1976 Minnesota Senate election

The 1976 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 2, 1976, to elect members to the Senate of the 70th and 71st Minnesota Legislatures. A primary election was held on September 14, 1976. This was the first partisan election of the Senate since 1910.

Minnesota Senate election, 1976

November 2, 1976 (1976-11-02)
All 67 seats in the Minnesota Senate 34 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Nick Coleman Bob Ashbach Party Democratic (DFL) Ind.-Republican Leader since 1970 1975 Leader's seat 65th–Saint Paul 48th–Saint Paul Seats won 49 18 Popular vote 1,027,602 721,637 Percentage 57.33% 40.26%
Majority Leader before election Nick Coleman Democratic (DFL) Elected Majority Leader Nick Coleman Democratic (DFL)

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) won a majority of seats, followed by the Independent-Republicans of Minnesota. The new Legislature convened on January 4, 1977.

The Republican Party of Minnesota had changed its name to the Independent-Republican Party of Minnesota on November 15, 1975.

Results

Summary of the November 2, 1976 Minnesota Senate election results

Party		Candidates	Votes	Seats
				No.	%
	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party	65	1,027,602	49	73.13
	Independent-Republicans of Minnesota	61	721,637	18	26.87
	American Party of Minnesota	2	5,963	0	0.00
	Socialist Workers Party of Minnesota	3	1,680	0	0.00
	Freedom Party	1	1,085	0	0.00
	Libertarian Party of Minnesota	2	922	0	0.00
	Independent	7	33,661	0	0.00
Total		141	1,792,550	67	100.00
Turnout (out of 2,710,000 eligible voters)		1,978,590	73.01%	2.70 pp
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State

See also

• Minnesota House of Representatives election, 1976
• Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1974