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1976 United States Senate election in Tennessee

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1976 United States election in Tennessee

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →
 
Nominee Jim Sasser Bill Brock
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 751,180 673,231
Percentage 52.46% 47.01%

County results
Sasser:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Brock:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Bill Brock
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Jim Sasser
Democratic

The 1976 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bill Brock ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Democratic challenger Jim Sasser.

Several prominent Democrats ran in the Democratic primary. The most prominent was probably 1970 gubernatorial nominee John Jay Hooker; somewhat surprisingly to most observers however, the winner of the primary was Jim Sasser, who had managed Albert Gore Sr.'s 1970 re-election campaign.

Prior to his Senate re-election run, Brock was among those considered to replace Nelson Rockefeller as President Gerald Ford's running mate in the 1976 election.[1][2]

Primary

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18.1% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.[3]

Major Candidates

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Republican

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Democratic

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  • Jim Sasser, attorney and Democratic activist
  • John Jay Hooker, attorney and candidate for governor in 1966 and nominee in 1970

Results

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General election Results[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic James Sasser 751,180 52.46
Republican Bill Brock (Incumbent) 673,231 47.01
Independent Mark Clark Bates 5,137 0.36
Independent Willie C. Jacox 1,406 0.10
Independent Arnold Joseph Zandie 1,061 0.07
None Write-Ins 31 0.00
Majority 77,949 5.45
Turnout 1,432,046
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Again, Connally for Veep?". Time. August 2, 1976. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  2. ^ United Press International, Ford Lists Possible 1976 Running Mates, Bangor Daily News, January 23, 1976.
  3. ^ Steed, Moreland & Baker 1980, p. 22.
  4. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives. p. 46.

Works cited

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