1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico

The 1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Republican Harrison Schmitt. As of 2025, this is the last time that the Republicans have won the Class 1 Senate seat in New Mexico.

1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →

Nominee Harrison Schmitt Joseph Montoya Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 234,681 176,382 Percentage 56.82% 42.70%

County results Schmitt:      50–60%      60–70% Montoya:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Joseph Montoya Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harrison Schmitt Republican

Harrison Schmitt's inauguration marked the first time since 1917 when both Senate seats were held by Republicans. Schmitt was the first non-Hispanic to have won this seat since Bronson Murray Cutting in 1934. This is also the last time a Democratic Senator from New Mexico lost re-election.

Schmitt won the election in a decisive victory. Joseph Montoya congratulated Schmitt on his victory, saying "The people have spoken and I accept their verdict."^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Eugene W. Peirce Jr., businessman and former state legislator^[2]
• Harrison Schmitt, former astronaut

Eliminated at convention

• Arthur Lavine

Campaign

In the pre-primary convention held on March 27, 1976, Schmitt received 73.7% of the votes and businessman Eugene Peirce received 21%, allowing both to qualify for the primary ballot. A third candidate, Arthur Lavine, received 5.3% of the votes, not enough to be placed on the primary ballot.^[3]

Results

In the June 1 primary election, Schmitt defeated Peirce and became the Republican nominee.^{[citation needed]}

General election

Candidates

• Joseph Montoya, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic)
• Harrison Schmitt, former astronaut (Republican)

Campaign

Schmitt campaigned for 14 months, running a forward-looking campaign critical of Montoya's ethical issues. His slogan was "Honesty for a change."^[4] On the campaign trail, Schmitt, who was twenty years younger than Montoya, frequently said, "I have time for the future; Senator Montoya does not."^[5]

On the campaign trail in October, Senator Montoya repeatedly ridiculed Schmitt's experience as an astronaut by comparing him to a little monkey ("changito"), who could be trained to travel in space.^[6][4]

Results

General election results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Harrison Schmitt	234,681	56.82%	9.69
	Democratic	Joseph Montoya (incumbent)	176,382	42.70%	10.17
	La Raza Unida	Ernesto B. Borunda	1,087	0.26%	N/A
	American Independent	Matt Dillion	906	0.22%	N/A
Majority			58,299	14.11%	+8.36%
Turnout			413,056
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

See also

• 1976 United States Senate elections