1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

The 1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Hugh Scott decided to retire. Republican John Heinz won the open seat.^[1]

1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →

Nominee John Heinz Bill Green Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,381,891 2,126,977 Percentage 52.39% 46.79%

County results Heinz:      50–60%      60–70% Green:      40–50%      50–60%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Hugh Scott Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Heinz Republican

Background

In December 1975, U.S. senator Hugh Scott announced that he would not seek re-election in 1976 at the age of 75 after serving in Congress for 32 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 and accusations that he had illegally obtained contributions from Gulf Oil were alleged to have contributed to the decision.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

• C. Homer Brown
• Mary Ellen Foltz
• John Heinz, U.S. Representative from Pittsburgh since 1971^[3]
• George Packard, former managing editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin^[4]
• Arlen Specter, former District Attorney of Philadelphia^[5][6]
• Francis Worley, former State Representative from Adams County

Results

Republican primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	H. John Heinz III	358,715	37.73%
	Republican	Arlen Specter	332,513	34.98%
	Republican	George Packard	160,379	16.87%
	Republican	C. Homer Brown	46,828	4.93%
	Republican	Mary Ellen Foltz	29,160	3.07%
	Republican	Francis Worley	20,421	2.15%
	Write-in		2,665	0.28%
Total votes			950,681	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bill Green, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia^[7]
• Jeanette Reibman, State Senator from Easton^[5]

Results

Democratic primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William J. Green III	762,733	68.71%
	Democratic	Jeanette Reibman	345,264	31.10%
	Write-in		2,058	0.19%
Total votes			1,110,055	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• William Green, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia (Democratic)
• John Heinz, 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.^[9]

Results

1976 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	H. John Heinz III	2,381,891	52.39%	0.96
	Democratic	William J. Green III	2,126,977	46.79%	1.41
	Constitution	Andrew J. Watson	26,028	0.57%	1.79
	Socialist Workers	Frederick W. Stanton	5,484	0.12%	0.01
	Labor Party	Bernard Salera	3,637	0.08%	0.08
	Communist Party	Frank Kinces	2,097	0.05%	0.05
	N/A	Other	239	0.00%	N/A
Total votes			4,546,353	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1976 United States Senate elections