99chambers

1978 general · November 7, 1978

1978 general election results

Results of the 1978 general election in 50 states: U.S. Senate, Governors, U.S. House, State legislatures.

← Nov 7, 1978 general1979 general →

Races5,426
Changed party513
Unopposed28%1,534 races
Incumbents defeated348

U.S. Senate

D 16 · R 19

RaceWinnerWon byNotes
AlabamaHowell Heflin (D)88.0
Alabama (special)Donald W. Stewart (D)11.7
AlaskaTed Stevens (R)51.5
ArkansasDavid Pryor (D)60.2
ColoradoWilliam Armstrong (R)18.4
DelawareJoseph Biden (D)16.9
GeorgiaSamuel Nunn (D)66.3
IdahoJames McClure (R)36.9
IllinoisCharles H. Percy (R)7.9
IowaRoger W. Jepsen (R)3.2
KansasNancy Kassebaum (R)11.5
KentuckyWalter (dee) Huddleston (D)24.1
LouisianaJohn Johnston (D)Unopposed
MaineWilliam Cohen (R)22.7
MassachusettsPaul E. Tsongas (D)10.2
MichiganCarl Levin (D)4.3
Minnesota (special)David Durenberger (R)26.9
MinnesotaRudolph Boschwitz (R)16.2
MississippiThad Cochran (R)13.5
MontanaMax Baucus (D)11.4
NebraskaJ. James Exon (D)35.3
New HampshireGordon Humphrey (R)2.2
New JerseyWilliam Bradley (D)12.2
New MexicoPete Domenici (R)6.8
North CarolinaJesse Helms (R)9.0
OklahomaDavid Boren (D)32.6
OregonMark Hatfield (R)23.4
Rhode IslandClaiborne Pell (D)50.2
South CarolinaStrom Thurmond (R)11.4
South DakotaLarry Pressler (R)33.7
TennesseeHoward H. Baker (R)15.2
TexasJohn G. Tower (R)0.5
VirginiaJohn Warner (R)0.4
West VirginiaJennings Randolph (D)1.0
WyomingRaymond B. Whitaker (D)24.3

Governors

D 21 · R 15 · 1 changed party

RaceWinnerWon byNotes
AlabamaForrest H. James Jr (D)47.4
AlaskaJay Hammond (R)12.6
ArizonaBruce Babbitt (D)7.9
ArkansasBill Clinton (D)26.7
CaliforniaEdmund G. Brown Jr. (D)19.5
ColoradoRichard D. Lamm (D)20.8
ConnecticutElla T. Grasso (D)18.4
FloridaBob Graham (D)11.2
GeorgiaGeorge Busbee (D)61.3
HawaiiGeorge Ariyoshi (D)10.4
IdahoJohn Evans V. (D)19.5
IllinoisJames R. Thompson (R)19.1
IowaRobert E. Ray (R)17.5
KansasJohn Carlin (D)2.2
MaineJoseph Brennan (D)13.4
MarylandHarry R. Hughes (D)42.0
MassachusettsEdward J. King (D)5.3
MichiganWilliam G. Milliken (R)13.7
MinnesotaAlbert H. Quie (R)7.2
NebraskaCharles Thone (R)11.9
NevadaRobert F. List (R)17.2
New HampshireHugh J. Gallen (D)4.0Flipped
New MexicoBruce King (D)1.1
New YorkHugh L. Carey (D)6.0
OhioJames A. Rhodes (R)1.7
OklahomaGeorge Nigh (D)4.6
OregonVictor Atiyeh (R)9.8
PennsylvaniaRichard Thornburgh (R)6.2
Rhode IslandJ. Joseph Garrahy (D)32.1
South CarolinaRichard W. Riley (D)23.8
South DakotaWilliam Janklow (R)13.3
TennesseeLamar Alexander (R)11.7
TexasWilliam P. Clements (R)0.7
VermontRichard A. Snelling (R)29.6
WisconsinLee S. Dreyfus (R)9.5
WyomingEd Herschler (D)1.7

