1978 United States Senate elections

The 1978 United States Senate elections in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties. The Democrats at first lost a net of two seats to the Republicans, and then one more in a special election. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58-41 majority.

1978 United States Senate elections

November 7, 1978
35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Byrd Howard Baker Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1977 January 3, 1977 Leader's seat West Virginia Tennessee Seats before 61 38 Seats after 59 40 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 14,362,402 13,520,147 Percentage 50.6% 47.6% Swing 3.1% 6.1% Seats up 16 17 Races won 14 19   Third party   Party Independent Seats before 1 Seats after 1[lower-alpha 1] Seat change Seats up 1 Races won 1
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Robert Byrd Democratic Elected Majority Leader Robert Byrd Democratic

For related races, see 1978 United States elections.

Results summary

Parties		Total Seats			Popular Vote
		1976	1978	+/-	Vote	%
	Democratic Party	61	58	3	14,362,402	50.60%
	Republican Party	38	41	3	13,520,147	47.63%
	Independent	1	1		299,624	1.06%
	American Party	0	0		35,168	0.12%
	Prohibition Party	0	0		34,951	0.12%
	Socialist Worker's Party	0	0		29,796	0.10%
	Libertarian Party	0	0		25,071	0.09%
	Others	0	0		79,479	0.28%
Total		100	100		28,386,638	100.0%

Source: "Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives – via clerk.house.gov.

Gains and losses

Republican gains

Republicans took three open seats, including one special election in Minnesota, as well as regular elections in Mississippi and South Dakota. They also defeated five Democratic incumbents: Floyd Haskell (Colorado), Dick Clark (Iowa), William Hathaway (Maine), Wendell Anderson (Minnesota), and Thomas McIntyre (New Hampshire). The two Republican victories in Minnesota saw the state's Senate delegation change from two Democrats to two Republicans in the same election.

Democratic gains

The Republican gains were offset by Democratic defeats of Edward Brooke (Massachusetts) and Robert Griffin (Michigan), and captures of Republican open seats in Nebraska, New Jersey, and Oklahoma.

Change in composition

Before the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45 Ala. (reg) Ran	D46 Ala. (sp) Ran	D47 Ark. Retired	D48 Colo. Ran	D49 Del. Ran	D50 Ga. Ran
Majority →									D51 Iowa Ran
D60 S.D. Retired	D59 R.I. Ran	D58 N.H. Ran	D57 Mont. Ran	D56 Minn. (sp) Retired	D55 Minn. (reg) Ran	D54 Maine Ran	D53 La. Ran	D52 Ky. Ran
D61 W.Va. Ran	I1	R38 Wyo. Retired	R37 Va. Retired	R36 Texas Ran	R35 Tenn. Ran	R34 S.C. Ran	R33 Ore. Ran	R32 Okla. Retired	R31 N.C. Ran
R21 Alaska Ran	R22 Idaho Ran	R23 Ill. Ran	R24 Kan. Retired	R25 Mass. Ran	R26 Mich. Ran	R27 Miss. Retired	R28 Neb. Retired	R29 N.J. Ran	R30 N.M. Ran
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the general elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45 Ala. (reg) Re-elected	D46 Ala. (sp) Hold	D49 Ark. Hold	D48 Del. Re-elected	D49 Ga. Re-elected	D50 Ky. Re-elected
Majority →									D51 La. Re-elected
I1	D59 W.Va. Re-elected	D58 R.I. Re-elected	D57 Okla. Gain	D56 N.J. Gain	D55 Neb. Gain	D54 Mich. Gain	D53 Mass. Gain	D52 Mont. Hold
R40 Wyo. Hold	R39 Va. Hold	R38 Texas Re-elected	R37 Tenn. Re-elected	R36 S.D. Gain	R35 S.C. Re-elected	R34 Ore. Re-elected	R33 N.C. Re-elected	R32 N.M. Re-elected	R31 N.H. Gain
R21 Alaska Re-elected	R22 Colo. Gain	R23 Idaho Re-elected	R24 Ill. Re-elected	R25 Iowa Gain	R26 Kan. Hold	R27 Maine Gain	R28 Minn. (reg) Gain	R29 Minn. (sp) Gain	R30 Miss. Gain
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key:	D# Democratic R# Republican I# Independent

Race summary

Special elections during the 95th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1978 or before January 3, 1979; ordered by election date, then state.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama (Class 3)	Maryon Pittman Allen	Democratic	1978 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination to finish term. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Y 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%
Minnesota (Class 1)	Muriel Humphrey	Democratic	1978 (Appointed)	Appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y 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%

