1980 United States Senate elections

The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955. This was the first time since 1966 that any party successfully defended all their own seats.

1980 United States Senate elections

November 4, 1980
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Howard Baker Robert Byrd Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 5, 1980 January 3, 1977 Leader's seat Tennessee West Virginia Seats before 41 58 Seats after 53 46 Seat change 12 12 Popular vote 26,597,169 30,699,463 Percentage 44.7% 51.6% Seats up 10 24 Races won 22 12   Third party   Party Independent Seats before 1 Seats after 1 Seat change Seats up 0 Races won 0
Results of the elections:      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Robert Byrd Democratic Elected Majority Leader Howard Baker Republican

This is one of only five occasions where ten or more Senate seats changed hands in an election, with the others being in 1920, 1932, 1946, and 1958. This is the earliest Senate election with a Senator that is still serving, that being Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

This was the largest Senate swing since 1958, and was the largest Republican gain since 1946, when the Republicans also picked up 12 seats. This was also the last time the Senate changed hands in a presidential election year until 2020 when Democrats won control, the last time the Republicans gained control of the Senate in a presidential election year until 2024, and the last time Maryland elected a Republican to the Senate. These elections were also the last time the winner of the presidential election had coattails in the Senate until 2004.

Results summary

↓

46	1	53
Democratic	I	Republican

Parties							Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Libertarian	Other
Last elections (1978) Before these elections		58	41	1	0	0	100
Not up		34	31	1	0	0	66
Up Class 3 (1974→1980)		24	10	0	—	—	34
Incumbent retired		2	3	—	—	—	5
	Held by same party	2	3	—	—	—	5
	Replaced by other party	0	0	—	—	—	0
	Result	2	3	—	—	—	5
Incumbent ran		22	7	—	—	—	29
	Won re-election	10	6	—	—	—	16
	Lost re-election	9 Democrats replaced by 9 Republicans		—	—	—	9
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	1	—	—	—	1
	Lost renomination, and party lost	3 Democrats replaced by 3 Republicans		—	—	—	3
	Result	10	19	0	—	—	29
Total elected		12	22	0	0	0	34
Net gain/loss		12	12				12
Nationwide vote		30,699,463	26,597,169	112,242	401,077	1,658,979	59,468,930
	Share	51.62%	44.73%	0.19%	0.67%	2.79%	100%
Result		46	53	1	0	0	100

Source: Office of the Clerk

Change in composition

Before the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Conn. Retired	D39 Colo. Ran	D38 Calif. Ran	D37 Ark. Ran	D36 Alaska Ran	D35 Ala. Ran	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 Fla. Ran	D42 Ga. Ran	D43 Hawaii Ran	D44 Idaho Ran	D45 Ill. Retired	D46 Ind. Ran	D47 Iowa Ran	D48 Ky. Ran	D49 La. Ran	D50 Mo. Ran
Majority →									D51 N.H. Ran
R41 Utah Ran	I1	D58 Wisc. Ran	D57 Wash. Ran	D56 Vt. Ran	D55 S.D. Ran	D54 S.C. Ran	D53 Ohio Ran	D52 N.C. Ran
R40 Pa. Retired	R39 Ore. Ran	R38 Okla. Retired	R37 N.D. Retired	R36 N.Y. Ran	R35 Nev. Ran	R34 Md. Ran	R33 Kan. Ran	R32 Ariz. Ran	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Ill. Hold	D39 Hawaii Re-elected	D38 Conn. Hold	D37 Colo. Re-elected	D36 Calif. Re-elected	D35 Ark. Re-elected	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 Ky. Re-elected	D42 La. Re-elected	D43 Mo. Re-elected	D44 Ohio Re-elected	D45 S.C. Re-elected	D46 Vt. Re-elected	I1	R53 Wisc. Gain	R52 Wash. Gain	R51 S.D. Gain
Majority →
R41 Utah Re-elected	R42 Ala. Gain	R43 Alaska Gain	R44 Fla. Gain	R45 Ga. Gain	R46 Idaho Gain	R47 Ind. Gain	R48 Iowa Gain	R49 N.H. Gain	R50 N.C. Gain
R40 Pa. Hold	R39 Ore. Re-elected	R38 Okla. Hold	R37 N.D. Hold	R36 N.Y. Hold	R35 Nev. Re-elected	R34 Md. Re-elected	R33 Kan. Re-elected	R32 Ariz. Re-elected	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key	D# Democratic R# Republican I# Independent

Gains, losses, and holds

Retirements

Three Republicans and two Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Connecticut	Abraham Ribicoff	Chris Dodd
Illinois	Adlai Stevenson III	Alan J. Dixon
North Dakota	Milton Young	Mark Andrews
Oklahoma	Henry Bellmon	Don Nickles
Pennsylvania	Richard Schweiker	Arlen Specter

Defeats

One Republican and twelve Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.

State	Senator	Replaced by
Alabama	Donald Stewart (lost primary)	Jeremiah Denton
Alaska	Mike Gravel (lost primary)	Frank Murkowski
Florida	Richard Stone (lost primary)	Paula Hawkins
Georgia	Herman Talmadge	Mack Mattingly
Idaho	Frank Church	Steve Symms
Indiana	Birch Bayh	Dan Quayle
Iowa	John Culver	Chuck Grassley
New Hampshire	John A. Durkin	Warren Rudman
New York	Jacob Javits (lost primary)	Al D'Amato
North Carolina	Robert Burren Morgan	John Porter East
South Dakota	George McGovern	James Abdnor
Washington	Warren Magnuson	Slade Gorton
Wisconsin	Gaylord Nelson	Bob Kasten

Post-election changes

One Democrat resigned on April 12, 1982, and was later replaced by Republican appointee.

State	Senator	Replaced by
New Jersey (Class 1)	Harrison A. Williams	Nicholas F. Brady

Race summary

Special elections

There were no special elections in 1980.