U.S. House

D 277 · R 158 · 35 changed party

State legislatures

D 3,657 · R 2,218 · Other 35 · Uncalled 10 · 477 changed party

ChamberRacesSeats wonChanged party
Alabama House of Representatives105D 101 · R 44
Alabama State Senate35D 35—
Alaska House of Representatives22D 25 · R 14 · Other 12
Alaska State Senate9D 5 · R 53
Arizona House of Representatives30D 18 · R 42—
Arizona State Senate30D 14 · R 164
Arkansas House of Representatives84D 94 · R 62
Arkansas State Senate18D 181
California State Assembly80D 50 · R 309
California State Senate20D 16 · R 43
Colorado House of Representatives65D 28 · R 378
Colorado State Senate17D 6 · R 114
Connecticut House of Representatives151D 103 · R 4816
Connecticut State Senate36D 26 · R 106
Delaware House of Representatives41D 21 · R 205
Delaware State Senate10D 7 · R 3—
Florida House of Representatives45D 89 · R 313
Florida State Senate18D 15 · R 63
Georgia House of Representatives154D 159 · R 212
Georgia State Senate56D 52 · R 4—
Hawaii House of Representatives27D 42 · R 9—
Hawaii State Senate8D 18 · R 7—
Idaho House of Representatives35D 20 · R 50—
Idaho State Senate35D 16 · R 191
Illinois House of Representatives59D 88 · R 88 · Other 1—
Illinois State Senate40D 20 · R 204
Indiana House of Representatives73D 46 · R 542
Indiana State Senate25D 10 · R 157
Iowa House of Representatives100D 44 · R 5620
Iowa State Senate25D 8 · R 176
Kansas House of Representatives125D 56 · R 68 · Other 116
Kansas State Senate1R 1—
Maine House of Representatives151D 77 · R 73 · Other 117
Maine State Senate33D 13 · R 19 · Other 14
Maryland House of Delegates58D 125 · R 161
Maryland State Senate47D 40 · R 71
Massachusetts House of Representatives160D 128 · R 30 · Other 244
Massachusetts State Senate37D 31 · R 64
Michigan House of Representatives110D 70 · R 406
Michigan State Senate38D 24 · R 144
Minnesota House of Representatives134D 67 · R 6740
Missouri House of Representatives163D 117 · R 469
Missouri State Senate17D 12 · R 51
Montana House of Representatives100D 55 · R 4512
Montana State Senate27D 15 · R 127
Nebraska Legislature25Other 25—
Nevada State Assembly40D 26 · R 149
Nevada State Senate7D 7 · R 31
New Hampshire House of Representatives161D 175 · R 224 · Other 13
New Hampshire State Senate24D 12 · R 124
New Mexico House of Representatives70D 41 · R 299
New Mexico State Senate9D 6 · R 3—
New York State Assembly150D 86 · R 648
New York State Senate60D 25 · R 35—
North Carolina House of Representatives45D 105 · R 151
North Carolina State Senate27D 44 · R 6—
North Dakota House of Representatives49D 30 · R 70—
North Dakota State Senate25D 4 · R 214
Ohio House of Representatives99D 62 · R 375
Ohio State Senate17D 9 · R 83
Oklahoma House of Representatives101D 75 · R 264
Oklahoma State Senate24D 21 · R 32
Oregon House of Representatives60D 34 · R 2613
Oregon State Senate16D 13 · R 32
Pennsylvania House of Representatives203D 99 · R 10420
Pennsylvania State Senate25D 12 · R 135
Rhode Island House of Representatives100D 84 · R 163
Rhode Island State Senate50D 46 · R 41
South Carolina House of Representatives124D 108 · R 168
South Carolina State Senate1D 1—
South Dakota House of Representatives28D 21 · R 33 · Uncalled 4—
South Dakota State Senate28D 8 · R 14 · Uncalled 63
Tennessee House of Representatives99D 60 · R 38 · Other 112
Tennessee State Senate17D 8 · R 8 · Other 13
Texas House of Representatives150D 128 · R 226
Texas State Senate15D 14 · R 1—
Utah House of Representatives75D 24 · R 5117
Utah State Senate15D 1 · R 146
Washington House of Representatives98D 48 · R 5016
Washington State Senate25D 14 · R 113
West Virginia House of Delegates36D 74 · R 261
West Virginia State Senate16D 12 · R 52
Wisconsin State Assembly99D 60 · R 3914
Wisconsin State Senate17D 11 · R 62
Wyoming House of Representatives23D 20 · R 425
Wyoming State Senate13D 5 · R 101

By state

Results are each source's final count; margins are the winner's lead over the runner-up in points of the vote. Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse); English Wikipedia; Harvard Dataverse / Carl Klarner; MIT Election Data and Science Lab