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1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

The 1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Hugh Scott decided to retire. Republican John Heinz won the open seat.[1]

1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →
 
Nominee John Heinz Bill Green
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,381,891 2,126,977
Percentage 52.39% 46.79%
County results

Heinz:      50–60%      60–70%

Green:      40–50%      50–60%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Hugh Scott
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John Heinz
Republican

Background

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In December 1975, U.S. senator Hugh Scott announced that he would not seek re-election in 1976 at the age of 75 after serving in Congress for 32 years. Scott listed personal reasons and several "well-qualified potential candidates" for the seat among the reasons of his decision to retire. Other reasons, including his support for Richard Nixon and accusations that he had illegally obtained contributions from Gulf Oil were alleged to have contributed to the decision.[2]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican H. John Heinz III 358,715 37.73%
Republican Arlen Specter 332,513 34.98%
Republican George Packard 160,379 16.87%
Republican C. Homer Brown 46,828 4.93%
Republican Mary Ellen Foltz 29,160 3.07%
Republican Francis Worley 20,421 2.15%
Write-in 2,665 0.28%
Total votes 950,681 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William J. Green III 762,733 68.71%
Democratic Jeanette Reibman 345,264 31.10%
Write-in 2,058 0.19%
Total votes 1,110,055 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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  • William Green, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia (Democratic)
  • John Heinz, U.S. Representative from Pittsburgh (Republican)
  • Frank Kinces (Communist)
  • Bernard Salera (Labor)
  • Frederick W. Stanton (Socialist Workers)
  • Andrew J. Watson (Constitution)

Campaign

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Heinz was the victor in all but nine counties, defeating opponent William Green, who had a 300,000 vote advantage in his native Philadelphia area. Heinz and Green spent $2.5 million and $900,000, respectively, during the ten-month campaign. Much of the money Heinz spent on his campaign was his own, leading to accusations from Green that he was "buying the seat". Heinz replied to this by claiming that the spending was necessary to overcome the Democratic voter registration advantage.[9]

Results

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1976 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican H. John Heinz III 2,381,891 52.39%   0.96
Democratic William J. Green III 2,126,977 46.79%   1.41
Constitution Andrew J. Watson 26,028 0.57%   1.79
Socialist Workers Frederick W. Stanton 5,484 0.12%   0.01
Labor Party Bernard Salera 3,637 0.08%   0.08
Communist Party Frank Kinces 2,097 0.05%   0.05
N/A Other 239 0.00% N/A
Total votes 4,546,353 100.00%
Republican hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "Senate Republican leader Hugh Scott won't run in 1976". St. Petersburg Times. December 5, 1975. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  3. ^ "Heinz, Henry John III (1938–1991)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  4. ^ "Biography of H. John Heinz III". Archives: Biographies. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "PA US Senate - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  6. ^ "Specter, Arlen (born 1930)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  7. ^ "GREEN, William Joseph, (born 1938)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  8. ^ "PA US Senate - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  9. ^ "John Heinz". Gettysburg Times. November 3, 1976. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
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