# 1978 United States Senate election in Michigan

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vte :
The 1978 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Robert P. Griffin ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Detroit City Council President Carl Levin.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Robert P. Griffin, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1967
* L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Prosecutor and anti-busing activist

### Results

1978 Republican U.S. Senate primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Robert P. Griffin (incumbent) | 322,530 | 78.30% |
| | Republican | L. Brooks Patterson | 89,383 | 21.70% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 22 | 0.01% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 411,935 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Anthony Derezinski, State Senator from Ann Arbor
* Carl Levin, President of the Detroit City Council
* John Otterbacher, State Senator from Grand Rapids
* Phil Power, newspaper publisher
* Paul Rosenbaum, State Representative from Battle Creek
* Richard Vander Veen, former U.S. Representative from Grand Rapids

### Results

1978 Democratic U.S. Senate primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Carl Levin | 226,584 | 38.90% |
| | Democratic | Phil Power | 115,117 | 19.77% |
| | Democratic | Richard Vander Veen | 89,257 | 15.33% |
| | Democratic | Anthony Derezinski | 53,696 | 9.22% |
| | Democratic | John Otterbacher | 50,860 | 8.73% |
| | Democratic | Paul Rosenbaum | 46,892 | 8.05% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 23 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 582,429 | 100.00% |

## Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Carl Levin | 1,484,193 | 52.14% | 5.85 |
| | Republican | Robert P. Griffin (incumbent) | 1,362,165 | 47.85% | 4.43 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 272 | 0.01% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,846,630 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |