1980 United Nations Security Council election, Result, Latin American and Caribbean Group, Day 5
The fifteenth through twenty-second rounds of voting were held during the 57th plenary meeting of the General Assembly.


1980 United Nations Security Council election, Result, Latin American and Caribbean Group, Day 6
The twenty-third and final round of voting was held during the 61st plenary session of the General Assembly.


1980 United States Grand Prix
The 1980 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 5, 1980 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on March 30, 1980 in Long Beach, California.


1980 United States Grand Prix
It was the fourteenth and final race of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the 30th United States Grand Prix, the 20th and last to be held at Watkins Glen and the last to be held for nine years. The race was held over 59 laps of the 5.435-kilometre (3.377 mi) circuit for a total race distance of 320.67 kilometres (199.26 mi).


1980 United States Grand Prix
The race was won by the new World Champion, Australian driver Alan Jones, driving a Williams FW07B. It was Jones' fifth World Championship Formula One victory of the season and the sixth of the seven Grands Prix (including Spain and Australia) he would win in his career defining season. Jones won by four seconds over his Argentinian team mate Carlos Reutemann with French driver Didier Pironi finishing third in his Ligier JS11/15. This was also the final race for 1972 and 1974 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, since this circuit was the same one where he scored his first victory 10 years earlier in 1970. It was also the final race for 1979 World Champion Jody Scheckter.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Frank Williams' first Championship season, his eleventh as an owner, ended in style with another victory by team leader and new Driver's Champion Alan Jones, but this was the last Grand Prix to be held on the historic Watkins Glen course in the wooded hills at the foot of Seneca Lake. The Glen's demise came about when attempts to resurface the track proved not to be enough, runoff areas became too short for the speeds produced, and attendance was not what it had been, for even this race had been in doubt until just a month before.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
As the track's last Grand Prix weekend got under way, the big surprise of qualifying was the Alfa Romeo of Italian Bruno Giacomelli, who was quickest in both Friday's and Saturday's sessions, averaging 130.314 mph (209.720 km/h). Giacomelli took the only pole of his 69-race career, and the first for Alfa Romeo since 1951, by three-quarters of a second over a tightly-bunched group including Nelson Piquet's Brabham, Carlos Reutemann's Williams, Elio de Angelis' Lotus and Jones in the second Williams.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Race day threatened rain, but none appeared. Alain Prost, completing his first F1 season had a heavy crash at Turn 10 during Friday practice. He hit his head on his McLaren's steering wheel and suffered a concussion, forcing him to miss the race. This enabled Dutchman Jan Lammers to start the race, and Prost, already having suffered 8 previous mechanical failures during the season chose to leave McLaren for the factory Renault team. At the start, Giacomelli got off the line well and led into the first turn. Jones rocketed forward from fifth on the grid to second entering Turn One, but he could not hold his line through the turn. He, along with Giacomelli's teammate Andrea de Cesaris swung wide onto the dirt, then collected himself and continued, finishing the first lap in fourteenth place.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
At the end of a lap, Giacomelli had opened a gap back to Piquet, followed by Reutemann, Didier Pironi, de Angelis and Héctor Rebaque. In two more laps, the Alfa was ahead by two and a half seconds. Meanwhile, Jones was battling his way back through the field, and on lap 7, he was already poking around the gearbox of John Watson's McLaren, trying to take seventh place. Watson held him off until the tenth lap, and, once by, Jones quickly pulled away after de Angelis and Pironi.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Giacomelli continued to set an even pace, and his lead was ten seconds on lap 21, with Reutemann now threatening Piquet, whose tires were beginning to go off. Jones had caught up to de Angelis, and on the next lap, got around him for fifth.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Reutemann's pressure, and the Brabham's increasing lack of grip, finally got to Piquet on lap 26 as he spun off in turn one. The off-road excursion damaged a skirt, and he retired after reaching the pits. Three laps later, Jones passed Pironi for third, as the Ligier was also suffering from tire wear.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The only car between Jones and the leader now was teammate Reutemann, but with the Driver's Championship already in Jones' hands, there would be no team orders. Understeer induced by a worn left front tire was plaguing the Argentinian, however, and Jones easily overcame him on lap 30 and set his sights on Giacomelli, now 12 seconds ahead. The red and white Alfa Romeo coasted to a halt in the Boot on lap 32 with electrical trouble. Once in the lead, Jones went faster and faster, finally doing a 1:34.068 on lap 44, better than his qualifying time.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
When Watson pitted to replace a broken shock absorber on his McLaren, crowd favorite Mario Andretti moved up to the final points position. A set of new tires allowed René Arnoux to catch and pass the American, but a broken skirt soon slowed the Renault, and Andretti was able to regain the sixth spot and score his only point of the season.


