1978 Senate elections · Minnesota history
Minnesota U.S. Senate election 1978 (special)
David Ferdinand Durenberger REP +26.9 gain · Class I seat · held 11/7/78
- Votes counted
- 1,558,376
- Margin
- 26.9 pts
- Seat held by
- Democraticchanged party
General election 11/7/78
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Ferdinand Durenberger Won | REP | 957,908 | 61.47% | |
| Bob Short | DEM | 538,675 | 34.57% | |
| Paul Helm | AMP | 45,402 | 2.91% | |
| Christine Frank | SUS | 11,397 | 0.73% | |
| Frederick Hewitt | LIB | 4,116 | 0.26% | |
| Write-in | — | 878 | 0.06% | |
| Total | 1,558,376 | |||
Official source: data
Other Minnesota Senate races
| Year | Seat | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Class I | Amy Klobuchar | 15.7 |
| 2020 | Class II | Tina Smith | 5.2 |
| 2018 | Class I | Amy Klobuchar | 24.1 |
| 2018 special | Class II | Tina Smith | 10.6 |
| 2014 | Class II | Al Franken | 10.2 |
| 2012 | Class I | Amy Klobuchar | 34.7 |
| 2008 | Class II | Al Franken | 0.0 |
| 2006 | Class I | Amy Klobuchar | 20.1 |
| 2002 | Class II | Norm Coleman | 2.2 |
| 2000 | Class I | Mark Dayton | 5.5 |
| 1996 | Class II | Paul Wellstone | 9.0 |
| 1994 | Class I | Rod Grams | 5.0 |
Full Minnesota Senate history →
Questions and answers
Who won the 1978 Minnesota Senate race (special election)?
David Ferdinand Durenberger (REP) won with 61.5% of the vote, ahead of Bob Short (34.6%), a margin of 26.9 points.
Did the Minnesota Senate seat change party in 1978?
Yes. It moved from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
How many votes were cast in the 1978 Minnesota Senate race?
1,558,376 votes were counted for the candidates in the general election.
Compiled by FiveThirtyEight from the official source linked above.