1974–75 United States Senate elections in New Hampshire

United States senate elections in the state of New Hampshire in 1974 and 1975 March 2026 September 2023 September 2017 The 1974–75 elections for United States Senator in New Hampshire, first held November 5, 1974 and held again September 16, 1975, were part of the longest contested election for the Congress in United States history. First regular election: November 1974 1974 United States Senate election in New Hampshire New Hampshire presidential no 1968 United States Senate election in New Hampshire 1968 1974–75 United States Senate elections in New Hampshire#Special election: September 1975 1975 (special) November 5, 1974 53.08%New Hampshire Manual for the General Court 1975 New Hampshire Dept. of State archive.org 536 https://archive.org/details/manualforgeneral44newh/page/536/mode/2up 5 March 2023 125x136px WymanLouis(R-NH).jpg Louis C. Wyman Republican Party (United States) 110,926 49.662% John Durkin (1).jpg John A. Durkin Democratic Party (United States) 110,924 49.661% x240px County results x240px Municipality results Wyman: #FFB2B2 40–50% #E27F7F 50–60% #D75D5D 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90%Durkin: #A5B0FF 40–50% #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #0D0596 90–100%No data/vote: #808080 U.S. Senator Norris Cotton Republican Party (United States) Election results annulledSeat declared vacant In 1974, then-incumbent Senator Norris Cotton announced he would not seek reelection. Republican strategists admitted that it would be tough for their party to hold on to the seat.https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/17/archives/republican-strategists-see-major-1974-election-losses-for-gop-most.html The New York Times Christopher Lydon Republican Strategists See Major 1974 Election Losses for G.O.P.; Most Incredible' December 17, 1973 The campaign of 1974 pitted Democrat John A. Durkin, who had served as New Hampshire's insurance commissioner and as attorney general, against Republican Louis C. Wyman, a conservative, widely-known member of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st congressional district. As Wyman was the more experienced politician, he was predicted by many to win handily.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913462-1,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090713000818/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913462-1,00.html dead July 13, 2009 Message from New Hampshire Time September 29, 1975 Wyman won the initial count with a margin of just 355 votes.https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/09/archives/wyman-held-winner-of-senate-contest.html The New York Times Wyman Held Winner of Senate Contest November 9, 1974Taylor Steve 2024-11-05 Look Back – Wyman-Durkin 1974 – The Closest U.S. Senate Race in History https://indepthnh.org/2024/11/05/look-back-wyman-durkin-1974-the-closest-u-s-senate-race-in-history/ 2026-05-17 InDepthNH.org en-US Republican primary Candidates Leslie R. Babb Louis Wyman, U.S. representative from Manchester Results 1974 Republican U.S. Senate primaryStark Robert L. State of New Hampshire, Manual for the General Court 1975 Department of State Concord, N.H. 371 https://nh.electionstats.com/data/serve_file_pages_for_item/62700/Election/ 15 April 2025 Louis Wyman Republican Party (US) 66,749 82.64% Leslie R. Babb Republican Party (US) 13,670 16.92% John A. Durkin Democratic Party (US) 161 0.20% Laurence Radway Democratic Party (US) 84 0.10% Dennis J. Sullivan Democratic Party (US) 7 0.00% 103 0.13% 80,774 100.00% Democratic primary Candidates Carmen C. Chimento John A. Durkin, former state insurance commissioner and assistant state attorney general Laurence Radway, former state representative from Hanover Dennis J. Sullivan, mayor of Nashua Results 1974 Democratic U.S. Senate primary John A. Durkin Democratic Party (US) 22,258 49.81% Laurence Radway Democratic Party (US) 14,646 32.78% Dennis J. Sullivan Democratic Party (US) 6,330 14.17% Carmen Chimento American Independent Party 1,285 2.88% Louis Wyman Republican Party (US) 99 0.22% Leslie R. Babb Republican Party (US) 3 0.00% 61 0.14% 44,682 100.00% General election First recount Durkin immediately demanded a recount. The recount, completed November 27, 1974, declared Durkin the winner by a margin of 10 votes. Republican Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. awarded Durkin a provisional certificate of election. Second recount Wyman promptly appealed to the New Hampshire State Ballot Law Commission. Durkin tried to defeat the appeal through legal maneuvers that eventually involved all levels of the New Hampshire courts. Durkin's attorney also sought an injunction in federal court to send the matter directly to the U.S. Senate for arbitration, but on December 18, a federal district court denied the request.Durkin, Wyman Dispute over 1974 Senate Election » Washington, DC | Blog Archive | Boston University https://www.bu.edu/washington/2004/02/25/durkin-wyman-dispute-over-1974-senate-election/ The state ballot commission, therefore, conducted its own partial recount, and announced on December 24, 1974, that Wyman had won by just two votes. 