1980 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The Williams team celebrated the climax to a year in which they had taken the Driver's and Constructor's Championships by waving a huge Union Flag at their one-two finish. The race saw not only the end of Formula One at Watkins Glen, but former champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Jody Scheckter's last Grand Prix and Mario Andretti's last race for Colin Chapman and Lotus. This Grand Prix would also witness the final occasion where a privateer entry would be classified as a finisher with Rupert Keegan finishing in 9th place in a RAM Racing-entered Williams FW07.


1980 United States Grand Prix West
The 1980 United States Grand Prix West (officially the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a Formula One motor race held on March 30, 1980, at Long Beach, California. It was the fourth round of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the fifth United States Grand Prix West and the sixth street race to be held at Long Beach. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres.


1980 United States Grand Prix West
The race was won by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet driving a Brabham BT49. It was Piquet's debut World Championship victory in just his fourth points finish and announced his emergence as a championship contender. Piquet won by 49 seconds over Italian driver Riccardo Patrese driving an Arrows A3. It was the best result for both Arrows and Patrese in two years after Patrese finished second at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix. Third was Brazilian driver, twice-World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi driving a Fittipaldi F7. It was Fittipaldi's best result since finishing second at the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Nelson Piquet took pole, fastest lap and his first career race win to dominate the weekend in his gleaming blue and white Brabham. The Brazilian's qualifying time was a full second ahead of the rest of the field, and he led all 80 laps of the race to win by 49 seconds and grab a share of the lead in the Drivers' Championship. The race would be the last in Formula One for Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni, who suffered spinal damage when he lost the brakes in his Ensign and struck a parked car followed by a concrete barrier at 150 mph (240 km/h).


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
In Friday qualifying, Frenchman Didier Pironi recorded the fastest time, but getting a good lap on Saturday was a matter of using the soft qualifying tires at the right time and slotting in a good time before the track became too oily. Piquet was easily the fastest man on the circuit, using Goodyear tires, but Championship leader René Arnoux grabbed second place in his Renault with an early run on soft Michelins. The big surprise, however, was Jan Lammers, who put his ATS in fourth position while subbing for the injured Marc Surer.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
James Hunt nearly made a comeback with McLaren, asking for $1 million for the race. This opportunity came about when French rookie driver Alain Prost broke his wrist during practice for the South African Grand Prix, and was not fully fit to drive at Long Beach. The team's main sponsor, Marlboro, offered half the figure but negotiations ended after Hunt broke his leg while skiing. Stephen South substituted but South failed to qualify.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Pironi slipped to ninth by the end of the session, while the Ferraris of Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter, so dominant here the year before, struggled to 10th and 16th, and Emerson Fittipaldi just managed to scramble onto the grid in the 24th and final spot. Americans Mario Andretti (Lotus) and Eddie Cheever (Osella), in his first full F1 season, were 15th and 19th.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
The only mis-step of Piquet's weekend came in the Sunday morning warmup when he and Derek Daly collided entering the corner after the pits. The Brabham was vaulted into the air and landed heavily on all four tires, while Daly's Tyrrell went down the escape road. After careful examination, the Brabham crew decided that the car was fine and ready to race.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Entering the first corner Ricardo Zunino, Andretti, Jochen Mass and Jean-Pierre Jarier all made contact under braking. Zunino's Brabham and Andretti's Lotus were unable to continue. After one lap, Piquet led Patrick Depailler, who had gotten by René Arnoux in the hairpin. They were followed by Alan Jones, Bruno Giacomelli, Riccardo Patrese, Carlos Reutemann, Villeneuve and Daly.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
On lap 4, Giacomelli lost control of his Alfa Romeo under braking for the hairpin at the beginning of Shoreline Drive, and slid sideways across the racing line. Reutemann, following directly behind, was the first to be collected. Jody Scheckter, Elio de Angelis, Cheever and Jarier also became involved.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
According to Reutemann, while Giacomelli's Alfa was facing the inside wall, he let a few cars pass, and then put his car in reverse, and backed onto the racing line, and Reutemann had to come to a dead stop to avoid hitting the Italian's Alfa, and then Giacomelli, realizing he had made a mistake, went back to where he was.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
By the time Giacomelli had realized what had happened, the 5 other aforementioned cars including Reutemann had created an accordion effect; although Reutemann and Scheckter had not hit anything, de Angelis (who was injured), Cheever and Jarier had crashed, the latter most seriously; a wheel ripped off Jarier's Tyrrell and he went into the run-off area. The marshals decided to move forward Giacomelli and Cheever were able to continue for the time being, though both retired later in the race, and Reutemann had retired soon afterwards with gearbox problems. Fittipaldi just managed to squeeze through the carnage, and the marshals somehow got the track cleared before the leaders came around, avoiding a red flag to stop the race.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
While Piquet continued to run unchallenged in front, Depailler was struggling with fading brakes on his Alfa Romeo. On lap 18, Jones caught and passed him on the outside of the hairpin to take second place. Meanwhile, Giacomelli was working his way back up through the field ahead of an extended battle between Regazzoni, Fittipaldi and John Watson. Gilles Villeneuve had managed to get the ill handling Ferrari into a good fourth place but his transmission failed on lap 46 and he was out of the race.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
After pitting for tires on lap 47, Giacomelli rejoined in 12th place, just ahead of Jones, but about to be lapped by the Williams for the second time. As Jones moved inside to pass the Italian entering the hairpin at the end of the straight, Giacomelli turned in and Jones struck the Alfa Romeo's rear wheel, bending the steering arm on the Williams and putting Jones out of the race. This left Piquet with a lead of more than a minute over Patrese and Arnoux, and he began to ease off, allowing some cars to unlap themselves.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Lap 50 saw a horrific accident which would ultimately end the career of Clay Regazzoni, the brakes on his Ensign N180 car failed on the long start finish straight, unable to reduce speed, he hit the stationary Brabham of Ricardo Zunino which had been left at the run off of the hairpin since lap 1, and then head on into a concrete wall. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Regazzoni later sued the race organisers, but lost the case.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
On lap 63, Arnoux had his right rear tire go completely flat, and by the time he was able to make it back to the pits for a replacement, he had dropped all the way to ninth place. Watson now began to challenge Fittipaldi for third, and even get around him briefly, but gearbox troubles allowed the Brazilian to retake the position and then pull away. Watson, in fact, came under fire from Scheckter's Ferrari. Braking into the hairpin, Scheckter tried to go around the outside, as Watson defended the inside line. He slid wide on the dirt and marbles, however, and thereafter, decided to settle for 5th place and his final points in Formula One.


