1976 United States Senate election in New York

← 1970 November 2, 1976 1982 →

Nominee Pat Moynihan James Buckley Party Democratic Republican Alliance Liberal Conservative Popular vote 3,422,594 2,836,633 Percentage 54.17% 44.89%

County results Moynihan:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Buckley:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election James L. Buckley Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pat Moynihan Democratic

Elections in New York State
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v t e

The1976 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorJames L. Buckley ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic diplomatPat Moynihan. As of 2025, this is the last time an incumbent Senator from New York lost re-election to thisClass 1 seat.^[1]

• James L. Buckley, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1971
• Peter A. Peyser, U.S. representative fromIrvington

• Bella Abzug, U.S. Representative from theWest Side of Manhattan
• Ramsey Clark, formerUnited States Attorney General and nominee for Senate in1974
• Abraham Hirschfeld, real estate developer
• Pat Moynihan, formerU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations andAmbassador to India
• Paul O'Dwyer, formerNew York City Council President and nominee for Senate in1968

• Herbert Aptheker, historian and activist (Communist)
• Elijah C. Boyd (U.S. Labor)
• James L. Buckley, incumbent U.S. senator since 1971 (Republican and Conservative)
• Marcia Gallo (Socialist Workers)
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan, formerU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations andto India (Democratic and Liberal)
• Martin E. Nixon (Libertarian)

1976 U.S. Senate election in New York^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Pat Moynihan	3,238,511	51.26%	14.49
	Liberal	Pat Moynihan	184,083	2.91%	0.91
	Total	Pat Moynihan	3,422,594	54.17%	N/A
	Republican	James L. Buckley (incumbent)	2,525,139	39.96%	20.00
	Conservative	James L. Buckley (incumbent)	311,494	4.93%	31.98
	Total	James L. Buckley (incumbent)	2,836,633	44.89%	N/A
	Communist	Herbert Aptheker	25,141	0.40%	0.37
	Socialist Workers	Marcia Gallo	16,350	0.26%	0.20
	Libertarian	Martin E. Nixon	10,943	0.17%	0.17
	U.S. Labor	Elijah C. Boyd	6,716	0.11%	0.11
Total votes			6,318,377	100.00%
	Democraticgain fromRepublican

• 1976 United States Senate elections

• Andelic, Patrick. “Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the 1976 New York Senate Race, and the Struggle to Define American Liberalism.”Historical Journal 57#4 (2014), Pp. 1111–33.online.

• 1976 United States Senate elections
• United States Senate elections in New York (state)
• 1976 New York (state) elections

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• Use mdy dates from September 2023