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1979; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	John Sparkman	Democratic	1946 (Special) 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Y Howell Heflin (Democratic) 94.0% Jerome B. Couch (Prohibition) 6.0%
Alaska	Ted Stevens	Republican	1968 (Appointed) 1970 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Ted Stevens (Republican) 75.6% Donald W. Hobbs (Democratic) 24.1%
Arkansas	Kaneaster Hodges Jr.	Democratic	1977 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	Y David Pryor (Democratic) 76.5% Tom Kelly (Republican) 16.3% John J. Black (Independent) 7.2%
Colorado	Floyd K. Haskell	Democratic	1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y William L. Armstrong (Republican) 58.7% Floyd K. Haskell (Democratic) 40.3% Vedder V. Dorn (United States Party) 0.7% John Shue (National Statesman) 0.3%
Delaware	Joe Biden	Democratic	1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joe Biden (Democratic) 58.0% James H. Baxter (Republican) 41.0% Donald G. Gies (American) 1.0%
Georgia	Sam Nunn	Democratic	1972 (Special) 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Sam Nunn (Democratic) 83.1% John W. Stokes (Republican) 16.9%
Idaho	James A. McClure	Republican	1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James A. McClure (Republican) 68.4% Dwight Jensen (Democratic) 31.6%
Illinois	Charles H. Percy	Republican	1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Charles H. Percy (Republican) 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%
Iowa	Dick Clark	Democratic	1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Roger Jepsen (Republican) 51.1% Dick Clark (Democratic) 47.9% Gerald Leo Baker (Independent) 0.5% Ben L. Olson (Libertarian) 0.4%
Kansas	James B. Pearson	Republican	1962 (Appointed) 1962 (Special) 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned December 23, 1978 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed December 23, 1978 to finish the term.	Y Nancy 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	1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Walter Huddleston (Democratic) 61.0% Louis Guenthner (Republican) 36.9% Anthony A. McCord (American) 2.1%
Louisiana	J. Bennett Johnston	Democratic	1972 (Appointed) 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y J. Bennett Johnston (Democratic) 59.4% Woody Jenkins (Democratic) 40.6%
Maine	William Hathaway	Democratic	1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y William Cohen (Republican) 56.6% William Hathaway (Democratic) 33.9% Hayes E. Gahagan (Independent) 7.4% John J. Jannace (Independent) 1.5% Plato Truman (Independent) 0.6%
Massachusetts	Edward Brooke	Republican	1966 1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	Y Paul Tsongas (Democratic) 55.1% Edward Brooke (Republican) 44.9%
Michigan	Robert P. Griffin	Republican	1966 (Appointed) 1966 1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	Y Carl Levin (Democratic) 52.1% Robert P. Griffin (Republican) 47.9%
Minnesota	Wendell Anderson	Democratic	1976 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 29, 1978 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed December 30, 1978 to finish the term.	Y Rudy Boschwitz (Republican) 56.6% Wendell Anderson (Democratic) 40.4% Sal Carlone (American) 1.5% William Peterson (Socialist Workers) 0.6% Brian Coyle (Public Interest Independent) 0.5% Jean T. Brust (Workers) 0.2% Leonard Richards (Libertarian) 0.2%
Mississippi	James O. Eastland	Democratic	1942 1948 1954 1960 1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 27, 1978 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed December 27, 1978 to finish the term.	Y 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	1978 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Incumbent resigned December 12, 1978 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed December 15, 1978 to finish the term.	Y Max Baucus (Democratic) 55.7% Larry Williams (Republican) 44.3%
Nebraska	Carl Curtis	Republican	1954 1960 1966 1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	Y J. James Exon (Democratic) 67.6% Donald Shasteen (Republican) 32.3%
New Hampshire	Thomas J. McIntyre	Democratic	1962 (Special) 1966 1972	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Gordon J. Humphrey (Republican) 50.7% Thomas J. McIntyre (Democratic) 48.5% Craig Franklin (Libertarian) 0.8%
New Jersey	Clifford P. Case	Republican	1954 1960 1966 1972	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	Y 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	1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Pete Domenici (Republican) 53.4% Toney Anaya (Democratic) 46.6%
North Carolina	Jesse Helms	Republican	1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jesse Helms (Republican) 54.5% John Ingram (Democratic) 45.5%
Oklahoma	Dewey F. Bartlett	Republican	1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	Y 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	1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Mark Hatfield (Republican) 61.6% Vernon Cook (Democratic) 38.3%
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell	Democratic	1960 1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Claiborne Pell (Democratic) 75.1% James G. Reynolds (Republican) 24.9%
South Carolina	Strom Thurmond	Republican	1954 1954 (Appointed) 1956 (Resigned) 1956 (Special) 1960 1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Strom Thurmond (Republican) 55.6% Charles D. Ravenel (Democratic) 44.4%
South Dakota	James Abourezk	Democratic	1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	Y Larry Pressler (Republican) 66.8% Don Barnett (Democratic) 33.2%
Tennessee	Howard Baker	Republican	1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Howard Baker (Republican) 55.5% Jane Eskind (Democratic) 40.3% Thomas Anderson (Independent) 4.0% Fern Lucius Keasler (Independent) 0.2%
Texas	John Tower	Republican	1961 (Special) 1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Tower (Republican) 49.8% Bob Krueger (Democratic) 49.3% Luis A. Diaz de Leon (La Raza Unida) 0.8% Miguel Pendas (Socialist Workers) 0.2%
Virginia	William L. Scott	Republican	1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned January 1, 1979 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed January 2, 1979 to finish the term.	Y John Warner (Republican) 50.2% Andrew P. Miller (Democratic) 49.8%
West Virginia	Jennings Randolph	Democratic	1958 (Special) 1960 1966 1972	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jennings Randolph (Democratic) 50.5% Arch A. Moore Jr. (Republican) 49.5%
Wyoming	Clifford Hansen	Republican	1966 1972	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned December 31, 1978 to give successor preferential seniority. Successor appointed January 1, 1979 to finish the term.	Y Alan K. Simpson (Republican) 62.2% Raymond B. Whitaker (Democratic) 37.8%

Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama

There were 2 elections in Alabama, due to the death of senator Jim Allen.

