|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Republican holds
Republican pickups
Democratic holds
Democratic pickups
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The United States Senate election of 1978 in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The Democrats lost a net of three seats to the Republicans, leaving the balance of the chamber 58-41 in favor of the Democrats.
Republicans took three open seats, including one in Minnesota (a special election was called after the death of Hubert Humphrey (D-MN)), as well as in Mississippi and South Dakota. They also defeated five Democratic incumbents: Floyd Haskell (D-CO), Dick Clark (D-IA), William Hathaway (D-ME), Wendell Anderson (D-MN), and Thomas McIntyre (D-NH). The two Republican victories in Minnesota saw the state's Senate delegation change from two Democrats to two Republicans in the same election. These were partially balanced by Democratic defeats of Edward Brooke (R-MA) and Robert Griffin (R-MI), and captures of Republican open seats in Nebraska, New Jersey, and Oklahoma.
Notable freshmen included future Defense Secretary William Cohen (R-ME), future Senate Majority Whip Alan K. Simpson (R-WY), future Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), and Paul Tsongas (D-MA), who would run for President in 1992.
Contents |
| Parties | Total Seats | Popular Vote | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 1978 | +/- | Vote | % | ||||||
| Democratic Party | 61 | 58 | -3 | 14,362,402 | 50.59% | |||||
| Republican Party | 38 | 41 | +3 | 13,520,147 | 47.63% | |||||
| Others | 1 | 1 | 0 | 504,089 | 1.78% | |||||
| Total | 100 | 100 | - | 28,386,638 | 100.0% | |||||
| Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk | ||||||||||
A bolded state name indicates an article about that state's election.
| State | Incumbent | Party | Result | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | John Sparkman | Democratic | Retired Democratic hold |
Howell Heflin (Democratic) 94.0% Jerome B. Couch (Prohibition) 6.0% |
| Alabama Special: Class 3 |
Maryon Pittman Allen | Democratic | Interim appointee lost nomination to finish term Democratic hold |
Donald W. Stewart (Democratic) 55.1% James D. Martin (Republican) 43.3% Michael R. A. Erdey (Libertarian) 0.8% A. J. Killingsworth (Prohibition) 0.8% |
| Alaska | Ted Stevens | Republican | Re-elected, 75.6% | Donald W. Hobbs (Democratic) 24.1% Write-in 0.3% |
| Arkansas | Kaneaster Hodges, Jr. | Democratic | Retired Democratic hold |
David Pryor (Democratic) 76.5% Tom Kelly (Republican) 16.3% John J. Black (Independent) 7.2% Write-in (Under) 0.1% |
| Colorado | Floyd K. Haskell | Democratic | Lost re-election, 40.3% Republican gain |
William L. Armstrong (Republican) 58.7% Vedder V. Dorn (United States Party) 0.7% John Shue (National Statesman) 0.3% |
| Delaware | Joe Biden | Democratic | Re-elected, 58.0% | James H. Baxter (Republican) 41.0% Donald G Gies (American) 1.0% |
| Georgia | Sam Nunn | Democratic | Re-elected, 83.1% | John W. Stokes (Republican) 16.9% |
| Idaho | James A. McClure | Republican | Re-elected, 68.4% | Dwight Jensen (Democratic) 31.6% |
| Illinois | Charles H. Percy | Republican | Re-elected, 53.3% | Alex Seith (Democratic) 45.5% William R. Roy (Libertarian) 0.5% Patricia Grogan (Socialist Workers) 0.5% Gerald Rose (Socialist Labor) 0.2% Write-in 0.005% |
| Iowa | Dick Clark | Democratic | Lost re-election, 47.9% Republican gain |
Roger Jepsen (Republican) 51.1% Gerald Leo Baker (Independent) 0.5% Ben L. Olson (Libertarian) 0.4% |
| Kansas | James B. Pearson | Republican | Retired Republican hold |
Nancy Landon Kassebaum (Republican) 53.9% William R. Roy (Democratic) 42.4% James R. Maher (Conservative) 3.0% Russell Mikels (Prohibition) 0.7% |
| Kentucky | Walter Huddleston | Democratic | Re-elected, 61.0% | Louis Guenthner (Republican) 36.9% Anthony A. McCord (American) 2.1% Write-In 0.00009% |
| Louisiana | Bennett Johnston Jr. | Democratic | Re-elected in primary | |
| Maine | William Hathaway | Democratic | Lost re-election, 33.9% Republican gain |