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1981; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Donald Stewart	Democratic	1978 (special)	Incumbent lost renomination. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned January 2, 1981 to give successor advantageous seniority. Winner appointed the same day.	▌Y Jeremiah Denton (Republican) 50.2% ▌Jim Folsom Jr. (Democratic) 47.1%
Alaska	Mike Gravel	Democratic	1968 1974	Incumbent lost renomination. Republican gain.	▌Y Frank Murkowski (Republican) 53.7% ▌Clark Gruening (Democratic) 45.9%
Arizona	Barry Goldwater	Republican	1952 1958 1964 (retired) 1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Barry Goldwater (Republican) 49.5% ▌William R. Schulz (Democratic) 48.4% Others ▌Fred R. Easer (Libertarian) 1.4% ▌Lorenzo Torrez (People Over Politics) 0.4% ▌Josefina Otero (Socialist Workers) 0.4%
Arkansas	Dale Bumpers	Democratic	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Dale Bumpers (Democratic) 59.1% ▌William Clark (Republican) 40.9%
California	Alan Cranston	Democratic	1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Alan Cranston (Democratic) 56.5% ▌Paul Gann (Republican) 37.1% Others ▌David Bergland (Libertarian) 2.4% ▌David Wald (Peace and Freedom) 2.4% ▌Jim Griffin (American Independent) 1.6%
Colorado	Gary Hart	Democratic	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Gary Hart (Democratic) 50.3% ▌Mary E. Buchanan (Republican) 48.7% Others ▌Earl Higgerson (Statesman) 0.6% ▌Henry John Olshaw (Unaffiliated-American) 0.4%
Connecticut	Abraham Ribicoff	Democratic	1962 1968 1974	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Chris Dodd (Democratic) 56.3% ▌James L. Buckley (Republican) 42.9% Others ▌Jerry Brennan (Libertarian) 0.4% ▌Andrew J. Zemel (Concerned Citizens) 0.4%
Florida	Richard Stone	Democratic	1974	Incumbent lost renomination. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 31, 1980 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed January 1, 1981.	▌Y Paula Hawkins (Republican) 51.7% ▌Bill Gunter (Democratic) 48.3%
Georgia	Herman Talmadge	Democratic	1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Mack Mattingly (Republican) 50.9% ▌Herman Talmadge (Democratic) 49.1%
Hawaii	Daniel Inouye	Democratic	1962 1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Daniel Inouye (Democratic) 77.9% ▌Cooper Brown (Republican) 18.4%
Idaho	Frank Church	Democratic	1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Steve Symms (Republican) 49.7% ▌Frank Church (Democratic) 48.8% ▌Larry Fullmer (Libertarian) 1.5%
Illinois	Adlai Stevenson III	Democratic	1970 (special) 1974	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y Alan J. Dixon (Democratic) 56.0% ▌Dave O'Neal (Republican) 42.5% Others ▌Bruce Green (Libertarian) 0.6% ▌Sidney Lens (Independent) 0.4% ▌Charles F. Wilson (Communist) 0.2% ▌Michael Soriano (Workers World) 0.1% ▌Burton L. Artz (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Indiana	Birch Bayh	Democratic	1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Dan Quayle (Republican) 53.8% ▌Birch Bayh (Democratic) 46.2%
Iowa	John Culver	Democratic	1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Chuck Grassley (Republican) 53.5% ▌John Culver (Democratic) 45.5% Others ▌Garry De Young (Independent) 0.5% ▌Robert V. Hengerer (Libertarian) 0.3% ▌John Ingram Henderson (Independent) 0.2%
Kansas	Bob Dole	Republican	1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Dole (Republican) 63.8% ▌John Simpson (Democratic) 36.2%
Kentucky	Wendell Ford	Democratic	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Wendell Ford (Democratic) 65.1% ▌Mary L. Foust (Republican) 34.9%
Louisiana	Russell B. Long	Democratic	1948 (special) 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Russell B. Long (Democratic) 57.6% ▌Woody Jenkins (Democratic) 38.8% ▌Jerry Bardwell (Republican) 1.6% Others ▌Robert M. Ross (Republican) 1.2% ▌Naomi Bracy (No Party) 0.8%
Maryland	Charles Mathias	Republican	1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Charles Mathias (Republican) 66.2% ▌Edward T. Conroy (Democratic) 33.8%
Missouri	Thomas Eagleton	Democratic	1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Thomas Eagleton (Democratic) 52.0% ▌Gene McNary (Republican) 47.7% ▌Martha Pettit (Socialist Workers) 0.3%
Nevada	Paul Laxalt	Republican	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Paul Laxalt (Republican) 58.5% ▌Mary Gojack (Democratic) 37.4%
New Hampshire	John A. Durkin	Democratic	1975 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain. Incumbent resigned December 29, 1980 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed December 30, 1980.	▌Y Warren Rudman (Republican) 52.1% ▌John A. Durkin (Democratic) 47.8%
New York	Jacob Javits	Republican	1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost renomination, ran as the Liberal nominee, and lost re-election. Republican hold.	▌Y Al D'Amato (Republican) 44.9% ▌Elizabeth Holtzman (Democratic) 43.5% ▌Jacob Javits (Liberal) 11.0% Others ▌Richard Savadel (Libertarian) 0.4% ▌William R. Scott (Communist) 0.1% ▌Thomas Soto (Workers World) 0.1% ▌Victor A. Nieto (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
North Carolina	Robert Burren Morgan	Democratic	1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y John Porter East (Republican) 50.0% ▌Robert Burren Morgan (Democratic) 49.4%
North Dakota	Milton Young	Republican	1945 (appointed) 1946 (special) 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Mark Andrews (Republican) 70.3% ▌Kent Johanneson (Democratic-NPL) 29.0% Others ▌Harley McLain (Independent) 0.5% ▌Don J. Klingensmith (Independent) 0.2%
Ohio	John Glenn	Democratic	1974 1974 (appointed)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Glenn (Democratic) 68.8% ▌Jim Betts (Republican) 28.2% Others ▌John E. Powers (Independent) 1.9% ▌Rick Nagin (Independent) 1.1%
Oklahoma	Henry Bellmon	Republican	1968 1974	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Don Nickles (Republican) 53.5% ▌Andrew Coats (Democratic) 43.5% Others ▌Charles R. Nesbitt (Independent) 1.9% ▌Robert T. Murphy (Libertarian) 0.9% ▌Paul E. Trent (Independent) 0.2%
Oregon	Bob Packwood	Republican	1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bob Packwood (Republican) 52.1% ▌Ted Kulongoski (Democratic) 44.0% ▌Tonie Nathan (Libertarian) 3.8%
Pennsylvania	Richard Schweiker	Republican	1968 1974	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Arlen Specter (Republican) 50.5% ▌Peter F. Flaherty (Democratic) 48.0%
South Carolina	Fritz Hollings	Democratic	1966 (special) 1968 1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Fritz Hollings (Democratic) 70.4% ▌Marshall T. Mays (Republican) 29.6%
South Dakota	George McGovern	Democratic	1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y James Abdnor (Republican) 58.2% ▌George McGovern (Democratic) 39.4% ▌Wayne Peterson (Independent) 2.4%
Utah	Jake Garn	Republican	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jake Garn (Republican) 73.6% ▌Dan Berman (Democratic) 25.5%
Vermont	Patrick Leahy	Democratic	1974	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Patrick Leahy (Democratic) 49.8% ▌Stewart M. Ledbetter (Republican) 48.5%
Washington	Warren Magnuson	Democratic	1944 1944 (appointed) 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Slade Gorton (Republican) 54.2% ▌Warren Magnuson (Democratic) 45.8%
Wisconsin	Gaylord Nelson	Democratic	1962 1968 1974	Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain.	▌Y Bob Kasten (Republican) 50.2% ▌Gaylord Nelson (Democratic) 48.3%

Closest races

In nineteen races the margin of victory was under 10%.

