elected U.S. senator Dennis DeConcini Democratic

Incumbent Republican Paul Fannin retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic attorney and businessman Dennis DeConcini won the open seat over Sam Steiger, U.S. Congressman of Arizona's 3rd congressional district.

California

California election

Nominee S. I. Hayakawa John V. Tunney Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 3,748,973 3,502,862 Percentage 50.1% 46.9%

County results Hayakawa:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Tunney:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election John V. Tunney Democratic Elected U.S. senator S. I. Hayakawa Republican

Incumbent Democrat John Tunney ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Republican Sam Hayakawa, President emeritus of San Francisco State University.

Connecticut

Connecticut election

Nominee Lowell Weicker Gloria Schaffer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 785,683 561,018 Percentage 57.7% 41.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Lowell Weicker Republican Elected U.S. senator Lowell Weicker Republican

Incumbent Republican Lowell Weicker won re-election to a second term over Gloria Schaffer, Connecticut Secretary of State^[2]

Delaware

Delaware election

Nominee William Roth Thomas Maloney Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 125,454 98,042 Percentage 55.8% 43.6%

County results State House district results Map key Roth:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Maloney:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election William Roth Republican Elected U.S. senator William Roth Republican

Incumbent Republican William Roth won reelection to a second term over Thomas Maloney, Mayor of Wilmington^[3]

Florida

Florida election

Nominee Lawton Chiles John Grady Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,799,518 1,057,886 Percentage 63.0% 37.0%

County results Chiles:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Grady:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Lawton Chiles Democratic Elected U.S. senator Lawton Chiles Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles won re-election to a second term over John Grady, Mayor of Belle Glade^[4]

Hawaii

Hawaii election

Nominee Spark Matsunaga William Quinn Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 162,305 122,724 Percentage 53.7% 40.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Hiram Fong Republican Elected U.S. senator Spark Matsunaga Democratic

Incumbent Republican Hiram Fong retired instead of seeking re-election to a fourth term. Democrat Spark Matsunaga won the open seat over Republican William Quinn, Former Governor of Hawaii.

Indiana

Indiana election

Nominee Richard Lugar Vance Hartke Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,275,833 868,522 Percentage 59.0% 40.2%

County results Lugar:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Hartke:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Vance Hartke Democratic Elected U.S. senator Richard Lugar Republican

Incumbent Democrat Vance Hartke ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican challenger Richard Lugar, Mayor of Indianapolis.

Maine

Maine election

Nominee Edmund Muskie Robert A. G. Monks Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 292,704 193,489 Percentage 60.2% 39.8%

County results Muskie:      50–60%      60–70% Monks:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Edmund Muskie Democratic Elected U.S. senator Edmund Muskie Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Edmund Muskie won re-election to a fourth term over Republican Robert A. G. Monks, shareholder activist.

Maryland

Maryland election

Nominee Paul Sarbanes J. Glenn Beall Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 772,101 530,439 Percentage 56.6% 38.9%

County results Sarbanes:      40–50%      50–60%      70–80% Beall:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election J. Glenn Beall Jr. Republican Elected U.S. senator Paul Sarbanes Democratic

Incumbent Republican J. Glenn Beall Jr. ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Paul Sarbanes, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

Nominee Ted Kennedy Michael Robertson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,726,657 722,641 Percentage 69.3% 29.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election Ted Kennedy Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ted Kennedy Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his fourth (his third full) term over Republican businessman, Michael Robertson.^[7]

Michigan

Michigan election

Nominee Donald Riegle Marvin Esch Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,831,031 1,635,087 Percentage 52.5% 46.9%

U.S. senator before election Philip Hart Democratic Elected U.S. senator Donald Riegle Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Philip Hart retired instead of seeking a fourth term. Democrat Donald Riegle, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, won the open seat over fellow congressman Republican Marvin Esch.

Minnesota

Minnesota election

Nominee Hubert Humphrey Gerald Brekke Party Democratic (DFL) Ind.-Republican Popular vote 1,290,736 478,602 Percentage 67.5% 25.0%   Nominee Paul Helm Party American Popular vote 125,612 Percentage 6.6%

U.S. senator before election Hubert Humphrey Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. senator Hubert Humphrey Democratic (DFL)

Incumbent Democrat Hubert Humphrey won re-election to a fifth term over Republican Gerald Brekke, college professor^[9]

Mississippi

Mississippi election

Nominee John C. Stennis Party Democratic Popular vote 554,433 Percentage 100.0%

U.S. senator before election John C. Stennis Democratic Elected U.S. senator John C. Stennis Democratic

Incumbent Democrat John C. Stennis won re-election to his sixth term.

Missouri

Missouri election

Nominee John Danforth Warren E. Hearnes Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,090,067 813,571 Percentage 56.9% 42.5%

U.S. senator before election Stuart Symington Democratic Elected U.S. senator John Danforth Republican

Incumbent Democrat Stuart Symington retired, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican John Danforth, Attorney General of Missouri, won the open seat, defeating Democrat Warren Hearnes, former Governor of Missouri. (Jerry Litton had won the Democratic nomination earlier, but was killed in a plane crash, and Hearnes was chosen by the party committee.)

Montana

Montana election

Nominee John Melcher Stanley Burger Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 206,232 115,213 Percentage 64.16% 35.84%

U.S. senator before election Mike Mansfield Democratic Elected U.S. senator John Melcher Democratic

Rather than seek a fifth term, Democratic incumbent Mike Mansfield opted to retire, creating an open seat. United States Congressman John Melcher, who had represented Montana's 2nd congressional district from 1969 to 1977, won the Democratic nomination and defeated Stanley C. Burger, the Republican nominee and former executive officer of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, by a wide margin in the general election.

