1980 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

The 1980 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1980. Democratic nominee Ken Rothman defeated Republican nominee Roy Blunt with 55.75% of the vote.

1980 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

November 4, 1980

Nominee Ken Rothman Roy Blunt Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,121,208 890,006 Percentage 55.7% 44.3%

County results Rothman:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Blunt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Lieutenant Governor before election Bill Phelps Republican Elected Lieutenant Governor Ken Rothman Democratic

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 5, 1980.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ken Rothman, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
• Ken Carnes
• Mickey Owen, baseball player
• William Roy Bean
• Roy Smith

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Rothman	325,986	55.08
	Democratic	Ken Carnes	113,728	19.22
	Democratic	Mickey Owen	79,038	13.36
	Democratic	William Roy Bean	44,546	7.53
	Democratic	Roy Smith	28,537	4.82
Total votes			591,835	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Ken Rothman, Democratic
• Roy Blunt, Republican

Results

1980 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ken Rothman	1,121,208	55.75%
	Republican	Roy Blunt	890,006	44.25%
Majority			231,202
Turnout
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing