1976 United States Senate election in Nebraska
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The 1976 United States Senate election in Nebraska took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican senator Roman Hruska decided to retire instead of seeking another term. Omaha Mayor Edward Zorinsky, a Republican, switched to the Democratic Party and narrowly won the Democratic primary, and then defeated Congressman John Y. McCollister, the Republican nominee, in the general election. Zorinsky became the first Democrat to win a Senate election in Nebraska since 1934, and the first Jewish person elected to statewide office in the state.
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November 2, 1976
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 County results Zorinsky: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% McCollister: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
- Edward Zorinsky, Mayor of Omaha
- Hess Dyas, former Chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, 1974 Democratic nominee for Nebraska's 1st congressional district[1]
- Leonore Etchison, economics graduate student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edward Zorinsky | 79,988 | 48.58% | |
| Democratic | Hess Dyas | 77,384 | 46.99% | |
| Democratic | Lenore R. Etchison | 7,194 | 4.37% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 102 | 0.06% | |
| Total votes | 164,668 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- John Y. McCollister, U.S. Representative from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
- Richard Proud, former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Y. McCollister | 150,732 | 78.35% | |
| Republican | Richard Proud | 41,519 | 21.58% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 122 | 0.06% | |
| Total votes | 192,373 | 100.00% | ||
General election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edward Zorinsky | 313,805 | 52.89% | +5.46% | |
| Republican | John Y. McCollister | 279,284 | 47.07% | −5.42% | |
| Write-in | 221 | 0.04% | — | ||
| Majority | 34,521 | 5.82% | +0.76% | ||
| Total votes | 593,310 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||