The 1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 1978, to elect the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Two-term popular incumbent Republican U.S. Senator, Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Minority Leader since 1977, won reelection over first-time candidate and Democratic Party activist Jane Eskind.
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 County results Baker: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Eskind: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates:
- Jame Boyd
- Walter Bradley
- Former State Senate Majority Leader Bill Bruce
- Jane Eskind
- James Foster
- Douglas L. Heinsohn
- J. D. Lee
- Virginia Nyabongo
- Charles Gordon Vick
In an open primary on August 3, Eskind defeated eight other candidates:[1]
- Eskind – 196,156 (34.52%)
- Bruce – 170,795 (30.06%)
- Lee – 89,939 (15.83%)
- Boyd – 48,458 (8.53%)
- Bradley – 22,130 (3.90%)
- Heinsohn – 17,787 (3.13%)
- Foster – 10,671 (1.88%)
- Nyabongo – 7,682 (1.35%)
- Vick – 4,414 (0.78%)
- Write-in – 147 (0.03%)
Republican primary
editCandidates:
- Incumbent United States Senator and Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker
- J. Durelle Boles
- Harvey Howard
- Hubert David Patty
- Dayton Seiler
- Francis Trapp
Baker easily won the August 3 primary:[2]
- Baker – 205,680 (83.44%)
- Howard – 21,154 (8.58%)
- Boles – 8,899 (3.61%)
- Patty – 3,941 (1.60%)
- Seiler – 3,831 (1.55%)
- Trapp – 2,994 (1.22%)
General election
editBaker won with a 15-point margin in the general election, held on November 7:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 642,644 | 55.54% | |
| Democratic | Jane Eskind | 466,228 | 40.30% | |
| Independent | Thomas J. Anderson | 45,908 | 3.97% | |
| Independent | Fern L. Keasler | 2,243 | 0.19% | |
| Republican hold | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate – D Primary Race – Aug 03, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate – R Primary Race – Aug 03, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate Race – Nov 07, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.