1978 United States Senate election in Nebraska

1978 United States Senate election in Nebraska
	County results; Exon: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Shasteen: 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Carl Curtis; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; J. James Exon; Democratic

The 1978 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Carl Curtis decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. In the elections, the Democratic nominee J. James Exon won the open seat. This election was the first time ever that a Democrat won the Class 2 Senate seat in Nebraska, and the second time ever that a non-Republican won this seat (along with the 1936 election).

Candidates

Democratic

J. James Exon, Governor of Nebraska

Republican

Donald Eugene Shasteen, senate aide^{[citation needed]}

Results

General election results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	J. James Exon	334,096	67.66%	+20.82%
	Republican	Donald Eugene Shasteen	159,708	32.34%	−20.82%
Majority			174,390	35.32%	+28.99%
Turnout			493,802
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

References

^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

[Clerk-1] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

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