1976 United States Senate election in New York

The 1976 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator James L. Buckley ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic diplomat Pat Moynihan. As of 2026, this is the last time an incumbent Senator from New York lost re-election to this Class 1 seat.

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

Republican primary

Candidates

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

Results

1976 Republican U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James L. Buckley (incumbent)	242,257	70.45
	Republican	Peter Peyser	101,629	29.55
Total votes			343,886	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bella Abzug, U.S. Representative from the West Side of Manhattan
• Ramsey Clark, former United States Attorney General and nominee for Senate in 1974
• Abraham Hirschfeld, real estate developer
• Pat Moynihan, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Ambassador to India
• Paul O'Dwyer, former New York City Council President and nominee for Senate in 1968

Convention

Democratic Party Convention results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer		32.50%
	Democratic	Pat Moynihan		31.10%
	Democratic	Bella Abzug		28.70%
	Democratic	Ramsey Clark		7.00%
	Democratic	Abraham Hirschfeld		0.70%
Total votes				100.00%

Primary results

1976 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pat Moynihan	333,697	36.41%
	Democratic	Bella Abzug	323,705	35.32%
	Democratic	Ramsey Clark	94,191	10.28%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer	82,689	9.02%
	Democratic	Abraham Hirschfeld	82,331	8.98%
Total votes			916,613	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• 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, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and to India (Democratic and Liberal)
• Martin E. Nixon (Libertarian)

Results

1976 U.S. Senate election in New York

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%
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• 1976 United States Senate elections