1980 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
For Piquet, it was the first of 23 career wins and pulled him even with Arnoux in the Drivers' Championship. For Fittipaldi, who finished third behind a steady Patrese in the Arrows, it was his first podium in more than two years, and the last of his F1 career (both as a driver and as a constructor). The torch was passed from one Brazilian multiple World Champion to another.


1980 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
The Alaska congressional election of 1980 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1980. The term of the state's sole Representative to the United States House of Representatives expired on January 3, 1981. The winning candidate would serve a two-year term from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1983.


1980 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The 1980 congressional election for the Delegate from the District of Columbia was held on November 4, 1980. The winner of the race was Walter E. Fauntroy (D), who won his fifth re-election. All elected members would serve in 97th United States Congress.


1980 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the District of Columbia is elected for two-year terms.


1980 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia, Candidates
Walter E. Fauntroy, a Democrat, sought re-election for his sixth term to the United States House of Representatives. Fauntroy was opposed in this election by Republican challenger Robert J. Roehr and Statehood Party candidate Josephine D. Butler who received 14.02% and 9.55%, respectively. This resulted in Fauntroy being elected with 74.44% of the vote.


1980 United States House of Representatives election in Puerto Rico
The election for Resident Commissioner to the United States House of Representatives took place on November 4, 1980, the same day as the larger Puerto Rican general election and the United States elections, 1980.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1980 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1980 which coincided with the election of Ronald Reagan as President, defeating Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Reagan's victory also allowed many Republican House candidates to secure elections. The Republicans gained a net of 35 seats from the Democratic Party. The Democrats nonetheless retained a significant majority, unlike the Senate elections, where Republicans gained control of the chamber. However, many Democratic congressmen from the south (known as "Boll weevils") frequently took conservative stances on issues, allowing Republicans to have a working ideological majority for some of President Reagan's proposals during his first two years in office.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections
This election marked the first time since Reconstruction that Republicans won a sizable majority of Representatives from a Deep South state (South Carolina). It was also the first time that the new Libertarian Party received the third-largest share of the popular vote in both chambers of Congress.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections
As of 2021, this is the last time the Republican Party held a majority of congressional districts from Minnesota.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections, Overall results
Summary of the November 4, 1980, United States House of Representatives election results


