| Election Name: | Minnesota Senate election, 1976 |
| Country: | Minnesota |
| Flag Year: | 1957 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | Minnesota Senate election, 1972 |
| Previous Year: | 1972 |
| Next Election: | Minnesota Senate election, 1980 |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
| Seats For Election: | All 67 seats in the Minnesota Senate |
| Majority Seats: | 34 |
| Image1: | 3x4.svg |
| Leader1: | Nick Coleman |
| Party1: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
| Leader Since1: | 1970 |
| Leaders Seat1: | 65th–Saint Paul |
| Seats1: | 49 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,027,602 |
| Percentage1: | 57.33% |
| Leader2: | Bob Ashbach |
| Party2: | Independent-Republicans of Minnesota |
| Leader Since2: | 1975 |
| Leaders Seat2: | 48th–Saint Paul |
| Seats2: | 18 |
| Popular Vote2: | 721,637 |
| Percentage2: | 40.26% |
| Majority Leader | |
| Before Election: | Nick Coleman |
| Before Party: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
| After Election: | Nick Coleman |
| After Party: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
The 1976 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 2, 1976, to elect members to the Senate of the 70th and 71st Minnesota Legislatures. A primary election was held on September 14, 1976. This was the first partisan election of the Senate since 1910.
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) won a majority of seats, followed by the Independent-Republicans of Minnesota. The new Legislature convened on January 4, 1977.
The Republican Party of Minnesota had changed its name to the Independent-Republican Party of Minnesota on November 15, 1975.
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | ||||||
| Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | 65 | 1,027,602 | 49 | 73.13 | ||
| Independent-Republicans of Minnesota | 61 | 721,637 | 18 | 26.87 | ||
| American Party of Minnesota | 2 | 5,963 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Socialist Workers Party of Minnesota | 3 | 1,680 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Freedom Party | 1 | 1,085 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Libertarian Party of Minnesota | 2 | 922 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Independent | 7 | 33,661 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Total | 141 | 1,792,550 | 67 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout (out of 2,710,000 eligible voters)[1] | 1,978,590 | 73.01% | 2.70 | |||