1976 United States Senate election in Michigan

1976 United States Senate election in Michigan

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →

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

County results Riegle:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Esch:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

U.S. senator before election Philip Hart Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Don Riegle Democratic

Elections in Michigan
Federal government U.S. president 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 Dem GOP 2012 2016 Dem 2020 Dem GOP U.S. Senate 1835 1840 (sp) 1841 1847 1849 (sp) 1853 1857 1858 1862 (sp) 1863 1865 1869 1871 1874 1877 1879 (sp) 1881 1881 (sp) 1887 1889 1893 1895 1895 (sp) 1899 1901 1903 (sp) 1905 1907 1907 (sp) 1911 1913 1916 1918 1922 1924 1924 (sp) 1928 1928 (sp) 1930 1934 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1952 (sp) 1954 1958 1960 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 U.S. House 1820 Terr 1820 Terr sp 1823 Terr 1835 1837 1838 1840 1843 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1881 7th sp 1882 1884 1886 1888 11th sp 1890 1892 1894 1895 3rd sp 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1917 2nd sp 1920 1928 1930 1932 1934 1935 3rd sp 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1947 11th sp 1948 1950 1952 1954 1955 15th sp 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1982 1986 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 8th 2008 2010 11th 11th sp 2012 2014 2016 13th sp 2018 2020
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v t e

The 1976 United States Senate election in Michigan took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Philip Hart decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Democrat Donald Riegle won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Richard H. Austin, Michigan Secretary of State
• James L. Elsman
• James G. O'Hara, U.S. Representative from Utica
• Donald Riegle, U.S. Representative from Flint

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Deane Baker
• Thomas E. Brennan, former Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
• Marvin L. Esch, U.S. Representative from Ann Arbor
• Robert J. Huber, U.S. Representative from Troy and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1970

Results

General election

Results

General election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Don Riegle	1,831,031	52.46%	14.38
	Republican	Marvin Esch	1,635,087	46.85%	13.96
	Libertarian	Bette Jane Erwin	8,842	0.25%	N/A
	Human Rights	Theodore G. Albert	7,281	0.21%	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Paula L. Reimers	3,399	0.10%	0.05
	Socialist Labor	Frank Girard	2,554	0.07%	0.06
	U.S. Labor	Peter A. Signorelli	2,218	0.06%	N/A
Total votes			3,490,412	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Aftermath

Incumbent Senator Hart died of melanoma on December 26, and Riegle was appointed to finish the remaining days of his final term in office, giving him seniority over his freshman colleagues.

See also

• 1976 United States Senate elections

References

This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 20:54