Alabama (Regular)

Alabama general election

Nominee Howell Heflin Jerome B. Couch Party Democratic Prohibition Popular vote 547,054 34,951 Percentage 94% 6%

U.S. senator before election John Sparkman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Howell Heflin Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Alabama

Democrat John Sparkman retired and was succeeded by Howell Heflin, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Heflin, the Democratic candidate, faced no Republican opponent in the general election, defeating Prohibition Party nominee Jerome B. Couch.

General election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	547,054	93.99%
	Prohibition	Jerome B. Couch	34,951	6.01%
Majority			512,103	87.98%
Turnout			582,005
	Democratic hold

Alabama (Special)

Alabama special election

Nominee Donald W. Stewart James D. Martin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 401,852 316,170 Percentage 55.1% 43.3%

U.S. senator before election Maryon Pittman Allen Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Donald W. Stewart Democratic

Following the death of senator Jim Allen, his widow Maryon was appointed by governor George Wallace to fill the vacancy until a special election could be held. In this election, Democratic state senator Donald W. Stewart defeated former Republican Congressman James D. Martin to serve the remaining two years of the term.

General election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donald W. Stewart	401,852	55.06%
	Republican	James D. Martin	316,170	43.32%
	Libertarian	Michael R. A. Erdey	6,006	0.08%
	Prohibition	A. J. Killinsworth	5,814	0.08%
Majority			85,682	11.74%
Turnout			729,842
	Democratic hold

Alaska

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Alaska

See also: List of United States senators from Alaska and 1978 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

Republican Ted Stevens won reelection, defeating Democrat Donald Hobbs.

1978 United States Senate election in Alaska[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	92,783	75.59%
	Democratic	Donald Hobbs	29,574	24.09%
	Write-ins	Write-ins	384	0.31%
Majority			63,209	51.50%
Turnout			122,741
	Republican hold		Swing

Arkansas

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

1978 United States Senate election in Arkansas[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Pryor	395,506	76.48%
	Republican	Tom Kelly	84,308	16.30%
	Independent	John G. Black	37,211	7.20%
	None	Write-ins	113	0.02%
Majority			311,198	60.18%
Turnout			517,138
	Democratic hold

Colorado

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Colorado

See also: List of United States senators from Colorado and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado

1978 United States Senate election in Colorado[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William L. Armstrong	480,801	58.69%
	Democratic	Floyd Haskell (Incumbent)	330,148	40.30%
	United States Party	Vedder V. Dorn	5,789	0.71%
	National Statesman	John Shue	2,518	0.31%
Majority			150,653	18.39%
Turnout			819,256
	Republican gain from Democratic

Delaware

Delaware election

Nominee Joe Biden James H. Baxter Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 93,930 66,479 Percentage 57.96% 41.02%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joe Biden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Biden Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware and 1978 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware

Democrat United States senator Joe Biden won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger James H. Baxter Jr., the Delaware Secretary of Agriculture.[2]

General election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Joe Biden (Incumbent)	93,930	57.96%	+7.48%
	Republican	James H. Baxter Jr.	66,479	41.02%	-8.08%
	American	Donald G. Gies	1,663	1.02%	+0.68%
Majority			27,451	16.94%	+15.56%
Turnout			162,072
	Democratic hold		Swing

Georgia

Georgia election

Nominee Sam Nunn (Incumbent) John Stokes Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 536,320 108,808 Percentage 83.1% 16.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Sam Nunn Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Sam Nunn Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia

Democrat Sam Nunn won re-election to a second term.[3]

General election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Sam Nunn (Incumbent)	536,320	83.13%	+29.17%
	Republican	John W. Stokes	108,808	16.87%	-29.14%
Majority			427,512	66.27%	+58.32%
Turnout			645,128
	Democratic hold		Swing

Idaho

Idaho election

Nominee James A. McClure Dwight Jensen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 194,412 89,635 Percentage 68.44% 31.56%

U.S. senator before election James A. McClure Republican Elected U.S. Senator James A. McClure Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Idaho

See also: List of United States senators from Idaho and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Idaho

Republican James A. McClure was elected to a second term in office.

1978 United States Senate election in Idaho[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	James A. McClure (Incumbent)	194,412	68.44%
	Democratic	Dwight Jensen	89,635	31.56%
Majority			104,777	36.88%
Turnout			284,047
	Republican hold		Swing

Illinois

Illinois election

Nominee Charles Percy Alex Seith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,698,711 1,448,187 Percentage 53.34% 45.47%

U.S. senator before election Charles H. Percy Republican Elected U.S. Senator Charles H. Percy Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

Republican Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a third term in the United States Senate. Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Alex Seith (D), attorney and former member of the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals. Though Percy had been expected to coast to re-election over Seith, a first-time candidate, the election quickly became competitive. In the last few days of the campaign, a desperate Percy ran a television advertisement that featured him apologizing and acknowledging that, "I got your message and you're right."[5] Percy's last-ditch effort appeared to have paid off, as he was able to edge out Seith to win what would end up being his third and final term in the Senate.