William Cohen (Republican) 56.6% Hayes E. Gahagan (Independent) 7.4% John J. Jannace (Independent) 1.5% Plato Truman (Independent) 0.6% |
| Massachusetts | Edward Brooke | Republican | Lost re-election, 44.9% Democratic gain |
Paul Tsongas (Democratic) 55.1% Write-in 0.09% |
| Michigan | Robert P. Griffin | Republican | Lost re-election, 47.9% Democratic gain |
Carl Levin (Democratic) 52.1% Write-in 0.01% |
| Minnesota Special: Class 1 |
Muriel Humphrey | Democratic | Interim appointee retired Republican gain |
David Durenberger (Republican) 61.4% Bob Short (Democratic) 34.6% Paul Helm (American) 2.9% Christine Frank (Socialist) 0.7% Frederick Hewitt (Libertarian) 0.3% Write-in 0.06% |
| Minnesota | Wendell Anderson | Democratic | Lost re-election, 40.4% Republican gain |
Rudy Boschwitz (Republican) 56.6% Sal Carlone (American) 1.5% William Peterson (Socialist Workers) 0.6% Brian John Coyle (Public Interest Independent) 0.5% Jean T. Brust (Workers) 0.2% Leonard Richards (Libertarian) 0.2% Write-in 0.005% |
| Mississippi | James O. Eastland | Democratic | Retired Republican gain |
Thad Cochran (Republican) 45.3% Maurice Dantin (Democratic) 31.8% Charles Evers (Independent) 22.6% Henry Kirksey (Independent) 0.3% |
| Montana | Paul G. Hatfield | Democratic | Lost renomination Democratic hold |
Max Baucus (Democratic) 55.7% Larry Williams (Republican) 44.3% |
| Nebraska | Carl Curtis | Republican | Retired Democratic gain |
J. James Exon (Democratic) 67.6% Donald Shasteen (Republican) 32.3% |
| New Hampshire | Thomas J. McIntyre | Democratic | Lost re-election, 48.5% Republican gain |
Gordon J. Humphrey (Republican) 50.7% Craig Franklin (libertarian) 0.8% |
| New Jersey | Clifford P. Case | Republican | Lost renomination Democratic gain |
Bill Bradley (Democratic) 55.3% Jeffrey Bell (Republican) 43.1% Herbert Harry Shaw (Independent) 0.2% Bill Gahres (Independent) 0.2% Jack Moyers (Independent) 0.2% Robert Bowen (Labor) 0.2% J.M. Carter, Jr. (Independent) 0.2% Jasper C. Gould (Independent) 0.2% William R. Thorn (Independent) 0.1% Paul Ferguson (Independent) 0.1% Alice Conner (Independent) 0.1% |
| New Mexico | Pete Domenici | Republican | Re-elected, 53.4% | Toney Anaya (Democratic) 46.6% |
| North Carolina | Jesse Helms | Republican | Re-elected, 54.5% | John Ingram (Democratic) 45.5% |
| Oklahoma | Dewey F. Bartlett | Republican | Retired Democratic gain |
David L. Boren (Democratic) 65.5% Robert B. Kamm (Republican) 32.9% Glenn E. Hager (Independent) 0.5% Riley Donica (Independent) 0.4% Paul Edward Trent (Independent) 0.4% Richard King Carter (Independent) 0.3% |
| Oregon | Mark Hatfield | Republican | Re-elected, 61.6% | Vernon Cook (Democratic) 38.3% Write-in 0.08% |
| Rhode Island | Claiborne Pell | Democratic | Re-elected, 75.1% | James G. Reynolds (Republican) 24.9% |
| South Carolina | Strom Thurmond | Republican | Re-elected, 55.6% | Charles D. Ravenel (Democratic) 44.4% |
| South Dakota | James Abourezk | Democratic | Retired Republican gain |
Larry Pressler (Republican) 66.8% Don Barnett (Democratic) 33.2% |
| Tennessee | Howard Baker | Republican | Re-elected, 55.5% | Jane Eskind (Democratic) 40.3% Thomas Anderson (Independent) 4.0% Fern Lucius Keasler (Independent) 0.2% Write-in 0.006% |
| Texas | John Tower | Republican | Re-elected, 49.8% | Bob Krueger (Democratic) 49.3% Luis A. Diaz de Leon (La Raza Unida) 0.8% Miguel Pendas (Socialist Workers) 0.2% Others 0.006% |
| Virginia | William L. Scott | Republican | Retired Republican hold |
John Warner (Republican) 50.2% Andrew P. Miller (Democratic) 49.8% Write-in 0.04% |
| West Virginia | Jennings Randolph | Democratic | Re-elected, 50.5% | Arch A. Moore, Jr. (Republican) 49.5% |
| Wyoming | Clifford Hansen | Republican | Retired Republican hold |
Alan K. Simpson (Republican) 62.2% Raymond B. Whitaker (Democratic) 37.8% |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key: | C=Conservative | D=Democratic | I=Independent | R=Republican | V=Vacant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| divider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||