Two independent candidates,Eugene Van Der Hoeven andClarence Haggard, also filed before the deadline and could have played a factor in determining the outcome since their total votes were more than double that of the 1,118 votes that made Burdick the winner. Haggard would later try again for one of the state's senate seats in1976. Democrats won this seat for the first time since 1899, making Burdick the first popularly elected Democrat to hold this seat. Furthermore, Democrats held this seat until2018.