State	Party of winner	Margin
North Carolina	Republican (flip)	0.58%
Idaho	Republican (flip)	0.97%
Arizona	Republican	1.08%
Vermont	Democratic	1.32%
New York	Republican	1.34%
Colorado	Democratic	1.64%
Georgia	Republican (flip)	1.74%
Wisconsin	Republican (flip)	1.85%
Pennsylvania	Republican	2.44%
Alabama	Republican (flip)	3.10%
Florida	Republican (flip)	3.32%
New Hampshire	Republican (flip)	4.29%
Missouri	Democratic	4.33%
Indiana	Republican (flip)	7.58%
Alaska	Republican (flip)	7.75%
Iowa	Republican (flip)	7.95%
Oregon	Republican	8.10%
Washington	Republican (flip)	8.35%
Oklahoma	Republican	9.92%

Alabama

Alabama election

Nominee Jeremiah Denton Jim Folsom Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 650,363 610,175 Percentage 50.2% 47.1%

County results Denton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Folsom:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Donald Stewart Democratic Elected U.S. senator Jeremiah Denton Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama

Incumbent Democrat Donald Stewart decided to run for his first full term, but was defeated in the primary. In November, Republican Jeremiah Denton defeated Democrat Jim Folsom, Public Service Commissioner.

1980 United States Senate election in Alabama

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremiah Denton	650,362	50.15%
	Democratic	Jim Folsom	610,175	47.05%
	Conservative	Michael R. A. Erdey	15,989	1.23%
	Libertarian	William A. Crew	13,098	1.01%
	National Democrat	Sallie M. Hadnott	2,973	0.23%
	Statesman Party	Jim Partain	2,649	0.20%
	Socialist Workers	Mohammed Oliver	1,511	0.12%
Majority			40,187	3.10%
Turnout			1,296,757
	Republican gain from Democratic

Alaska

Alaska election

Nominee Frank Murkowski Clark Gruening Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 84,159 72,007 Percentage 53.69% 45.93%

Results by state house district Murkowski:      50–60%      60–70% Gruening:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Mike Gravel Democratic Elected U.S. senator Frank Murkowski Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Alaska

See also: List of United States senators from Alaska

Incumbent Democrat Mike Gravel ran for a third term, but lost in the Democratic primary to Clark Gruening, a former state representative who was the grandson of Ernest Gruening, whom Gravel had defeated twelve years prior in an election for the same seat. Gruening later went on to lose the general election to Republican nominee Frank Murkowski, a banker.

After the loss of Gravel's seat, no Alaska Democrat would win a congressional race again until Mark Begich's narrow, protracted triumph in Alaska's 2008 Senate election.

First elected in 1968, by 1980 two-term Democratic incumbent Mike Gravel had become noted for a filibuster that attempted to end the draft during the Vietnam War and for including the full text of the Pentagon Papers in the Congressional Record.

Gravel faced a challenging bid for re-election, complicated by the fact that his triumph over Ernest Gruening years prior had made him a pariah in the Alaska Democratic Party. Though Gravel had campaigned to be selected as George McGovern's running mate in the 1972 U.S. presidential election and had easily won re-election to the Senate in 1974, he had never established a strong political base in Alaska.

The passage of a controversial land bill earlier in the year, as opposed to a compromise bill worked out by fellow senator Ted Stevens that failed thanks to Gravel two years prior, further harmed his re-election bid. A group of Democrats, including future governor Steve Cowper, campaigned against Gravel on the land bill issue.

The sources of Gravel's campaign funds, some of which came from political action committees outside the state, also became an issue in the contest. Another factor may have been Alaska's blanket primary system, which allows unlimited cross-over voting across parties and from its large unaffiliated electorate; Republicans believed Gruening would be an easier candidate to defeat in the general election. The blanket primary had first been used in the 1968 election, and was something Gravel himself was able to capitalize upon in his 1968 campaign.

Gravel would later comment that by the time of his primary defeat, he had alienated "almost every constituency in Alaska." In the August 26, 1980, primary Gruening defeated Gravel by 11 percentage points.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clark Gruening	39,719	54.88%
	Democratic	Mike Gravel (Incumbent)	31,504	43.53%
	Democratic	Michael J. Beasley	1,145	1.58%
Total votes			72,368	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski	16,262	58.92%
	Republican	Art Kennedy	5,527	20.02%
	Republican	Morris Thompson	3,635	13.17%
	Republican	Don Smith	896	3.25%
	Republican	Donald R. Wright	824	2.99%
	Republican	Dave Moe	458	1.66%
Total votes			27,602	100.00%

1980 United States Senate election in Alaska

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski	84,159	53.69%	+11.97%
	Democratic	Clark Gruening	72,007	45.93%	−12.35%
	Write-ins		596	0.38%
Majority			12,152	7.75%	−8.81%
Turnout			156,762
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Arizona

Arizona election

Nominee Barry Goldwater Bill Schulz Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 432,371 422,972 Percentage 49.46% 48.38%

County results Goldwater:      40–50%      50–60% Schulz:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Barry Goldwater Republican Elected U.S. senator Barry Goldwater Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Arizona

See also: List of United States senators from Arizona

Incumbent Republican Barry Goldwater decided to run for reelection to a third consecutive term, after returning to the U.S. Senate in 1968 following his failed Presidential run in 1964 against Lyndon B. Johnson. Goldwater defeated Democratic Party nominee Bill Schulz in the general election, but only by a narrow margin, which later caused Goldwater to decide against running for reelection to a fourth consecutive term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Schulz	97,520	55.36%
	Democratic	James F. McNulty Jr.	58,894	33.43%
	Democratic	Frank DePaoli	19,259	10.93%
	Democratic	Frances Morgan (withdrawn)	485	0.28%
Total votes			176,158	100.00

1980 United States Senate election in Arizona

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Barry Goldwater (Incumbent)	432,371	49.46%
	Democratic	Bill Schulz	422,972	48.38%
	Libertarian	Fred R. Esser	12,008	1.37%
	People Over Politics	Lorenzo Torrez	3,608	0.41%
	Socialist Workers	Josefina Otero	3,266	0.37%
Majority			9,399	1.08%
Turnout			874,225
	Republican hold		Swing

Arkansas

Arkansas election

Nominee Dale Bumpers William Clark Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 477,905 330,576 Percentage 59.1% 40.9%

County results Bumpers:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Clark:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Dale Bumpers Democratic Elected U.S. senator Dale Bumpers Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas

Incumbent Democrat Dale Bumpers won re-election to a second term over real estate broker William Clark.

