1976 United States Senate election in Nevada

1976 United States Senate election in Nevada

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →
 
Nominee Howard Cannon David Towell
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 127,214 63,471
Percentage 63.01% 31.44%

County results
Cannon:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Towell:      40–50%

U.S. senator before election

Howard Cannon
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Howard Cannon
Democratic

The 1976 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Cannon won re-election to a fourth term despite Republican President Gerald Ford winning the state in the concurrent presidential election in Nevada.

General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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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 elections 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 former U.S. Representative David Towell, who served just one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before losing reelection, then running for the 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.

Results

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General election results[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Howard Cannon (incumbent) 127,214 63.01% +5.36%
Republican David Towell 63,471 31.44% −9.73%
None of These Candidates 5,288 2.62%
Independent American Byron D. Young 3,619 1.79%
Libertarian Dan Becan 2,307 1.14%
Majority 63,743 31.57% +15.09%
Turnout 201,899
Democratic hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives. p. 28.