1976 United States elections (BMC)
| ← 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 → Presidential election year | |
| Election day | November 2 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | William Taft Jr. (Republican) |
| Next Congress | 95th |
| 1976 Presidential election | |
| Partisan control | Democratic gain |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +1.7% |
| Electoral vote | |
| Jeane Kirkpatrick (D) | 326 |
| Nelson Rockefeller (R) | 212 |
 | |
| 1976 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Rockefeller, blue denotes states won by Kirkpatrick. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate. | |
| 1976 Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic gain |
| Seats contested | 34 of 100 seats |
| Net seat change | Democratic +3 |
| File:1976 Senate.png | |
| 1976 presidential election results. Democratic gain Democratic hold | |
| 1976 House elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic gain |
| Seats contested | All 435 voting members |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +9.4% |
The 1976 United States elections was held on November 2, and elected the members of the 95th United States Congress. The Democratic Party won the presidential election and gained control of Congress.
Democratic Governor Jeane Kirkpatrick of Oklahoma defeated Republican former Secretary of State Nelson Rockefeller. Kirkpatrick won the popular vote by nearly two points and finished with 326 electoral votes, taking a mix of states.
Democrats narrowly won the U.S. Senate, while obtaining a large gain in seats in the U.S. House, overturning a substantial Republican majority. Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 9.4 percentage points.
Senate
Retirements
Democrats gained a net of one seat from retirements.
Democratic holds
- Michigan: Philip Hart (D) retired and was replaced by Richard H. Austin (D).
- Hart then died December 27, 1976 and Austin was appointed to finish the term.
- Montana: Mike Mansfield (D) retired and was replaced by John Melcher (D).
- Rhode Island: John Pastore (D) retired and was replaced by Florence K. Murray (D).
- Pastore then resigned December 28, 1976 and Chafee was appointed to finish the term.
Democratic gains
- Hawaii: Hiram Fong (R) retired and was replaced by Eric Shinseki (D).
Republican hold
No Republicans retired from the U.S. Senate in 1976 to be succeeded by a Republican.
Republican gains
No Democrats retired from the U.S. Senate in 1976 to be succeeded by a Republican.
Incumbents who lost
Democrats gained a net of two seats through defeating incumbent Republican Senators.
Democratic gains
- Nevada: Paul Laxalt (R) loses re-election to Howard Cannon (D).
- Ohio: Robert Taft III (R) loses re-election to Howard Metzenbaum (D).
- Taft then resigned December 28, 1976 and Metzenbaum was appointed to finish the term.
- Tennessee: Don Kuykendall (R) loses re-election to Pauline Gore (D).
Republican gains
- New Mexico: Joseph Montoya (R) loses re-election to Harrison Schmidt (D).