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 County results Cannon: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Towell: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 2, 1976. IncumbentDemocratic U.S. SenatorHoward Cannon won re-election to a fourth term despite Republican PresidentGerald Ford winning the state in theconcurrent presidential election in Nevada.
In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant GovernorPaul Laxalt in one of the closest elections in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and won re-election in 1970 with nearly 58% of the vote. In 1976, he faced former U.S. RepresentativeDavid Towell, who served just one term in theU.S. House of Representatives before losing reelection, then running for the Senate. Cannon won re-election with 63% of the vote, one of his best election performances of his career. He won every county in the state, except forEureka County, which Towell won with just 51% of the vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Howard Cannon (incumbent) | 127,214 | 63.01% | +5.36% | |
| Republican | David Towell | 63,471 | 31.44% | −9.73% | |
| None of These Candidates | 5,288 | 2.62% | |||
| Independent American | Byron D. Young | 3,619 | 1.79% | ||
| Libertarian | Dan Becan | 2,307 | 1.14% | ||
| Majority | 63,743 | 31.57% | +15.09% | ||
| Turnout | 201,899 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