Arkansas Senate election 1980

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dale Bumpers (Incumbent)	477,905	59.1%
	Republican	Bill Clark	330,576	40.9%
	Independent	Walter McCarty	331	0.0%
Majority			117,329	14.0%
Turnout			808,812
	Democratic hold

California

California election

Nominee Alan Cranston Paul Gann Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,705,399 3,093,426 Percentage 56.5% 37.2%

County results Cranston:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Gann:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Alan Cranston Democratic Elected U.S. senator Alan Cranston Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in California

See also: List of United States senators from California

Incumbent Democrat Alan Cranston easily won re-election to a third term over Paul Gann, political activist, even as the state's former Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, claimed a landslide victory in the presidential election.

1980 United States Senate election, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston (Incumbent)	4,705,399	56.5%
	Republican	Paul Gann	3,093,426	37.2%
	Libertarian	David Bergland	202,481	2.4%
	Peace and Freedom	David Wald	196,354	2.4%
	American Independent	James C. Griffin	129,648	1.6%
Majority			1,612,427	19.3%
Turnout			8,324,012
	Democratic hold

Colorado

Colorado election

Nominee Gary Hart Mary Estill Buchanan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 590,501 571,295 Percentage 50.3% 48.7%

County results Hart:      50–60%      60–70% Bunchanan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Gary Hart Democratic Elected U.S. senator Gary Hart Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Colorado

See also: List of United States senators from Colorado

Incumbent Democrat Gary Hart won re-election to a second term over Mary Estill Buchanan, Colorado Secretary of State.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Gary Hart (Incumbent)	590,501	50.33%	−6.90%
	Republican	Mary Estill Buchanan	571,295	48.70%	+9.20%
	Statesman	Earl Higgerson	7,265	0.62%
	Independent American	Henry John Olshaw	4,081	0.35%
Majority			19,206	1.64%	−16.10%
Turnout			1,173,142
	Democratic hold		Swing

Connecticut

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut

Connecticut election

Nominee Chris Dodd James Buckley Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 763,969 581,884 Percentage 56.3% 42.9%

Dodd:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Buckley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Abraham Ribicoff Democratic Elected U.S. senator Chris Dodd Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Abraham Ribicoff decided to retire. Democrat Chris Dodd won the open seat over James Buckley, former U.S. senator from New York.

1980 Connecticut United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Dodd	763,969	56.3%
	Republican	James Buckley	581,884	42.9%
	Libertarian	Jerry Brennan	5,336	0.4%
	Concerned Citizens	Andrew J. Zemel	4,772	0.4%
	Write-Ins		114	0.0%
Majority			182,085	13.4%
Turnout			1,356,075
	Democratic hold

Florida

Florida election

Nominee Paula Hawkins Bill Gunter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,822,460 1,705,409 Percentage 51.7% 48.3%

County results Hawkins:      50–60%      60–70% Gunter:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Richard Stone Democratic Elected U.S. senator Paula Hawkins Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Florida

See also: List of United States senators from Florida

Incumbent Democrat Richard Stone decided to run for re-election to a second term, but was defeated in the Democratic primary election by Bill Gunter. Republican Paula Hawkins won the open seat.

Stone, a freshman senator, had a reputation for changing his mind. In 1980, the AFL–CIO actively campaigned against him, and Stone was deemed vulnerable in his re-election bid. Six Democrats entered the race for Stone's seat including his 1974 runoff opponent Bill Gunter who was Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner in 1980. As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Stone	355,287	32.08%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	335,859	30.33%
	Democratic	Buddy MacKay	272,538	24.61%
	Democratic	Richard A. Pettigrew	108,154	9.77%
	Democratic	James L. Miller	18,118	1.64%
	Democratic	John B. Coffey	17,410	1.57%
Total votes			1,107,366	100.00%

Democratic primary runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	594,676	51.76%
	Democratic	Richard Stone	554,268	48.24%
Total votes			1,148,944	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	209,856	48.14%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	119,834	27.49%
	Republican	Ander Crenshaw	54,767	12.56%
	Republican	Ellis Rubin	19,990	4.59%
	Republican	John T. Ware	18,118	1.64%
	Republican	Lewis Dinkins	15,174	3.48%
Total votes			435,962	100.00%

Republican primary runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	293,600	61.61%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	182,911	38.39%
Total votes			476,511	100.00%

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	1,822,460	51.66%	+10.74%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	1,705,409	48.34%	+4.96%
	Write-ins		159	0.00%
Majority			117,051	3.32%	+0.85%
Turnout			3,528,028
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Georgia

Georgia election

Nominee Mack Mattingly Herman Talmadge Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 803,686 776,143 Percentage 50.87% 49.13%

County results Mattingly:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Talmadge:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Herman Talmadge Democratic Elected U.S. senator Mack Mattingly Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

Incumbent Democrat and former Governor of Georgia Herman Talmadge decided to run for re-election to a fifth term, but lost a close race to Mack Mattingly, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. 1980 resulted in a landslide election for Republicans that would come to be known as the Reagan Revolution.

1980 United States Senate election, Georgia

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mack Mattingly	803,686	50.87%	+22.63%
	Democratic	Herman Talmadge (Incumbent)	776,143	49.13%	−22.63%
Majority			27,543	1.74%	−41.78%
Turnout			1,579,829
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	22.63%

Hawaii

Hawaii election

Nominee Daniel Inouye Cooper Brown Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 224,485 53,068 Percentage 77.95% 18.43%

County results Inouye:      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Daniel Inouye Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Hawaii

See also: List of United States senators from Hawaii

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Inouye was re-elected to a fourth term, defeating Republican Cooper Brown.

1980 United States Senate election in Hawaii

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Inouye (Incumbent)	224,485	77.94%
	Republican	Cooper Brown	53,068	18.43%
	Libertarian	Bud Shasteen	10,453	3.63%
Majority			171,417	59.51%
Turnout			288,006
	Democratic hold

Idaho

Idaho election

Nominee Steve Symms Frank Church Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 218,701 214,439 Percentage 49.7% 48.8%

County results Symms:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Church:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Frank Church Democratic Elected U.S. senator Steve Symms Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Idaho

See also: List of United States senators from Idaho

Incumbent Democrat Frank Church ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by Republican Steve Symms, U.S. Congressman.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Steve Symms	218,701	49.74%	+7.61%
	Democratic	Frank Church (Incumbent)	214,439	48.78%	−7.30%
	Libertarian	Larry Fullmer	6,507	1.48%
Majority			4,262	0.97%	−12.96%
Turnout			439,647
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Illinois

Illinois election

Nominee Alan Dixon Dave O'Neal Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,565,302 1,946,296 Percentage 56.0% 42.5%

County results Dixon:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% O'Neal:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Adlai Stevenson III Democratic Elected U.S. senator Alan J. Dixon Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois

Incumbent Democrat Adlai Stevenson III decided to retire. Democrat Alan J. Dixon won the open seat, beating Dave O'Neal, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