1978 United States Senate election in Illinois[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Charles H. Percy (Incumbent)	1,698,711	53.34%	-8.88%
	Democratic	Alex Seith	1,448,187	45.47%	+8.13%
	Libertarian	Bruce Lee Green	16,320	0.51%
	Socialist Workers	Patricia Grogan	15,922	0.50%
	Socialist Labor	Gerald Rose	5,465	0.18%
	Write-ins		159	0.00%
Majority			250,524	7.87%	-17.00%
Turnout			3,184,764
	Republican hold		Swing

Iowa

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Iowa

See also: List of United States senators from Iowa and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa

1978 United States Senate election in Iowa[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roger Jepsen	421,598	51.13%
	Democratic	Dick Clark (Incumbent)	395,066	47.91%
	Independent	Gerald Leo Baker	4,223	0.51%
	Libertarian	Ben L. Olson	3,689	0.45%
Majority			26,532	3.22%
Turnout			824,576
	Republican gain from Democratic

Kansas

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Kansas

See also: List of United States senators from Kansas and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas

1978 United States Senate election in Kansas[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Nancy Kassebaum	403,354	53.86%
	Democratic	William R. Roy	317,602	42.41%
	Conservative	James R. Maher	22,497	3.00%
	Prohibition	Russell Mikels	5,386	0.72%
Majority			85,752	11.45%
Turnout			748,839
	Republican hold

Kentucky

Kentucky election

November 7, 1978

Nominee Walter Huddleston Louie R. Guenthner Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 290,730 175,766 Percentage 60.98% 36.87%

U.S. senator before election Walter Huddleston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Walter Huddleston Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

Democrat Walter Huddleston was re-elected to a second term.

General election[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Walter Huddleston (Incumbent)	290,730	60.98%
	Republican	Louie R. Guenthner Jr.	175,766	36.86%
	American	Anthony Albert McCord	10,244	2.15%
	None	Write-Ins	32	0.01%
Majority			114,964	24.12
Turnout			476,783
	Democratic hold

Louisiana

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana

1978 United States Senate election in Louisiana[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. Bennett Johnston (Incumbent)	Unopposed
	Democratic hold

Maine

Maine election

Nominee William Cohen William Hathaway Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 212,294 127,327 Percentage 56.59% 33.94%   Nominee Hayes Gahagan Party Independent Popular vote 27,824 Percentage 7.42%

U.S. senator before election William Hathaway Democratic Elected U.S. Senator William Cohen Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

Democrat William Hathaway decided to run for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by William Cohen, the Republican nominee and the United States Congressman from Maine's 2nd congressional district and Hayes Gahagan, former Maine State Senator

1978 United States Senate election in Maine[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	William Cohen	212,294	56.59%	+9.83%
	Democratic	William Hathaway (Incumbent)	127,327	33.94%	-19.29%
	Independent	Hayes E. Gahagan	27,824	7.42%
	Independent	John J. Jannace	5,553	1.48%
	Independent	Plato Truman	2,116	0.56%
Majority			84,967	22.65%	+16.19%
Turnout			375,114
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

Nominee Paul Tsongas Edward Brooke Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,093,283 890,584 Percentage 55.06% 44.85%

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Edward Brooke, blue indicates towns carried by Paul Tsongas.

U.S. senator before election Edward Brooke Republican Elected U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

Republican Edward Brooke was defeated by Democratic Congressman Paul E. Tsongas.

Republican primary[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Brooke	146,351	53.25%
	Republican	Avi Nelson	128,388	46.72%
		All others	78	0.03%

Democratic primary[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Tsongas	296,915	35.55%
	Democratic	Paul Guzzi	258,960	31.01%
	Democratic	Kathleen Sullivan Alioto	161,036	19.28%
	Democratic	Howard Phillips	65,397	7.83%
	Democratic	Elaine Noble	52,464	6.28%
		All others	379	0.05%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul E. Tsongas	1,093,283	55.06%
	Republican	Edward Brooke (Incumbent)	890,584	44.85%
		All others	1,833	0.09%
Total votes			1,985,700	68.01%
Majority			202,699	10.21%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Michigan

Michigan election

Nominee Carl Levin Robert P. Griffin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,484,193 1,362,165 Percentage 52.1% 47.9%

U.S. senator before election Robert P. Griffin Republican Elected U.S. Senator Carl Levin Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan

Republican Robert P. Griffin ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, and former Detroit City Council President Carl Levin.

General election[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Carl Levin	1,484,193	52.1%	N/A
	Republican	Robert P. Griffin (Incumbent)	1,362,165	47.8%	-4.29%
	Independent	Others	272	0.01%	-52.13%
Majority			122,028	4.29%
Turnout			2,846,630
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Minnesota

See also: List of United States senators from Minnesota and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

There were 2 elections in Minnesota, due to the death of Hubert Humphrey.

Minnesota (Regular)

Minnesota general election

Nominee Rudy Boschwitz Wendell Anderson Party Independent-Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 894,092 638,375 Percentage 56.57% 40.39%

U.S. senator before election Wendell Anderson Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz Independent-Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Minnesota

Democrat Wendell Anderson was defeated by Republican challenger businessman Rudy Boschwitz.

In 1978, all three key statewide races in Minnesota were up for election—the Governorship, and both Senate Seats (the other Senate seat belonged to Hubert Humphrey, who died in 1978). But, there was a particular oddity to the three races—all three had incumbents who were never elected to the office in the first place. This became a well played issue by the Republicans—a billboard put up across the state read, "The DFL is going to face something scary -- an election".