Nebraska

Nebraska election

Nominee Edward Zorinsky John Y. McCollister Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 313,805 279,284 Percentage 52.89% 47.07%

U.S. senator before election Roman Hruska Republican Elected U.S. senator Edward Zorinsky Democratic

Incumbent Republican Roman Hruska retired instead of seeking another term. Democrat Edward Zorinsky, Mayor of Omaha, won the open seat over Republican John Y. McCollister, U.S. Congressman of Nebraska's 2nd congressional district.

Nevada

Nevada election

Nominee Howard Cannon David Towell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 127,214 63,471 Percentage 63.0% 31.4%

U.S. senator before election Howard Cannon Democratic Elected U.S. senator Howard Cannon Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Howard Cannon won re-election to a fourth term over Republican David Towell, U.S. Representative from Nevada's At-large congressional district.

In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest election in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and won re-election in 1970 with nearly 58% of the vote. In 1976, he faced U.S. Representative David Towell, who served just one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before running for the U.S. Senate. Cannon won re-election with 63% of the vote, one of his best election performances of his career. He won every county in the state, except for Eureka County, which Towell won with just 51% of the vote.

New Jersey

New Jersey election

Nominee Harrison A. Williams David A. Norcross Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,681,140 1,054,508 Percentage 60.66% 38.05%

County Results Williams:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Harrison A. Williams Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harrison A. Williams Democratic

Harrison A. Williams, the incumbent originally elected in 1958, elected to run for a fourth term. He defeated anti-abortion activist Stephen J. Foley handily in the Democratic primary with 85% of the vote. David A. Norcross won the Republican primary with the endorsement of the New Jersey Republican Party with 68% of the vote.

In the general election, Williams soundly won re-election to a fourth term over Norcross. He won 60% of the vote, winning every county in the state. This would be Williams' last election to the U.S. Senate, as he would resign in 1981 following his involvement in the Abscam scandal.

New Mexico

New Mexico election

Nominee Harrison Schmitt Joseph Montoya Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 234,681 176,382 Percentage 56.8% 42.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joseph Montoya Democratic Elected U.S. senator Harrison Schmitt Republican

Incumbent Democrat Joseph Montoya ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Republican former Astronaut Harrison Schmitt.

New York

New York election

Nominee Daniel Patrick Moynihan James Buckley Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,422,594 2,836,633 Percentage 54.1% 44.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election James Buckley Republican Elected U.S. senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan Democratic

Incumbent Conservative James Buckley ran for re-election to a second term as a Republican, but was defeated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

North Dakota

North Dakota election

Nominee Quentin Burdick Robert Stroup Party Democratic–NPL Republican Popular vote 175,772 103,466 Percentage 62.10% 36.55%

County results Burdick:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Stroup:      50–60%

U.S. Senator before election Quentin Burdick Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Quentin Burdick Democratic

Incumbent North Dakota Democratic NPL Party Democrat Quentin Burdick, sought and received re-election to his fourth term to the United States Senate, defeating Republican candidate Robert Stroup.^[1] Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Robert Stroup, as state senator from Hazen, North Dakota. Burdick and Stroup won the primary elections for their respective parties. One independent candidate, Clarence Haggard, also filed before the deadline under the American Party.

Ohio

Ohio election

Nominee Howard Metzenbaum Robert Taft Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,941,113 1,823,774 Percentage 49.51% 46.52%

U.S. senator before election Robert Taft Jr. Republican Elected U.S. senator Howard Metzenbaum Democratic

Incumbent Republican Robert Taft Jr. ran for re-election to second term, but was defeated by Democratic former senator Howard Metzenbaum.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

Nominee John Heinz Bill Green Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,381,891 2,126,977 Percentage 52.4% 46.8%

U.S. senator before election Hugh Scott Republican Elected U.S. senator John Heinz Republican

Incumbent Republican and Minority Leader Hugh Scott retired. Republican John Heinz won the open seat over Democrat Bill Green, United States Representative^[16][1]

In December 1975, U.S. senator Hugh Scott announced that he would not seek re-election in 1976 at the age of 75 after serving in Congress for 33 years. Scott listed personal reasons and several "well-qualified potential candidates" for the seat among the reasons of his decision to retire. Other reasons, including his support for Richard Nixon and accusations that he had illegally obtained contributions from Gulf Oil were alleged to have contributed to the decision.^[17]

Heinz was the victor in all but nine counties, defeating opponent William Green, who had a 300,000 vote advantage in his native Philadelphia area. Heinz and Green spend $2.5 million and $900,000, respectively, during the ten-month campaign. Much of the money Heinz spent on his campaign was his own, leading to accusations from Green that he was "buying the seat". Heinz replied to this by claiming that the spending was necessary to overcome the Democratic voter registration advantage.^[20]

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

Nominee John Chafee Richard Lorber Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 230,329 167,665 Percentage 57.7% 42.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election John O. Pastore Democratic Elected U.S. senator John Chafee Republican

Incumbent Democrat John O. Pastore did not seek re-election. Republican John Chafee won the seat, defeating Democrat Richard P. Lorber.

Tennessee

Tennessee election

Nominee James Sasser Bill Brock Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 751,180 673,231 Percentage 52.46% 47.01%

U.S. senator before election Bill Brock Republican Elected U.S. senator James Sasser Democratic

Incumbent Republican Bill Brock ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic challenger James Sasser.

Texas

Texas election

Nominee Lloyd Bentsen Alan Steelman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,199,956 1,636,370 Percentage 56.8% 42.2%

County results Bentsen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Steelman:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Lloyd Bentsen Democratic Elected U.S. senator Lloyd Bentsen Democratic