| Elections in New York State |
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The 1976 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator James L. Buckley ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic diplomat Pat Moynihan. As of 2023, this is the last time an incumbent Senator from New York lost re-election to this seat.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bella Abzug, U.S. Representative from the West Side of Manhattan
- Ramsey Clark, former United States Attorney General and nominee for Senate in 1974
- Abraham Hirschfeld, real estate developer
- Pat Moynihan, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Ambassador to India
- Paul O'Dwyer, former New York City Council President and nominee for Senate in 1968
Convention
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul O'Dwyer | 32.50% | ||
| Democratic | Pat Moynihan | 31.10% | ||
| Democratic | Bella Abzug | 28.70% | ||
| Democratic | Ramsey Clark | 7.00% | ||
| Democratic | Abraham Hirschfeld | 0.70% | ||
| Total votes | 100.00% | |||
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pat Moynihan | 333,697 | 36.41% | |
| Democratic | Bella Abzug | 323,705 | 35.32% | |
| Democratic | Ramsey Clark | 94,191 | 10.28% | |
| Democratic | Paul O'Dwyer | 82,689 | 9.02% | |
| Democratic | Abraham Hirschfeld | 82,331 | 8.98% | |
| Total votes | 916,613 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- James L. Buckley, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1971
- Peter A. Peyser, U.S. Representative from Irvington
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James L. Buckley (incumbent) | 242,257 | 70.45 | |
| Republican | Peter Peyser | 101,629 | 29.55 | |
| Total votes | 343,886 | 100.00 | ||
Results
Candidates
- Herbert Aptheker, historian and activist (Communist)
- Elijah C. Boyd (U.S. Labor)
- James L. Buckley, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1971 (Republican and Conservative)
- Marcia Gallo (Socialist Workers)
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Ambassador to India (Democratic and Liberal)
- Martin E. Nixon (Libertarian)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pat Moynihan | 3,238,511 | 51.26% | ||
| Liberal | Pat Moynihan | 184,083 | 2.91% | ||
| Total | Pat Moynihan | 3,422,594 | 54.17% | ||
| Republican | James L. Buckley (incumbent) | 2,525,139 | 39.96% | ||
| Conservative | James L. Buckley (incumbent) | 311,494 | 4.93% | ||
| Total | James L. Buckley (incumbent) | 2,836,633 | 44.89% | N/A | |
| Communist | Herbert Aptheker | 25,141 | 0.40% |  0.37
| |
| Socialist Workers | Marcia Gallo | 16,350 | 0.26% | 0.20
| |
| Libertarian | Martin E. Nixon | 10,943 | 0.17% | 0.17
| |
| U.S. Labor | Elijah C. Boyd | 6,716 | 0.11% | 0.11
| |
| Total votes | 6,318,377 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 14, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - R Primary". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
Further reading
- Andelic, Patrick. “Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the 1976 New York Senate Race, and the Struggle to Define American Liberalism.” Historical Journal 57#4 (2014), Pp. 1111–33. online.