1980 Illinois United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Dixon	2,565,302	56.0%
	Republican	Dave O'Neal	1,946,296	42.5%
	Libertarian	Bruce Green	29,328	0.6%
	Independent	Sidney Lens	19,213	0.4%
	Communist	Charles F. Wilson	5,671	0.2%
	Workers World	Michael Soriano	5,626	0.1%
	Socialist Workers	Burton L. Artz	2,715	0.1%
	Write-Ins		96	0.00%
Majority			619,006	13.5%
Turnout			4,580,030
	Democratic hold

Indiana

Indiana election

Nominee Dan Quayle Birch Bayh Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,182,414 1,015,922 Percentage 53.8% 46.2%

County results Quayle:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bayh:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Birch Bayh Democratic Elected U.S. senator Dan Quayle Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana

Incumbent Democrat Birch Bayh ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican Dan Quayle.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Quayle	397,273	77.06%
	Republican	Roger Marsh	118,273	22.94%

Birch Bayh, the incumbent senator, faced no opposition within the Indiana Democratic Party and avoided a primary election. Bayh was originally elected in 1962 and re-elected in 1968 and 1974. He was Chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee and architect of 25th and 26th Amendments. This election was one of the key races in the country, and signaled a trend that would come to be known as Reagan's coattails, describing the influence Ronald Reagan had in congressional elections. Incumbent three-term senator Birch Bayh was defeated by over 160,000 votes to Representative Dan Quayle, who would later go on to be Vice President of the United States.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Quayle	1,182,414	53.79%
	Democratic	Birch Bayh (Incumbent)	1,015,922	46.21%
Majority			166,492	7.58%
Turnout			2,198,366
	Republican gain from Democratic

Iowa

Iowa election

Nominee Chuck Grassley John Culver Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 683,014 581,545 Percentage 53.49% 45.54%

County results Grassley:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Culver:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election John Culver Democratic Elected U.S. senator Chuck Grassley Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Iowa

See also: List of United States senators from Iowa

Incumbent Democrat John Culver sought re-election to a second term in the Senate, but he was unsuccessful in his bid to do so, falling to Chuck Grassley, the United States Congressman from Iowa's 3rd congressional district, the Republican nominee.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Culver (Incumbent)	95,656	99.95%
	Democratic	Write-ins	52	0.05%
Total votes			95,708	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley	170,120	65.54%
	Republican	Tom Stoner	89,409	34.45%
	Republican	Write-ins	34	0.01%
Total votes			259,563	100.00%

1980 United States Senate election in Iowa

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chuck Grassley	683,014	53.49%	+4.21%
	Democratic	John Culver (Incumbent)	581,545	45.54%	–4.48%
	Independent	Garry De Young	5,858	0.46%
	Libertarian	Robert V. Hengerer	4,233	0.33%
	Independent	John Ingram Henderson	2,336	0.18%
Majority			101,469	7.95%	+7.20%
Turnout			1,772,983
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Kansas

Kansas election

Nominee Bob Dole John Simpson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 598,686 340,271 Percentage 63.76% 36.24%

County Results Dole:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Bob Dole Republican Elected U.S. Senator Bob Dole Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Kansas

See also: List of United States senators from Kansas

Incumbent Republican Bob Dole won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic (formerly Republican) State Senator John Simpson.

1980 United States Senate election in Kansas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Dole (Incumbent)	598,686	63.76%
	Democratic	John Simpson	340,271	36.24%
Majority			258,415	27.52%
Turnout			938,957
	Republican hold

Kentucky

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky

Kentucky election

Nominee Wendell Ford Mary Louise Foust Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 720,891 386,029 Percentage 65.13% 34.87%

County results Ford:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Foust:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Wendell Ford Democratic Elected U.S. senator Wendell Ford Democratic

Democrat Wendell Ford won re-election, defeating Republican Mary Louise Foust.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wendell Ford (Incumbent)	720,891	65.13%
	Republican	Mary Louise Foust	386,029	34.87%
Majority			334,862	30.26%
Turnout			1,106,920
	Democratic hold

Louisiana

Louisiana election

September 13, 1980

Nominee Russell B. Long Woody Jenkins Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 484,770 325,992 Percentage 57.64% 38.76%

Parish Results Long:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Jenkins:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Russell B. Long Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Russell B. Long Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana

Incumbent Russell B. Long ran for re-election to a seventh and final term, defeating State Representative Woody Jenkins.

1980 United States Senate election in Louisiana

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Russell Long (Incumbent)	484,770	57.64%
	Democratic	Woody Jenkins	325,922	38.76%
	Republican	Jerry C. Bardwell	13,739	1.63%
	Republican	Robert Max Ross	10,208	1.21%
	No Party	Maomi Bracey	6,374	0.76%
Majority			158,848	18.89
Turnout			841,013
	Democratic hold

Maryland

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

Maryland election

Nominee Charles Mathias Edward T. Conroy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 850,970 435,118 Percentage 66.17% 33.83%

County results Mathias:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Charles Mathias Republican Elected U.S. Senator Charles Mathias Republican

Incumbent Republican Charles Mathias ran for re-election to a third term and defeated Democratic State Senator Edward T. Conroy.

1980 United States Senate election in Maryland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Mathias (incumbent)	850,970	66.17%
	Democratic	Edward T. Conroy	435,118	33.83%
Majority			415,852	32.34%
Turnout			1,286,088
	Republican hold

Missouri

Missouri election

Nominee Thomas Eagleton Gene McNary Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,074,859 985,399 Percentage 52.00% 47.67%

County Results Eagleton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McNary:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

U.S. senator before election Thomas Eagleton Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri

Incumbent Democrat Thomas Eagleton won reelection, defeating Republican County Executive of St. Louis County Gene McNary.

1980 United States Senate election in Missouri

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas Eagleton (Incumbent)	1,074,859	52.00%
	Republican	Gene McNary	985,399	47.67%
	Socialist Workers	Martha Pettis	6,707	0.32%
Majority			89,460	4.33%
Turnout			2,066,965
	Democratic hold

Nevada

Nevada election

Nominee Paul Laxalt Mary Gojack Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 144,224 92,129 Percentage 58.5% 37.4%

County results Laxalt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Paul Laxalt Republican Elected U.S. senator Paul Laxalt Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Nevada

See also: List of United States senators from Nevada

Incumbent Republican Paul Laxalt won re-election to a second term over Mary Gojack, former State senator (1974–1978) and former State Assemblywoman (1972–1974).