When Walter Mondale ascended to the Vice Presidency in 1976, sitting Governor Wendell Anderson appointed himself to the open seat. This act did not sit well with the electorate. Plywood magnate Rudy Boschwitz campaigned as a liberal Republican and spent freely of his own money, but all that seemed to really matter was that he was neither a DFLer or Wendell Anderson in an election cycle where both were rejected by the voters. The end result was not even close—the challenger Boschwitz won in a 16-point landslide as all three statewide offices switched into Republican hands.

Democratic primary election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Wendell Anderson (Incumbent)	286,209	56.9%
	Democratic (DFL)	John S. Connolly	159,974	31.8%
	Democratic (DFL)	Daryl W. Anderson	23,159	4.6%
	Democratic (DFL)	Lloyd M. Roberts	12,709	2.5%
	Democratic (DFL)	Dick Bullock	11,485	2.3%
	Democratic (DFL)	Emil L. Moses	9,580	1.9%

Republican primary election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent-Republican	Rudy Boschwitz	185,393	86.8%
	Independent-Republican	Harold Stassen	28,170	13.2%

General election[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent-Republican	Rudy Boschwitz	894,092	56.57%
	Democratic (DFL)	Wendell Anderson	638,375	40.39%
	American	Sal Carlone	23,261	1.47%
	Socialist Workers	William Peterson	9,856	0.62%
	Independent	Brian J. Coyle	8,083	0.51%
	Workers League	Jean T. Brust	3,891	0.25%
	Libertarian	Leonard J. Richards	2,992	0.19%
	Others	Write-ins	72	0.01%
Majority			255,717	16.18%
Turnout			1,580,622
	Independent-Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

Minnesota (Special)

Minnesota special election

Nominee David Durenberger Bob Short Party Independent-Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 957,908 538,675 Percentage 61.47% 34.57%

U.S. senator before election Muriel Humphrey Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. senator David Durenberger Independent-Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate special election in Minnesota

Incumbent Muriel Humphrey retired. Democratic candidate Bob Short was defeated by Republican candidate David Durenberger.

In 1978, all three key statewide races in Minnesota were up for election—the Governorship, and both Senate Seats (the other Senate seat belonged to Wendell Anderson, who, as Governor of Minnesota, appointed himself to fill the seat vacated by Walter Mondale, when Mondale ascended to the Vice Presidency in 1976). But, there was a particular oddity to the three races—all three had incumbents who were never elected to the office in the first place. This became a well played issue by the Republicans: a billboard put up across the state read, "The DFL is going to face something scary — an election".

When Hubert H. Humphrey died in office in January 1978, sitting Governor Rudy Perpich appointed Humphrey's widow, Muriel to sit until a special election could be held later that year. However, Muriel Humphrey opted not to seek election to the seat in her own right, and the DFL nominated former Texas Rangers owner Bob Short to run in the subsequent special election. The Independent-Republicans, on their part, nominated the liberal Republican David Durenberger, creating an unusual race in which the DFL candidate was positioned to the right of the Independent-Republican candidate. In addition to the general sense of dissatisfaction voters felt for the DFL, the DFL also had to contend with a large number of liberal members of the DFL, who were dissatisfied with Short's positions on hot button issues such as abortion, motorboat usage in the Boundary Waters Canoe area, and government spending, crossing party lines to vote for Durenberger. As a result, Durenberger won in a 26.9-percent landslide as the governorship and both U.S. Senate seats switched into Republican hands.

Democratic special primary election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Bob Short	257,289	48.0%
	Democratic (DFL)	Donald M. Fraser	253,818	47.4%
	Democratic (DFL)	Sharon Anderson	16,094	3.0%
	Democratic (DFL)	Richard A. Palmer	8,425	1.6%

Republican special primary election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent-Republican	David Durenberger	139,187	67.3%
	Independent-Republican	Malcolm Moos	32,314	15.6%
	Independent-Republican	Ken Nordstrom	14,635	7.1%
	Independent-Republican	Will Lundquist	12,261	5.9%
	Independent-Republican	Adell H. Campbell	8,523	4.1%

Special election[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent-Republican	David Durenberger	957,908	61.47%
	Democratic (DFL)	Bob Short	538,675	34.57%
	American	Paul Helm	45,402	2.91%
	Socialist Workers	Christine Frank	11,397	0.73%
	Libertarian	Frederick Hewitt	4,116	0.26%
	Others	Write-ins	878	0.06%
Majority			419,233	26.90%
Turnout			1,558,376
	Independent-Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

Mississippi

Mississippi election

Nominee Thad Cochran Maurice Dantin Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 267,302 187,541 Percentage 45.3% 31.8%   Nominee Charles Evers Party Independent Popular vote 133,646 Percentage 22.6%

U.S. senator before election James Eastland Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi

Democrat James Eastland retired. Republican Thad Cochran won the open seat over Democrat Maurice Dantin, former District Attorney[13] and Independent Charles Evers, Mayor of Fayette.

