The 1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Senator and Minority Leader

Hugh Scott Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. (November 11, 1900 – July 21, 1994) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1959 and in the U.S. Senate, from 195 ...

decided to retire. Republican

John Heinz Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...

won the open seat.

Background

In December 1975, U.S. senator

announced that he would not seek re-election in 1976 at the age of 75 after serving in Congress for 33 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 Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and accusations that he had illegally obtained contributions from

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

were alleged to have contributed to the decision.

Republican primary

Candidates

*C. Homer Brown *Mary Ellen Foltz *

, U.S. Representative from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

since 1971 *George Packard, former managing editor of the ''

Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...

'' *

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from ...

, former

District Attorney of Philadelphia The office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia is the largest prosecutor's office in the state of Pennsylvania and oversees a jurisdiction that includes more than 1.5 million citizens of both the city and county of Philadelphia. The current ...

Francis Worley Francis Worley (December 23, 1913 – May 8, 2003) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. References

Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representat ...

, former State Representative from Adams County

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Bill Green, U.S. Representative from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Jeanette Reibman Jeanette F. Reibman (August 18, 1915 – March 11, 2006) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 18th district from 1969 to 1994. She also served in the Pennsylvania ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from Easton

Results

General election

Candidates

* William Green, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia (Democratic) *

, U.S. Representative from Pittsburgh (Republican) *Frank Kinces (Communist) *Bernard Salera (Labor) *Frederick W. Stanton (Socialist Workers) *Andrew J. Watson (Constitution)

Campaign

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.

Results

References

{{United States elections, 1976

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 Pennsylvania elections

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Results

See also

References