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paul Laxalt (Incumbent)	144,224	58.52%	+11.55%
	Democratic	Mary Gojack	92,129	37.38%	−9.22%
	Libertarian	Allen Hacker	6,920	2.81%
	None of These Candidates		3,163	1.28%
Majority			52,095	21.14%	+20.77%
Turnout			246,436
	Republican hold		Swing

New Hampshire

New Hampshire election

Nominee Warren Rudman John Durkin Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 195,559 179,455 Percentage 52.2% 47.8%

Rudman:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Durkin:      50–60%      60–70%      80–90% Tie:      50%

U.S. senator before election John A. Durkin Democratic Elected U.S. senator Warren Rudman Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire

Incumbent Democrat John Durkin was defeated by former Attorney General of New Hampshire Warren Rudman in a relatively close election, where nationwide Republicans would have a landslide election known as the Reagan Revolution.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Warren Rudman	195,559	52.15%
	Democratic	John A. Durkin (Incumbent)	179,455	47.85%
Majority			16,104	4.3%
Turnout			375,014
	Republican gain from Democratic

New York

New York election

Nominee Al D'Amato Elizabeth Holtzman Jacob K. Javits Party Republican Democratic Liberal Popular vote 2,699,652 2,618,661 664,544 Percentage 44.9% 43.5% 11.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Jacob K. Javits Republican Elected U.S. senator Al D'Amato Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York

Incumbent Republican Jacob K. Javits was defeated in the primary, and Republican Al D'Amato, Presiding Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, won the three-way election with Elizabeth Holtzman, U.S. Representative.

1980 New York Senate Democratic primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Elizabeth Holtzman	378,567	40.74%
	Democratic	Bess Myerson	292,767	31.51%
	Democratic	John Lindsay	146,815	15.80%
	Democratic	John J. Santucci	36,770	11.96%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alfonse M. D'Amato	323,468	55.68%
	Republican	Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)	257,433	44.32%
Total votes			580,901	100.00%

Javits's refusal to adjust politically to the rightward movement of his party as well as his 1979 diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) led to a primary challenge. Javits was defeated in the primary by Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Al D'Amato on September 9.

D'Amato, also running on the Conservative line, proceeded to defeat Democratic U.S. Representative Elizabeth Holtzman and Javits, who ran on the Liberal Party ticket. In the traditionally liberal state of New York, Javits split the Democratic vote with Holtzman to give D'Amato a close victory.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alfonse D'Amato	2,272,082
	Conservative	Alfonse D'Amato	275,100
	Right to Life	Alfonse D'Amato	152,470
	Total	Alfonse D'Amato	2,699,652	44.88%
	Democratic	Elizabeth Holtzman	2,618,661	43.54%
	Liberal	Jacob K. Javits (Incumbent)	664,544	11.05%
	Libertarian	Richard Savadel	21,465	0.36%
	Communist	William R. Scott	4,161	0.07%
	Workers World	Thomas Soto	3,643	0.06%
	Socialist Workers	Victor A. Nieto	2,715	0.05%
		Write-in votes	73	<0.01%
Majority			80,991	1.34%
Turnout			6,014,914
	Republican hold

North Carolina

North Carolina election

Nominee John East Robert Morgan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 898,064 887,653 Percentage 50.0% 49.4%

County results East:      50–60%      60–70% Morgan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Robert Morgan Democratic Elected U.S. senator John East Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina

Incumbent Democrat Robert Morgan lost re-election a second term to Republican John East, Professor at East Carolina University.

1980 North Carolina U.S. Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John East	898,064	49.96%	+12.18%
	Democratic	Robert Morgan (incumbent)	887,653	49.38%	−12.39%
	Libertarian	F.W. (Rick) Pasotto	7,602	0.04%
	Socialist Workers	Rebecca Finch	4,346	0.02%
Majority			10,411	0.58%
Turnout			1,797,655
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

North Dakota

North Dakota election

Nominee Mark Andrews Kent Johanneson Party Republican Democratic–NPL Popular vote 210,347 86,658 Percentage 70.29% 28.96%

County results Andrews:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Milton R. Young Republican Elected U.S. senator Mark Andrews Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from North Dakota

Incumbent Republican Milton Young was retiring. Republican Mark Andrews defeated North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Kent Johanneson to fill the vacated seat.

Andrews, who had served as a Representative since 1965, easily received the Republican nomination, and the endorsed Democratic-NPL candidate was Kent Johanneson. Andrews and Johanneson won the primary elections for their respective parties.

Two independent candidates, Harley McLain and Don J. Klingensmith also filed before the deadline under the Chemical Farming Banned and Statesman parties respectively. McLain would later run for the same seat in 1998 against then incumbent Byron Dorgan.

1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Andrews	210,347	70.29%
	Democratic	Kent Johanneson	86,658	28.96%
	Independent	Harley McLain	1,625	0.54%
	Independent	Don J. Klingensmith	642	0.22%
Majority			123,689	41.33%
Turnout			299,272
	Republican hold

Ohio

Ohio election

Nominee John Glenn Jim Betts Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,770,786 1,137,695 Percentage 68.8% 28.3%

County results Glenn:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Betts:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election John Glenn Democratic Elected U.S. senator John Glenn Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio

Incumbent Democrat John Glenn won re-election to a second term in a landslide with 69% of the vote over Jim Betts, State Representative, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's substantial win in the state during the presidential election.

1980 OH United States Senate election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Glenn (Incumbent)	2,770,786	68.8%
	Republican	Jim Betts	1,137,695	28.3%
	Independent	John E. Powers	76,412	1.9%
	Independent	Rick Nagin	42,410	1.1%
Majority			1,633,091	40.5%
Turnout			4,027,303
	Democratic hold

Oklahoma

Oklahoma election

Nominee Don Nickles Andy Coats Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 587,252 400,230 Percentage 53.5% 44.8%

County results Nickles:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Coats:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Henry Bellmon Republican Elected U.S. senator Don Nickles Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

See also: List of United States senators from Oklahoma

Incumbent Republican Henry Bellmon decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee Don Nickles won the open seat over Andy Coats, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma district attorney.

After two years in the State Senate and displeased by the policies of the Carter Administration, Nickles ran for the United States Senate in 1980 to succeed Republican Henry Bellmon who was retiring. As an unknown in a field crowded with business and political bigwigs, Nickles was not initially given much of a chance. Bellmon even tried to convince him to wait and run for the U.S. House. Utilizing personal contact and passing out unique "wooden nickel" campaign button novelties, Nickles unique grassroot community ties to local Amway distributors throughout Oklahoma gave him an interpersonal network which proved helpful. Nickles beat two well funded oil millionaires (Jack Zink and Ed Noble) in the primary and won the primary run-off against Zink, a race car driver. He later won the general election against Democrat Oklahoma City Mayor Andy Coats and independent Charles Nesbitt, the Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner and former Oklahoma Attorney General. At the age of 31, Nickles was the youngest Republican ever elected to the United States Senate.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Nickles	587,252	53.5%
	Democratic	Andy Coats	478,283	43.6%
	Independent	Charles R. Nesbitt	21,179	1.9%
	Libertarian	Robert T. Murphy	9,757	0.9%
	Independent	Paul E. Trent	1,823	0.2%
Majority			108,969	9.9%
Turnout
	Republican hold

Oregon

Oregon election

Nominee Bob Packwood Ted Kulongoski Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 594,290 501,963 Percentage 52.1% 44.0%

County results Packwood:      50-60%      60-70% Kulongoski:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Bob Packwood Republican Elected U.S. senator Bob Packwood Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Oregon

See also: List of United States senators from Oregon

Republican incumbent Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.