Evers was the first African American elected since the Reconstruction era to be mayor in any Mississippi city in 1969. He ran as an independent, and as a result his campaign divided the Democrats and allowed Cochran to win the senate seat with a 45 percent plurality.[14] This made him the first Republican to win a statewide election in Mississippi in a century.[15] Eastland resigned on December 27, 1978 to give Cochran a seniority advantage over new incoming senators.[16]

Mississippi U.S. Senate Election, 1978[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thad Cochran	267,302	45.3%
	Democratic	Maurice Dantin	187,541	31.8%
	Independent	Charles Evers	133,646	22.6%
	Independent	Henry Jay Kirksey	1,747	0.3%
Majority			79,761	13.52%
Turnout			590,236
	Republican gain from Democratic

Montana

Montana election

Nominee Max Baucus Larry R. Williams Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 160,353 127,589 Percentage 55.69% 44.31%

U.S. senator before election Paul G. Hatfield Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Baucus Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Montana

See also: List of United States senators from Montana and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana

Following the death of senator Lee Metcalf on January 12, 1978, Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul G. Hatfield was appointed to serve for the remainder of Metcalf's term. Hatfield opted to run for re-election, but was overwhelmingly defeated in the Democratic primary by Congressman Max Baucus of the 1st congressional district. Baucus advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Larry R. Williams, an author and the Republican nominee. Baucus ended up defeating Williams by a solid margin to win his first term in the Senate, and, following Hatfield's resignation on December 12, 1978, he began serving his first term in the Senate.

Democratic Party primary[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Baucus	87,085	65.25%
	Democratic	Paul Hatfield (Incumbent)	25,789	19.32%
	Democratic	John Driscoll	18,184	13.62%
	Democratic	Steve Shugrue	2,404	1.80%
Total votes			133,462	100.00%

Republican Primary[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Williams	35,479	61.66%
	Republican	Bill Osborne	16,436	28.57%
	Republican	Clancy Rich	5,622	9.77%
Total votes			57,537	100.00%

1978 United States Senate election in Montana[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Max Baucus	160,353	55.69%	+3.74%
	Republican	Larry R. Williams	127,589	44.31%	-3.74%
Majority			32,764	11.38%	+7.48%
Turnout			287,942
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nebraska

Nebraska election

Nominee J. James Exon Donald Eugene Shasteen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 334,096 159,708 Percentage 67.7% 32.3%

U.S. senator before election Carl Curtis Republican Elected U.S. Senator J. James Exon Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Nebraska

See also: List of United States senators from Nebraska and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

Republican Carl Curtis retired instead of seeking a fifth term. In the elections, Democratic nominee J. James Exon won the open seat over Republican Donald Eugene Shasteen.

General election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	J. James Exon	334,096	67.66%	+20.82%
	Republican	Donald Eugene Shasteen	159,708	32.34%	-20.82%
Majority			174,390	35.32%	+28.99%
Turnout			493,802
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

New Hampshire

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire

1978 United States Senate election in New Hampshire[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gordon J. Humphrey	133,745	50.71%
	Democratic	Thomas J. McIntyre (Incumbent)	127,945	48.51%
	Libertarian	Craig Franklin	2,070	0.78%
Majority			5,800	2.20%
Turnout			263,760
	Republican gain from Democratic

New Jersey

New Jersey election

Nominee Bill Bradley Jeff Bell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,082,960 844,200 Percentage 55.32% 43.13%

County Results Bradley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bell:      40-50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Clifford P. Case Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bill Bradley Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey

Republican Clifford P. Case narrowly lost renomination to anti-tax conservative Jeff Bell, but the Democratic nominee, former professional basketball player Bill Bradley, easily won the general election.

New Jersey Democratic primary[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Bradley	217,502	58.90%
	Democratic	Richard Leone	97,667	26.45%
	Democratic	Alexander J. Menza	32,386	8.77%
	Democratic	Kenneth C. McCarthy	9,524	2.58%
	Democratic	Wesley K. Bell	8,800	2.38%
	Democratic	Ray Rollinson	3,374	0.91%
Total votes			369,253	100.00%

Republican primary results[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Bell	118,555	50.74%
	Republican	Clifford P. Case	115,082	49.26%
Total votes			233,637	100.00%

New Jersey general election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Bradley (Incumbent)	1,082,960	55.32%
	Republican	Jeff Bell	844,200	43.13%
	Independent	Herbert Harry Shaw	4,736	0.24%
	Independent	Bill Gahres	3,817	0.19%
	Independent	Jack Moyers	3,809	0.19%
	Labor Party	Robert Bowen	3,656	0.19%
	Independent	J. M. Carter Jr.	3,618	0.18%
	Independent	Jasper C. Gould	2,955	0.15%
	Independent	William R. Thorn	2,776	0.14%
	Independent	Paul Ferguson	2,604	0.13%
	Independent	Alice Conner	2,384	0.12%
Majority			238,760	12.19%
Turnout			1,957,515
	Democratic gain from Republican

New Mexico

New Mexico election

Nominee Pete Domenici Toney Anaya Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 183,442 160,045 Percentage 53.4% 46.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Pete Domenici Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pete Domenici Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in New Mexico

See also: List of United States senators from New Mexico and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico

Republican senator Pete Domenici successfully ran for re-election to a second term, defeating Democrat Toney Anaya, Attorney General of New Mexico.

