1978 United States Senate elections

Parties						Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Other
Last elections (1976) Before these elections		61	38	1	0	100
Not up		43	21	1	0	65
Up		18	17	0	—	35
	Class 2 (1972→1978)	16	17	—	—	33
	Special: Class 1	1	—	—	—	1
	Special: Class 3	1	—	—	—	1
Incumbent retired		5[lower-alpha 2]	5	—	—	10
	Held by same party	2	3	—	—	5
	Replaced by other party	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats 3 Democrats replaced by 3 Republicans		—	—	5
	Result	4	6	—	—	10
Incumbent ran		13[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]	12[lower-alpha 5]	—	—	25
	Won re-election	6	9	—	—	15
	Lost re-election	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats 5 Democrats replaced by 5 Republicans		—	—	7
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	2	0	—	—	2
	Lost renomination, and party lost	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat		—	—	1
	Result	11	14	0	0	25
Total elected		15	20	0	0	35
Net gain/loss		3	3			3
Nationwide vote		15,302,929	14,794,225	299,624	278,078	30,674,856
	Share	49.89%	48.23%	0.98%	0.91%	100%
Result		58	41	1	0	100

Source: Clerk of the United States House of Representatives[1]

Nine races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Oklahoma was the tipping point state with a margin of 32.6%.

There were two 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%

County results

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

Main article: 1978 United States Senate special election in Alabama

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[2][3][4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donald W. Stewart	401,852	54.93%
	Republican	James D. Martin	316,170	43.22%
	Libertarian	Michael R. A. Erdey	6,006	0.82%
	Prohibition	A. J. Killingsworth	5,814	0.80%
	Peace and Freedom	Joseph T. Robino	1,768	0.24%
Majority			85,682	11.74%
Turnout			731,610
	Democratic hold

Alaska election

Nominee Ted Stevens Donald Hobbs Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 92,783 29,574 Percentage 75.59% 24.10%

U.S. senator before election Ted Stevens Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Republican

Republican Ted Stevens won reelection to a second full (his third total) term, defeating Democrat Donald Hobbs.

Arkansas election

Nominee David Pryor Thomas Kelly Jr. John G. Black Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 399,916 84,722 37,488 Percentage 76.58% 16.22% 7.18%

U.S. senator before election Kaneaster Hodges Jr. Democratic Elected U.S. Senator David H. Pryor Democratic

Following the death of senator John L. McClellan, then Kaneaster Hodges Jr. was appointed by governor David Pryor to fill the vacancy until a special election could be held. In this election, Democratic state governor David Pryor defeated former Republican challenger Thomas Kelly Jr. to serve the six years term.

Colorado election

Nominee William L. Armstrong Floyd Haskell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 480,801 330,148 Percentage 58.69% 40.30%

U.S. senator before election Floyd Haskell Democratic Elected U.S. Senator William L. Armstrong Republican

Democrat Floyd Haskell decided to run for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by William L. Armstrong, the Republican nominee and the U.S. Representative.

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

Democratic United States senator Joe Biden won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger James H. Baxter Jr., the Delaware Secretary of Agriculture.[6]

Georgia election

Nominee Sam Nunn John W. 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

Democrat Sam Nunn won re-election to a second term.[7]

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

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

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

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."[9] 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.

Iowa election

Nominee Roger Jepsen Dick Clark Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 421,598 395,066 Percentage 51.12% 47.91%

U.S. senator before election Dick Clark Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Roger Jepsen Republican

Democrat Dick Clark decided to run for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Roger Jepsen, the Republican nominee and former Lieutenant Governor of Iowa.

Kansas election

Nominee Nancy Kassebaum Bill Roy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 403,354 317,602 Percentage 53.86% 42.41%

U.S. senator before election James B. Pearson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum Republican

Republican James B. Pearson retired and was succeeded by Nancy Kassebaum, the daughter of Alf Landon, defeating Democratic nominee William R. Roy, the former U.S. Representative. Roy also lost to Bob Dole in the 1974 election for Kansas' other Senate seat.

Kentucky election

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

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

Louisiana election

Nominee J. Bennett Johnston Party Democratic

U.S. senator before election J. Bennett Johnston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston Democratic

Democrat J. Bennett Johnston won re-election to unopposed and his second term.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Minnesota (regular)

Minnesota general election

Nominee Rudy Boschwitz Wendell Anderson Party Ind.-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 Ind.-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 resigned after being elected to the Vice Presidency in 1976, sitting Governor Wendell Anderson resigned in order to be appointed by his successor Rudy Perpich 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[13]

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[13]

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

General election[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Ind.-Republican	Rudy Boschwitz	894,092	56.57%
	Democratic (DFL)	Wendell Anderson (Incumbent)	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
	Ind.-Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

Minnesota (special)

Minnesota special election

Nominee David Durenberger Bob Short Party Ind.-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 Ind.-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[13]

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[13]

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

Special election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Ind.-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
	Ind.-Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

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

Democrat James Eastland retired. Republican Thad Cochran won the open seat over Democrat Maurice Dantin, former District Attorney[16] 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.[17] This made him the first Republican in a century to win a statewide election in Mississippi for any office except US President.[18] Eastland resigned on December 27, 1978 to give Cochran a seniority advantage over new incoming senators.[19]

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

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 a full term in office, 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.

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

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.

New Hampshire election

Nominee Gordon J. Humphrey Thomas J. McIntyre Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 133,745 127,945 Percentage 50.71% 48.51%

U.S. senator before election Thomas J. McIntyre Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey Republican

Incumbent Democrat Thomas J. McIntyre decided to run for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Gordon J. Humphrey, the Republican nominee also a professional pilot and conservative activist.

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

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 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

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

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

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.

Jesse Helms won the Republican Party's nomination unopposed.

Oklahoma election

Nominee David Boren Robert B. Kamm Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 493,953 247,857 Percentage 65.49% 32.86%

U.S. senator before election Dewey F. Bartlett Republican Elected U.S. Senator David Boren Democratic

Republican Dewey F. Bartlett retired instead of seeking a second term due to his declining health. In the elections, Democratic nominee David Boren won the open seat over Republican Robert B. Kamm.

Bartlett died 2 months after leaving the U.S Senate

Oregon election

Nominee Mark Hatfield Vernon Cook Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 550,615 341,616 Percentage 61.66% 38.26%

U.S. senator before election Mark Hatfield Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield Republican

Republican senator Mark Hatfield successfully ran for re-election to a third term, defeating Democrat Vernon Cook, State Legislator and candidate for U.S. Representative in 1970 and 1974.