The 1976 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles won re-election to a second term.
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County results
Chiles: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Grady: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | John Grady | 164,644 | 54.51% | |
Republican | Walter Sims | 74,684 | 24.73% | |
Republican | Helen S. Hansel | 62,718 | 20.76% | |
Total votes | 414,207 | 100 |
Chiles won in a landslide, dominating most geographic areas of the state. Grady won only Collier County.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lawton Chiles (incumbent) | 1,799,518 | 62.98% | ||
Republican | John Grady | 1,057,886 | 37.02% | ||
Write-In | Write-ins | 130 | 0.00% | ||
Majority | 741,632 | 25.96% | |||
Turnout | 2,857,534 | 77% | |||
Democratic hold |
But it was Dr. John Grady, a 50-year-old physician and three-time mayor of the sugar belt town of Belle Glade, who played the role of political spoiler in Florida.