General election[20][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Domenici (Incumbent)	183,442	53.41%
	Democratic	Toney Anaya	160,045	46.59%
Majority			23,397	6.81%
Total votes			343,487	100.00%
	Republican hold

North Carolina

North Carolina election

Nominee Jesse Helms John Ingram Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 619,151 516,663 Percentage 54.5% 45.5%

U.S. senator before election Jesse Helms Republican Elected U.S. Senator Jesse Helms Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

The general election was fought between the Republican Incumbent Jesse Helms and Democrat John Ingram. Helms won re-election, by a slightly wider margin than in 1972.

1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – First round[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Luther H. Hodges Jr.	260,868	40.08%
	Democratic	John Ingram	170,715	26.23%
	Democratic	Lawrence Davis	105,381	16.19%
	Democratic	McNeill Smith	82,703	12.71%
	Democratic	Dave McKnight	9,422	1.45%
	Democratic	William Griffin	8,907	1.37%
	Democratic	Tom Sawyer	8,482	1.30%
Turnout			650,942

1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – Second round[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Ingram	244,469	54.24%	+28.01%
	Democratic	Luther H. Hodges Jr.	206,223	45.76%	+5.68%
Turnout			450,692

Jesse Helms won the Republican Party's nomination unopposed.

1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate election[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jesse Helms	619,151	54.51%	+0.50%
	Democratic	John Ingram	516,663	45.49%	-0.50%
Turnout			1,135,814

Oklahoma

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

See also: List of United States senators from Oklahoma and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma

1978 United States Senate election in Oklahoma[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Boren	493,953	65.49%
	Republican	Robert B. Kamm	247,857	32.86%
	Independent	Glenn E. Hager	3,875	0.51%
	Independent	Riley Donica	3,355	0.44%
	Independent	Paul Edward Trent	3,015	0.40%
	Independent	Richard King Carter	2,209	0.29%
Majority			246,096	32.63%
Turnout			754,264
	Democratic gain from Republican

Oregon

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Oregon

See also: List of United States senators from Oregon and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

1978 United States Senate election in Oregon[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Hatfield (Incumbent)	550,165	61.64%
	Democratic	Vernon Cook	341,616	38.28%
	Independent	Write-Ins	737	0.08%
Majority			208,549	23.36%
Turnout			892,518
	Republican hold

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

Nominee Claiborne Pell James G. Reynolds Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 229,557 76,061 Percentage 75.1% 24.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Claiborne Pell Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell Democratic

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

Democrat Claiborne Pell successfully sought re-election, defeating Republican James G. Reynolds.

Democratic primary[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Claiborne Pell (Incumbent)	69,729	87.01%
	Democratic	Raymond J. Greiner	6,076	7.58%
	Democratic	Francis P. Kelley	4,330	5.41%
Majority			63,653	79.43%
Total votes			80,135	100.00%

General election[23][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Claiborne Pell (Incumbent)	229,557	75.11%
	Republican	James G. Reynolds	76,061	24.89%
Majority			153,496	50.22%
Total votes			305,618	100.00%
	Democratic hold

South Carolina

South Carolina election

Nominee Strom Thurmond Charles D. Ravenel Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 351,733 281,119 Percentage 55.6% 44.4%

U.S. senator before election Strom Thurmond Republican Elected U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

Popular incumbent Republican Strom Thurmond defeated Democratic challenger Charles D. Ravenel.

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on June 13, 1978. Charles D. Ravenel, an unsuccessful candidate in the 1974 gubernatorial contest, originally planned to run for governor again in 1978, but was convinced by Vice President Walter Mondale in 1977 to run for senator. He garnered over 50% of the vote in the primary and avoided a runoff election.

South Carolina Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Charles D. Ravenel	205,348	55.9%
	Democratic	John Bolt Culbertson	69,184	18.9%
	Democratic	Tom Triplett	50,957	13.9%
	Democratic	Tom McElveen	41,550	11.3%

Senator Strom Thurmond faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election.

Thurmond generally ignored Ravenel on the campaign and refused to debate him. When they did cross paths, Thurmond criticized Ravenel for never having held a political office. Ravenel did not help his cause by his actions in the 1974 gubernatorial race when he refused to endorse the Democratic nominee after he had been disqualified. This irritated many Democrats and they also accused him of being nothing more than a liberal New Yorker. Age was beginning to become an issue with Thurmond, so to combat perceptions of old age, Thurmond often appeared with his children on the campaign trail. While 1978 was generally a Democratic year, Thurmond was able to pull off a commanding victory over Ravenel.

South Carolina general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Strom Thurmond	351,733	55.6%	-7.9%
	Democratic	Charles D. Ravenel	281,119	44.4%	+7.9%
	No party	Write-Ins	257	0.0%	0.0%
Majority			70,614	11.2%	-15.8%
Turnout			633,109	57.7%	-7.5%
	Republican hold		Swing

South Dakota

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in South Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from South Dakota and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in South Dakota

1978 United States Senate election in South Dakota[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Pressler	170,832	66.84%
	Democratic	Don Barnett	84,767	33.16%
Majority			86,065	33.68%
Turnout			255,599
	Republican gain from Democratic

Tennessee

Tennessee election

Nominee Howard Baker Jane Eskind Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 642,644 466,228 Percentage 55.54% 40.30%

U.S. senator before election Howard Baker Republican Elected U.S. Senator Howard Baker Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

Two-term popular incumbent Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Minority Leader since 1977, ran for reelection against first-time candidate and Democratic Party activist Jane Eskind.