1980 United States House of Representatives elections, Special elections
In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1980 or before January 3, 1981; ordered by election date.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in California
The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1980 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 4, 1980. Republicans lost one seat but gained four Democratic-held seats.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in California, Results
Final results from the Clerk of the House of Representatives:


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland
The 1980 congressional elections in Maryland were held on November 4, 1980, to determine who will represent the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. Maryland has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1970 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 97th Congress from January 3, 1981 until January 3, 1983.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 4, 1980 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 10 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 24. Three incumbents were re-elected, but John Jenrette of the 6th congressional district was defeated in his bid for re-election and the open seat in the 1st congressional district was taken by the Republicans from the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was four Republicans and two Democrats.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1st congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mendel Jackson Davis of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1971, opted to retire. Tommy Hartnett, a Republican state senator from Charleston, defeated Thomas G. Moore in the Republican primary and Democrat Charles D. Ravenel in the general election.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2nd congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Democratic challenger Tom Turnipseed.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 3rd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Butler Derrick of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Republican challenger Marshall Parker.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 4th congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1979, defeated Libertarian challenger Thomas P. Waldenfels.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 5th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Kenneth Lamar Holland of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Libertarian challenger Thomas Campbell.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 6th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John Jenrette of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1975, was defeated in his bid for re-election by Republican John Light Napier.


1980 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia
The 1980 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia were held on November 4, 1980 to determine who will represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Virginia had ten seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1970 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.


1980 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The 1980 United States Olympic Trials for track and field were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. These were the first such trials organized by the new national governing body for the sport of track and field, The Athletics Congress formed one year earlier as required by the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. Previous trials had been organized by the AAU. The eight-day competition lasted from June 21 until June 29.


1980 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
Unlike any of the previous or subsequent years, the Olympic Trials in 1980 did not select representatives to the 1980 Summer Olympics. By this point in the year, President Jimmy Carter had already announced the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and its flagrant human rights violations. This affected the competition. Some athletes did not compete or did not persevere through illness or injury as they might have if Olympic bids were on the line. Subsequently, some athletes, notably Tom Hintnaus and Gary Fanelli, chose to compete for other countries. Others like Franklin Jacobs retired.


1980 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The only qualifiers to another meet from this meet came from two women's exhibition events, the 400 m hurdles and 5000 meters, who were invited to the 1980 World Championships in Athletics. Many of the top 3 from this meet ran in the alternative to the Olympics, the Liberty Bell Classic, a few weeks later.


1980 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The trials for the men's and women's marathon were held May 24 in Buffalo, New York, and the trials for the men's 50 km race walk were held May 10 in Niagara Falls, New York.


1980 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 1980 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 4, 1980, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Donald Stewart, elected in a special election to finish the term of the seat left vacant by the death of Senator James B. Allen, decided to run for a full term, but was defeated in the primary by Jim Folsom. In November, Folsom narrowly lost the general election to Republican Jeremiah Denton.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska
The 1980 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Mike Gravel ran for a third term in the United States Senate, 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.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska
After the loss of Gravel's seat, no Alaska Democrat would win a congressional race again until Mark Begich's narrow victory in Alaska's 2008 Senate election.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska, Democratic primary, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska, Democratic primary, Campaign
Gravel faced a challenging bid for reelection, 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 presidential election and had easily won reelection to the Senate in 1974, he had never established a strong political base in Alaska.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska, Democratic primary, Campaign
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 earlier, further harmed his reelection bid. A group of Democrats, including future governor Steve Cowper, campaigned against Gravel on the land bill issue.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska, Democratic primary, Campaign
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 allowed 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 on that year.


1980 United States Senate election in Alaska, Democratic primary, Campaign
Gravel later said that by the time of his primary defeat, he had alienated "almost every constituency in Alaska." In the August 26 primary Gruening defeated Gravel by 11 percentage points.


1980 United States Senate election in Arizona
The 1980 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican Senator Barry Goldwater decided to run for reelection to a third consecutive term, after returning to the Senate in 1968 following his failed presidential run in 1964 against Lyndon B. Johnson. Despite Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan's landslide win in Arizona, Goldwater defeated Democratic Party nominee Bill Schulz in the general election by a narrow margin, which later caused Goldwater to decide against running for reelection to a fourth consecutive term. Goldwater won only three counties, including Maricopa County.


1980 United States Senate election in Arkansas
The 1980 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers won re-election to a second term.


