1978 United States Senate election in Iowa
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 County results Jepsen: 40–50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Clark: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Iowa |
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Clark ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Republican former Lieutenant Governor Roger Jepsen. This was the last time until 2014 that a Republican would win Iowa's class 2 Senate seat.
Democratic primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Gerald Leo Baker, computer programmer and mathematician from Cedar Falls
- Dick Clark, incumbent Senator
- Robert L. Nereim, resident of Des Moines and candidate for Senate in 1966
Results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dick Clark (incumbent) | 87,880 | 80.48% | |
| Democratic | Gerald Leo Baker | 13,132 | 12.03% | |
| Democratic | Robert L. Nereim | 8,176 | 7.49% | |
| Write-in | All others | 3 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 109,191 | 100.00% | ||
Following his defeat, Gerald Leo Baker announced an independent campaign for the general election.
Republican primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Joe Bertroche
- Roger Jepsen, former Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
- Maurie Van Nostrand
Results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Roger Jepsen | 87,397 | 57.33% | |
| Republican | Maurie Van Nostrand | 54,189 | 35.55% | |
| Republican | Joe Bertroche | 10,860 | 7.12% | |
| Total votes | 284,047 | 100.00% | ||
General election[edit]
Results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Roger Jepsen | 421,598 | 51.12% |  7.03
| |
| Democratic | Dick Clark (incumbent) | 395,066 | 47.91% |  7.16
| |
| Independent | Gerald Leo Baker | 4,223 | 0.51% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Ben L. Olson | 3,689 | 0.45% | N/A | |
| Write-in | All others | 78 | 0.01% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 824,654 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Our Campaigns - IA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 06, 1978".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - IA US Senate- R Primary Race - Jun 06, 1978".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - IA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.