1980 United States Senate elections

← 1978 November 4, 1980 1982 →
← 1974 Class 3 1986 →
34 of the 100 seats in theUnited 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[a] Seats after 1[a] 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 ElectedMajority Leader Howard Baker Republican

The1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding withRonald Reagan's victory in thepresidential election. The 34 Senate seats ofClass 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbentJimmy Cartergave a huge boost toRepublican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the83rd Congress in January 1955. This was the first time since 1966 that any party successfully defended all their own seats.

This is one of only five occasions where ten or more Senate seats changed hands in an election, with the others being in1920,1932,1946, and1958. This is the earliest Senate election with a senator that is still serving, that beingChuck Grassley of Iowa.

This was the largest Senate swing since1958, and was the largest Republican gain since1946, when the Republicans also picked up 12 seats. This was also the last time the Senate changed hands in a presidential election year until2020 when Democrats won control, the last time the Republicans gained control of the Senate in a presidential election year until2024, and the last timeMaryland elected a Republican to the Senate.

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[b]	7[c]	—	—	—	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[d]	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^[1]

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

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

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

There were no special elections in 1980.

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.

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

Alabama election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratDonald Stewart decided to run for his first full term, but was defeated in the primary. In November, RepublicanJeremiah Denton defeated DemocratJim Folsom,Public Service Commissioner.

Alaska election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratMike Gravel ran for a third term, but lost in the Democratic primary toClark Gruening, a formerstate representative who was the grandson ofErnest 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 nomineeFrank Murkowski, a banker.

After the loss of Gravel's seat, no Alaska Democrat would win a congressional race again untilMark Begich's narrow, protracted triumph inAlaska's 2008 Senate election.^[2]

First elected in 1968, by 1980 two-term Democratic incumbent Mike Gravel had become noted for afilibuster that attempted to endthe draft during theVietnam War and for including the full text of thePentagon Papers in theCongressional Record.

Gravel faced a challenging bid for re-election, complicated by the fact that his triumph overErnest Gruening years prior had made him a pariah in theAlaska Democratic Party. Though Gravel had campaigned to be selected asGeorge McGovern's running mate in the1972 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.^[3]

The passage ofa controversial land bill earlier in the year, as opposed to a compromise bill worked out by fellow senatorTed Stevens that failed thanks to Gravel two years prior, further harmed his re-election bid.^[4][5] A group of Democrats, including future governorSteve Cowper, campaigned against Gravel on the land bill issue.^[6]

The sources of Gravel's campaign funds, some of which came frompolitical action committees outside the state, also became an issue in the contest.^[5] Another factor may have been Alaska'sblanket primary system, which allows unlimited cross-over voting across parties and from its large unaffiliated electorate;^[6] Republicans believed Gruening would be an easier candidate to defeat in the general election.^[5] 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."^[4] In the August 26, 1980, primary Gruening defeated Gravel by 11 percentage points.

Arizona election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent RepublicanBarry 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 againstLyndon 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.

Arkansas election

← 1974 1986 →

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

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

California election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratAlan Cranston easily won re-election to a third term overPaul Gann, political activist, even as the state's former Republican governor,Ronald Reagan, claimed a landslide victory in thepresidential election.

Colorado election

← 1974 1986 →

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

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

Connecticut election

← 1974 1986 →

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

County results Municipality results 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 DemocratAbraham Ribicoff decided to retire. DemocratChris Dodd won the open seat overJames Buckley, former U.S. senator fromNew York.

Florida election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratRichard Stone decided to run for re-election to a second term, but was defeated in the Democraticprimary election byBill Gunter. RepublicanPaula Hawkins won the open seat.^[1]

Stone, a freshman senator, had a reputation for changing his mind. In 1980, theAFL–CIO actively campaigned against him, and Stone was deemed vulnerable in his re-election bid.^[13] Six Democrats entered the race for Stone's seat including his 1974 runoff opponent Bill Gunter who wasFlorida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner in 1980.^[13] As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination.^{[citation needed]}

Georgia election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent Democrat and formerGovernor of GeorgiaHerman Talmadge decided to run for re-election to a fifth term, but lost a close race toMack Mattingly, Chairman of theGeorgia Republican Party. 1980 resulted in a landslide election for Republicans that would come to be known as theReagan Revolution.^[1]

Hawaii election

← 1974 1986 →

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

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

Idaho election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratFrank Church ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by RepublicanSteve Symms, U.S. Congressman.

Illinois election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratAdlai Stevenson III decided to retire. DemocratAlan J. Dixon won the open seat, beatingDave O'Neal,Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

Indiana election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratBirch Bayh ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by RepublicanDan Quayle.

Birch Bayh, the incumbent senator, faced no opposition within theIndiana Democratic Party and avoided aprimary election. Bayh was originally elected in1962 and re-elected in1968 and1974. He was Chairman ofSenate Intelligence Committee and architect of25th and26th Amendments. This election was one of the key races in the country, and signaled a trend that would come to be known asReagan's coattails, describing the influenceRonald Reagan had in congressional elections. Incumbent three-term senatorBirch Bayh was defeated by over 160,000 votes to RepresentativeDan Quayle, who would later go on to beVice President of the United States.

Iowa election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratJohn Culver sought re-election to a second term in the Senate, but he was unsuccessful in his bid to do so, falling toChuck Grassley, theUnited States Congressman fromIowa's 3rd congressional district, the Republican nominee.

Kansas election

← 1974 1986 →

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

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

Kentucky election

← 1974 1986 →

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

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

Louisiana election

← 1974 September 13, 1980 1986 →

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

IncumbentRussell B. Long ran for re-election to a seventh and final term, defeating State RepresentativeWoody Jenkins.

Maryland election

← 1974 1986 →

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 RepublicanCharles Mathias ran for re-election to a third term and defeated Democratic State SenatorEdward T. Conroy.

Missouri election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent DemocratThomas Eagleton won reelection, defeating Republican County Executive of St. Louis CountyGene McNary.

Nevada election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent RepublicanPaul Laxalt won re-election to a second term overMary Gojack, former State senator (1974–1978) and former State Assemblywoman (1972–1974).^[21]

New Hampshire election

← 1975 (special) 1986 →

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

County results Municipality results 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

Incumbent DemocratJohn Durkin was defeated by formerAttorney General of New HampshireWarren Rudman in a relatively close election, where nationwide Republicans would have a landslide election known as theReagan Revolution.

New York election

← 1974 1986 →

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

Incumbent RepublicanJacob K. Javits was defeated in the primary, and RepublicanAl D'Amato, Presiding Supervisor of theTown of Hempstead, won the three-way election withElizabeth Holtzman, U.S. Representative.

Javits's refusal to adjust politically to the rightward movement of his party as well as his 1979 diagnosis withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known asLou Gehrig's disease) led to aprimary challenge. Javits was defeated in the primary byHempsteadPresiding SupervisorAl D'Amato on September 9.

D'Amato, also running on theConservative line, proceeded to defeat DemocraticU.S. RepresentativeElizabeth Holtzman and Javits, who ran on theLiberal Party ticket. In the traditionally liberal state ofNew York, Javits split the Democratic vote with Holtzman to give D'Amato a close victory.^[24]

North Carolina election

← 1974 1986 →

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