Mount St. Helens erupted two days before the Oregon primaries.

Main article: 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens

The primary elections were held on May 20, 1980, in conjunction with the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. Interest in the primaries was somewhat subdued because they occurred just two days after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Oregon's most populous city, Portland. The eruption (which was a VEI = 5 event) was the first significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of California's Lassen Peak.

1980 Republican primary for the United States Senate from Oregon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Packwood (incumbent)	191,127	62.43%
	Republican	Brenda Jose	45,973	15.02%
	Republican	Kenneth Brown	23,599	7.71%
	Republican	Rosalie Huss	22,929	7.49%
	Republican	William D. Severn	22,281	6.08%
	Republican	miscellaneous	227	0.07%
Total votes			306,136	100.00%

1980 Democratic primary for the United States Senate from Oregon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ted Kulongoski	161,153	47.66%
	Democratic	Charles O. Porter	69,646	20.60%
	Democratic	Jack Sumner	46,107	13.64%
	Democratic	John Sweeney	39,961	11.82%
	Democratic	Gene Arvidson	20,548	6.08%
	Democratic	miscellaneous	692	0.21%
Total votes			338,110	100.00%

In addition to the candidates chosen in the primaries, Tonie Nathan was chosen as the Libertarian Party candidate at that party's convention in June. Previously, Nathan had been the Libertarian vice presidential candidate in the 1972 Presidential election and was the first woman to ever receive an electoral vote in a U.S. presidential election from a faithless elector who voted for her.

As a well-funded incumbent, Packwood was expected to have a fairly easy road to re-election and led by double digit margins in most early polls. Packwood chose defense spending as his key issue in the campaign while Kulongoski focused on the economy and unemployment. Nathan hammered at core Libertarian principles of limited government, with a goal of 5% of votes which would keep the party as a valid minor party. The three candidates agreed to three debates, to be held across the state in the summer of 1980. As the challenger, Kulongoski aggressively attempted to engage Packwood in the debates, but the debate format did not allow the candidates to ask follow-up questions or rebut each other's statements and Packwood was largely able to avoid confrontation and stay above the fray. As the campaign wore on, Kulongoski grew more confident and tried to appeal to Oregonians' independent values by saying that Packwood's enormous cash advantage was due to "eastern" money.

Kulongoski closed to within a few points in some late polls, but with no mistakes made by Packwood and with the coattail effect of Ronald Reagan's presidential victory, the incumbent achieved an electoral majority and a fairly comfortable 8-point margin over Kulongoski. Nathan finished with less than 4% of the vote, short of her goal of 5%. With Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate, Packwood was in line to become chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Fellow Oregon Republican senator Mark Hatfield was also elevated to chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, giving Oregon power in the Senate it had never seen before.

1980 United States Senate election in Oregon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Packwood (Incumbent)	594,290	52.13%
	Democratic	Ted Kulongoski	501,963	44.03%
	Libertarian	Tonie Nathan	43,686	3.83%
Total votes			1,139,939	100.00%
	Republican hold

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania election

Nominee Arlen Specter Pete Flaherty Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,230,404 2,122,391 Percentage 50.5% 48.0%

County results Specter:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Flaherty:      50–60%      60-70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Richard Schweiker Republican Elected U.S. senator Arlen Specter Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania

Incumbent Republican Richard Schweiker decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee Arlen Specter won the open seat, defeating Democratic nominee Peter F. Flaherty, former Mayor of Pittsburgh.

Arlen Specter, formerly a member of the Democratic party, had served as legal counsel to the Warren Commission, which investigated the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, after which he became District Attorney of Philadelphia. After he was defeated in a 1967 run for Mayor of Philadelphia, Specter was defeated in his bid for a third term as district attorney. He had run in the Republican primary in the 1976 Senate election, but was defeated by John Heinz and also ran in the 1978 gubernatorial election, but was defeated by Dick Thornburgh in the primary. Shortly after Specter opened a law practice in Atlantic City, New Jersey, incumbent Republican Richard Schweiker unexpectedly announced his decision not to seek re-election to his seat. Specter, believing his reputation as a political moderate would help him in the general election, decided to run. In the Republican primary, Specter faced state senator Edward Howard, as well as Delaware County councilman Bud Haabestad, who was endorsed by Schweiker, then-governor Thornburgh and John Heinz. Specter ultimately defeated Haabestad, his most prominent challenger, by approximately 37,000 votes.

In the Democratic primary, former Pittsburgh mayor Peter Flaherty contended with State Representative Joseph Rhodes Jr., former U.S. Representative Edward Mezvinsky, State senator H. Craig Lewis and Dean of Temple University Law School Peter J. Liacouras. Flaherty's name recognition enabled him to defeat his primary opponents, winning every county and thus winning the Democratic nomination.

Flaherty employed a general election strategy he had used in two previous statewide office campaigns: win by a wide margin in the southwestern part of the state and narrowly win Philadelphia. He also hoped to carry several swing towns on account of his support from several labor unions. Specter hoped to carry his home town of Philadelphia, despite the Democrats' 7–2 voter registration advantage there. To this end, Specter sought endorsements among city Democratic leadership, including future mayor John F. Street. Specter hoped that, with wins in suburban areas and the heavily Republican central portion of the state in addition to winning Philadelphia, he would be able to win the election. Specter distanced himself from Governor Dick Thornburgh, who had become unpopular in some demographics due to his proposals to decrease welfare program spending.

In the end, Specter defeated Flaherty by approximately 108,000 votes, carrying Philadelphia and its suburbs as well as the central and northeastern portions of the state. Flaherty performed strongest in the western portion of the state, including Cambria, Clarion, Erie and Mercer counties.

1980 Pennsylvania United States Senate Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arlen Specter	2,230,404	50.48%
	Democratic	Peter F. Flaherty	2,122,391	48.04%
	Socialist Workers	Linda Mohrbacher	27,229	0.62%
	Libertarian	David K. Walter	18,595	0.42%
	Consumer	Lee Frissell	16,089	0.36%
	Communist	Frank Kinces	3,334	0.08%
Majority			108,013	2.44%
Turnout			4,418,042
	Republican hold

South Carolina

South Carolina election

Nominee Ernest Hollings Marshall Mays Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 612,556 257,946 Percentage 70.4% 29.6%

County results Hollings:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Fritz Hollings Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ernest Hollings Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina

Incumbent Democratic senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Marshall Mays to win his fourth (his third full) term.