In the August 3 Democratic primary Eskind won in an open primary against eight other candidates:[24]

• Eskind - 196,156 (34.52%)
• Bruce - 170,795 (30.06%)
• Lee - 89,939 (15.83%)
• Boyd - 48,458 (8.53%)
• Bradley - 22,130 (3.90%)
• Heinsohn - 17,787 (3.13%)
• Foster - 10,671 (1.88%)
• Nyabongo - 7,682 (1.35%)
• Vick - 4,414 (0.78%)
• Write-in - 147 (0.03%)

In the Republican primary, also held August 3, Baker easily emerged as the winner:[25]

• Baker - 205,680 (83.44%)
• Howard - 21,154 (8.58%)
• Boles - 8,899 (3.61%)
• Patty - 3,941 (1.60%)
• Seiler - 3,831 (1.55%)
• Trapp - 2,994 (1.22%)

Baker won with a 15-point margin in the general election, held on November 7:[26]

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Howard Baker (Incumbent)	642,644	55.54%
	Democratic	Jane Eskind	466,228	40.29%
	Independent	Thomas Jefferson Anderson	45,908	3.97%
	Independent	Fern L. Keasler	2,243	0.19%
	None	Write-Ins	71	0.01%
Majority			176,416	15.25%
Turnout			1,157,094
	Republican hold

Texas

Texas election

Nominee John Tower Bob Krueger Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,151,376 1,139,149 Percentage 49.8% 49.3%

U.S. senator before election John Tower Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Tower Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Texas

See also: List of United States senators from Texas and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

Republican incumbent John Tower won re-election to a fourth term over Democrat Bob Krueger, U.S. Congressman of Texas's 21st congressional district.

General election[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Tower (Incumbent)	1,151,376	49.8%
	Democratic	Bob Krueger	1,139,149	49.3%
	Raza Unida	Luis A. Diaz de Leon	17,869	0.8%
	Socialist Workers	Miguel Pendas	4,018	0.2%
	None	Others	128	0.0%
Majority			12,227	0.5%
Turnout			2,312,540
	Republican hold

Virginia

Virginia election

Nominee John Warner Andrew P. Miller Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 613,232 608,511 Percentage 50.2% 49.8%

U.S. Senate election results map. Red denotes counties/districts won by Warner. Blue denotes those won by Miller.

U.S. senator before election William L. Scott Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Warner Republican

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia

Incumbent William L. Scott retired. Former Secretary of the Navy Republican John Warner beat Attorney General of Virginia Andrew P. Miller. Scott then resigned January 1, 1979 and Warner was appointed January 2, 1979 for early seniority purposes.

1978 United States Senate election in Virginia[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	John Warner	613,232	50.17%	-1.28%
	Democratic	Andrew P. Miller	608,511	49.79%	+3.67%
	Write-ins		513	0.04%	+0.04%
Majority			4,721	0.39%	+0.39%
Turnout			1,222,256
	Republican hold

West Virginia

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from West Virginia and 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia

1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jennings Randolph (Incumbent)	249,034	50.48%
	Republican	Arch A. Moore Jr.	244,317	49.52%
Majority			4,717	0.92%
Turnout			493,351
	Democratic hold

Wyoming

Main article: 1978 United States Senate election in Wyoming

See also: List of United States senators from Wyoming and 1978 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming

1978 United States Senate election in Wyoming[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alan Simpson (Incumbent)	82,908	62.17%
	Democratic	Raymond B. Whitaker	50,456	37.83%
Majority			32,452	24.34%
Turnout			133,364
	Republican hold

See also

• 1978 United States elections
  • 1978 United States gubernatorial elections
  • 1978 United States House of Representatives elections
• 95th United States Congress
• 96th United States Congress

Notes

1. Harry F. Byrd Jr. (VA) was an Independent who caucused with the Democrats. In some circles he is called an "Independent Democrat," but his actual registration was listed as "Independent." See, e.g., United States Congress. "Harry Flood Byrd Jr. (id: B001209)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

References

1. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
2. "Delaware Department of Agriculture - State of Delaware". Delaware Department of Agriculture - State of Delaware.
3. "Ourcampaigns.com". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
4. "Our Campaigns - GA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com.
5. "The Message of the 1978 Off-Year Elections". Time.com. November 20, 1978. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
6. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
7. "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate- R Primary Race - Sep 19, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com.
8. "Our Campaigns - MA US Senate- D Primary Race - Sep 19, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com.
9. Parker, Randy; crickets chirp (July 7, 2003). "Our Campaigns: MI U.S. Senate". Our Campaigns.
10. "Minnesota Election Results 1978 (Primary Election)" (PDF). Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
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13. "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
14. Black, Earl; Merle Black (2003). The Rise of Southern Republicans. Harvard University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-674-01248-6.
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16. Associated Press (December 27, 1978). "Eastland Quits Early To Aid His Successor". The Blade. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
17. "Our Campaigns - MS US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com.
18. "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, June 6, 1978". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
19. "1978 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1978. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
20. "NM US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
21. "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
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24. "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate - D Primary Race - Aug 03, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
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28. "Our Campaigns - VA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com.

• Bass, Jack; Marilyn W. Thompson (1998). Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond. Longstreet. pp. 290–292.
• State Election Commission (1979). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. p. 54.
• "Challenging a Southern Legend". Time. October 16, 1978. Retrieved February 9, 2008.