The 1976 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Howard Cannon Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician from Nevada. Elected to the first of four consecutive terms in 1958, he served in the United States Senate from 1959 to 1983. He was a member of the Democratic ...

won re-election to a fourth term despite Republican President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

winning the state in the concurrent presidential election in Nevada.

General election

Candidates

*Dan Becan (Libertarian) *

, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic) *

David Towell David Gilmer Towell (June 9, 1937 – June 10, 2003) was an American politician who served a single term as a U.S. Representative from Nevada, representing the state's at-large district. He was a Republican. Born in Bronxville, New York, Towell ...

, former U.S. Representative from

Nevada's At-large congressional district Nevada's at-large congressional district was created when Nevada was granted statehood in 1864, encompassing the entire state. It existed until 1983, when it eliminated as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census and subsequent ...

(Republican) *Byron D. Young (Independent American)

Campaign

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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

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

, who served just one term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

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 Eureka County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,855, making it the second-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Eureka, Nevada, E ...

, which Towell won with just 51% of the vote.

Results

References

{{United States elections, 1976

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1976 Nevada elections

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Results

See also

References