South Carolina Democratic primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (Incumbent)	266,796	81.2%
	Democratic	Nettie Durant Dickerson	34,720	10.6%
	Democratic	William P. Kreml	27,049	8.2%

South Carolina Republican primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marshall Mays	14,075	42.6%
	Republican	Charlie Rhodes	11,395	34.5%
	Republican	Robert Carley	7,575	22.9%

South Carolina Republican primary election runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Marshall Mays	6,853	64.8%	+22.2%
	Republican	Charlie Rhodes	3,717	35.2%	+0.7%

South Carolina general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (Incumbent)	612,556	70.4%	+1.0%
	Republican	Marshall Mays	257,946	29.6%	+0.9%
	No party	Write-Ins	94	0.0%	0.0%
Majority			354,610	40.8%	+0.1%
Turnout			870,596	70.5%	+19.2%
	Democratic hold

South Dakota

South Dakota election

Nominee James Abdnor George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 190,594 129,018 Percentage 58.2% 39.4%

County results Abdnor:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% McGovern:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election George McGovern Democratic Elected U.S. senator James Abdnor Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from South Dakota

Incumbent Democrat George McGovern ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican James Abdnor, U.S. Representative.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George McGovern (Incumbent)	44,822	62.44%
	Democratic	Larry Schumaker	26,958	37.56%
Total votes			71,780	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Abdnor	68,196	72.93%
	Republican	Dale Bell	25,314	27.07%
Total votes			93,510	100.00%

McGovern was one of several liberal Democratic U.S. senators targeted for defeat in 1980 by the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC), which put out a year's worth of negative portrayals of McGovern. They and other anti-abortion groups especially focused on McGovern's support for pro-choice abortion laws. McGovern faced a Democratic primary challenge for the first time, from an anti-abortion candidate.

Abdnor, a four-term incumbent congressman who held identical positions to McGovern on farm issues, was solidly conservative on national issues, and was well liked within the state. Abdnor's campaign focused on both McGovern's liberal voting record and what it said was McGovern's lack of involvement in South Dakotan affairs. McGovern made an issue of NCPAC's outside involvement, and that group eventually withdrew from the campaign after Abdnor denounced a letter they had sent out. Far behind in the polls earlier, McGovern outspent Abdnor 2-to-1, hammered away at Abdnor's refusal to debate him (drawing attention to a slight speech defect Abdnor had), and, showing the comeback pattern of some of his past races in the state, closed the gap for a while.

However, in the general election McGovern was solidly defeated, getting only 39 percent of the vote to Abdnor's 58 percent. McGovern became one of many Democratic casualties of that year's Republican sweep, which became known as the "Reagan Revolution".

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Abdnor	190,594	58.20%	+11.24%
	Democratic	George McGovern (Incumbent)	129,018	39.40%	–13.65%
	Independent	Wayne Peterson	7,866	2.40%
Majority			61,576	18.80%	+12.72%
Turnout			327,478
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Utah

Utah election

Nominee Jake Garn Dan Berman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 437,675 151,454 Percentage 73.65% 25.49%

County Results Garn:      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Berman:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Jake Garn Republican Elected U.S. Senator Jake Garn Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Utah

See also: List of United States senators from Utah

Incumbent Republican Jake Garn ran successfully for reelection to a second term in the United States Senate, defeating Democrat Dan Berman.

1980 United States Senate election in Utah

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jake Garn (Incumbent)	437,675	73.65%
	Democratic	Dan Berman	151,454	25.48%
	Independent	Bruce Bangerter	3,186	0.54%
	American	George M. Batchelor	1,983	0.33%
Majority			286,221	48.17%
Turnout			594,298
	Republican hold

Vermont

Vermont election

Nominee Patrick Leahy Stewart M. Ledbetter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 104,089 101,647 Percentage 49.8% 48.6%

Leahy:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Ledbetter:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

U.S. senator before election Patrick Leahy Democratic Elected U.S. senator Patrick Leahy Democratic

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont

Incumbent Democrat Patrick Leahy ran successfully for reelection to a second term in the United States Senate, defeating Stewart M. Ledbetter in what was the closest race of his Senatorial career.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick Leahy (Incumbent)	27,548	97.5%
	Democratic	Other	696	2.5%
Total votes			'28,244'	'100.0%'

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stewart M. Ledbetter	16,518	35.3%
	Republican	James E. Mullin	12,256	26.2%
	Republican	Tom Evslin	8,575	18.3%
	Republican	T. Garry Buckley	5,209	11.1%
	Republican	Robert Schuettinger	3,450	7.4%
	Republican	Anthony N. Doria	496	1.1%
	Republican	Other	316	0.7%
Total votes			'46,820'	'100.0%'

Liberty Union primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberty Union	Earl S. Gardner	135	80.4%
	Liberty Union	Other	33	19.6%
Total votes			'168'	'100.0%'

1980 United States Senate election in Vermont

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick Leahy (Incumbent)	104,089	49.8%
	Republican	Stewart M. Ledbetter	101,647	48.6%
	Independent	Anthony N. Doria	1,764	0.8%
	Liberty Union	Earl S. Gardner	1,578	0.8%
	N/A	Other	110	0.0%
Majority			2,755	1.32%
Total votes			209,188	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Washington

Washington election

Nominee Slade Gorton Warren Magnuson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 936,317 792,052 Percentage 54.2% 45.8%

County results Gorton:      50–60%      60–70% Magnuson:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Warren Magnuson Democratic Elected U.S. senator Slade Gorton Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Washington

See also: List of United States senators from Washington

Incumbent Democrat Warren Magnuson lost re-election to State Attorney General Slade Gorton.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Slade Gorton	936,317	54.2%
	Democratic	Warren Magnuson (Incumbent)	792,052	45.8%
Majority			144,265	8.4%
Total votes			1,728,369	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin

Wisconsin election

Nominee Bob Kasten Gaylord Nelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,106,311 1,065,487 Percentage 50.2% 48.3%

County results Kasten:      50–60%      60–70% Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Gaylord Nelson Democratic Elected U.S. senator Bob Kasten Republican

Main article: 1980 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

See also: List of United States senators from Wisconsin

Incumbent Democrat Gaylord Nelson ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Bob Kasten, Former U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 9th congressional district (1975–1979).

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Kasten	1,106,311	50.44%
	Democratic	Gaylord Nelson (Incumbent)	1,065,487	48.34%
	Constitution	James P. Wickstrom	16,156	0.73%
	Libertarian	Bervin J. Larson	9,679	0.44%
	Socialist Workers	Susan Hagen	6,502	0.30%
Majority			40,284	1.85%
Turnout			2,204,135
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• 1980 United States elections
  • 1980 United States gubernatorial elections
  • 1980 United States presidential election
  • 1980 United States House of Representatives elections
• 96th United States Congress
• 97th United States Congress

Sources

• Marano, Richard Michael (2003). Vote Your Conscience: The Last Campaign of George McGovern. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-97189-9.
• State Election Commission (1981). Report of the South Carolina Election Commission for the Period Ending June 30, 1981. Columbia, SC: State of South Carolina. pp. 30, 33, 35, 37.