1974 New Hampshire United States Senate election, second recount Republican Party (United States) Louis C. Wyman 110,926 49.662% Democratic Party (United States) John A. Durkin 110,924 49.661% American Independent Party Carmen C. Chimento 1,513 0.677% 2 0.0009% 223,363 Governor Thomson rescinded Durkin’s certificate, and awarded a new credential to Wyman. Cotton resigned his Senate seat a few days early on December 31, 1974, and Thomson appointed Wyman to fill the remainder of the term, which would expire on January 3, 1975. Election contested in U.S. Senate As a last option, Durkin petitioned the Senate, which had a 60-vote Democratic majority, to review the case, based on the Constitutional provision that each house of Congress is the final arbiter of elections to that body. On January 13, 1975, the day before the new Congress convened, the Senate Rules Committee tried unsuccessfully to resolve the matter. Composed of five Democrats and three Republicans, the Rules Committee deadlocked 4–4 on a proposal to seat Wyman pending further review. Alabama Democrat James Allen voted with the Republicans on grounds that Wyman had presented proper credentials. The full Senate took up the case on January 14, with Wyman and Durkin seated at separate tables at the rear of the chamber. Soon, the matter was returned to the Rules Committee, which created a special staff panel to examine 3,500 questionable ballots that had been shipped to Washington. Following this review, the Rules Committee sent a report of 35 disputed points in the election to the full Senate, which spent the next six weeks debating the issue, but resolved only one of the 35 points in dispute. Republicans successfully filibustered the seating of Durkin. Facing deadlock with the August recess approaching, The Washington Post ran an editorial on July 28 charging that it would be "incredible" if the Senate were to "go on vacation for a month without settling the New Hampshire Senate election case."https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/this-day-in-politics-july-29-1975-120733 Closest election in Senate annals prompts 'do-over,' July 29, 1975 Andrew Glass July 29, 2015 Politico The Post suggested that Wyman and Durkin themselves should try to reach some agreement to settle the matter. Following up on the suggestion, Louis Wyman wrote to Durkin that day, urging him to support a new, special election. Durkin initially refused, but then on July 29, reversed his earlier position, and announced to a New Hampshire television audience his intention to agree to the new election.https://www.proquest.com/docview/660106715 The Boston Globe Stephen Wermiel Durkin reverses, asks new N.H. vote July 30, 1975 660106715 subscription The next morning, July 30, he reported this change to the Democratic leadership, thus relieving the Senate from further deliberations on the topic. Later that same day, the Senate voted 71–21 to declare the seat vacant as of August 8. Governor Thomson this time appointed former Senator Cotton to hold the seat temporarily. New Hampshire then arranged to hold a special election. Special election: September 1975 1975 United States Senate special election in New Hampshire New Hampshire presidential no 1974–75 United States Senate elections in New Hampshire#First regular election: November 1974 1974 1980 United States Senate election in New Hampshire 1980 September 16, 1975 125x136px John Durkin (1).jpg John A. Durkin Democratic Party (United States) 140,778 53.62% WymanLouis(R-NH).jpg Louis C. Wyman Republican Party (United States) 113,007 43.04% 1975 United States Senate special election in New Hampshire results map by county.svg 220px County resultsDurkin: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Wyman: #ffb2b2 40–50% #d75d5d 60–70% U.S. Senator Norris Cotton Republican Party (United States) John A. Durkin Democratic Party (United States) The special election was held on September 16, 1975. Widespread attention in the media resulted in a record-breaking turnout, which gave the election to Durkin by a 27,771-vote margin. This would be the last time Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from New Hampshire until Maggie Hassan's victory in 2016.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jwlPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6503,6328&dq=senate%20election%20new%20hampshire%201974&hl=en Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search 18 February 2017 Democrats would not win any Senate seat in the state until 2008. 1975 United States senate Special election in New Hampshire Democratic Party (United States) John A. Durkin 140,778 53.62% Republican Party (United States) Louis C. Wyman 113,007 43.04% American Independent Party Carmen C. Chimento 8,787 3.35% 27,771 10.58% 262,572 Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) See also 1974 United States Senate elections 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota (a similarly close election that was also disputed in court) List of invalidated elections List of narrow elections Further reading Butler, Anne M., and Wendy Wolff. United States Senate Election, Expulsion and Censure Cases, 1793-1990. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1995. Tibbetts, Donn. The Closest U.S. Senate Race in History, Durkin v. Wyman. [Manchester, N.H.]: J.W. Cummings Enterprises, 1976. References External links Minnesota Senate race echoes N.H. election in 1974 Closest Election in Senate History The Election Case of John A. Durkin v. Louis C. Wyman of New Hampshire (1975) Senate Rules Committee Report Candidates Clash in New Hampshire Senate Contest The Bryan Times, Sept 15, 1975 Category:United States Senate elections in New Hampshire Category:Annulled elections New Hampshire New Hampshire United States Senate United States Senate New Hampshire 1975 New Hampshire 1975 United States Senate 1975 Category:Contested elections in the United States