1980 United States Senate election in California
The 1980 United States Senate election in California took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Alan Cranston easily won re-election to a third term, even as the state's former Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, claimed a landslide victory in the presidential election, and a target of the National Conservative Political Action Committee.


1980 United States Senate election in Colorado
The 1980 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Hart won re-election to a second term.


1980 United States Senate election in Connecticut
The 1980 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 4, 1980, alongside other elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff decided to retire. Democrat Chris Dodd won the open seat.


1980 United States Senate election in Florida
The 1980 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 4, 1980 alongside other elections for President of the United States as well as to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Stone ran for re-election to a second term, but lost the Democratic primary election to Bill Gunter. Republican Paula Hawkins defeated Gunter in the general election.


1980 United States Senate election in Florida, Democratic primary, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Georgia
The 1980 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and former Governor of Georgia Herman Talmadge ran for reelection to a fifth term, but lost narrowly to Mack Mattingly, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Mattingly became the first ever Republican popularly elected to the Senate in Georgia. This race was part of a landslide national election for Republicans that would come to be known as the Reagan Revolution.


1980 United States Senate election in Georgia, Democratic primary, Campaign
Talmadge's ethical issues made him uniquely vulnerable. Because Georgia was seen as a strongly Democratic state, five primary opponents declared their candidacies for the Democratic nomination. Strongest among these candidates was Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller. Miller launched his campaign with support from black voters, organized labor, and the liberal wing of the Georgia Democratic Party. He campaigned against Talmadge on the argument that Talmadge had "disgraced" Georgia. Miller also attacked Talmadge's history as a segregationist and boasted of support from black leaders including Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson and State Senator Julian Bond.


1980 United States Senate election in Georgia, Democratic primary, Campaign
In the six-man primary held August 5, Miller and Talmadge advanced to a run-off election. Talmadge won the run-off election with 58.6% of the vote.


1980 United States Senate election in Hawaii
The 1980 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 4, 1980.


1980 United States Senate election in Hawaii
Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator Daniel Inouye won re-election to a fourth term in yet another landslide, despite the national 'Reagan Revolution' and the state's very narrow margin of victory for Jimmy Carter in the concurrent presidential election.


1980 United States Senate election in Idaho
The 1980 United States Senate election in Idaho took place on November 4, 1980 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Church ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was narrowly defeated by Republican Steve Symms.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois
The 1980 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III decided to retire. Democrat Alan J. Dixon won the open seat.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (President and House), as well as those for state offices.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Background
Incumbent Democrat Adlai Stevenson III opted not to seek reelection to a third-term. This was the first open-race for this senate seat since 1938.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primary elections was 35.36%, with a total of 2,026,814 votes cast.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout during the general election was 73.51%, with 4,579,933 votes cast.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Democratic primary, Campaign
Alex Seith, who had won the Democratic nomination for Senator two years earlier, almost winning the 1978 race in what would have been a major upset, laid hopes of capturing the nomination again.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Democratic primary, Campaign
Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, a political activist who had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for senate in 1978, again ran for the nomination.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Democratic primary, Campaign
Robert Ash "Bob" Wallace made use of his friendship with boxer Muhammad Ali, featuring him in campaign ads and having him make campaign appearances.


1980 United States Senate election in Illinois, Democratic primary, Campaign
Dakin Williams was a prosecutor, and was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams. He had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' other US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for this seat in 1974. He had also been a candidate for governor in 1978.


1980 United States Senate election in Indiana
The 1980 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 4, 1980, along with elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as the presidential election, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Birch Bayh ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Dan Quayle.


1980 United States Senate election in Indiana, General election, Campaign
Birch Bayh, the incumbent Senator, faced no opposition from Indiana 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.


1980 United States Senate election in Iowa
The 1980 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator John Culver ran for reelection to a second term, but lost to Republican nominee Chuck Grassley, the United States Congressman from Iowa's 3rd congressional district.


1980 United States Senate election in Kansas
The 1980 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Dole was re-elected to his third term in office, after briefly campaigning for President earlier that year. He defeated Democrat John Simpson, who had previously served in the Kansas State Senate as a Republican.


1980 United States Senate election in Kentucky
The 1980 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 4, 1980, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as other elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Wendell Ford won re-election, defeating Republican nominee Mary Louise Foust.


1980 United States Senate election in Louisiana
The 1980 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on September 13, 1980. Incumbent Democrat Russell B. Long won the primary with 57.64% of the vote and avoided a runoff.


1980 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 1980 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 4, 1980.


1980 United States Senate election in Maryland
Incumbent Republican U.S Senator Charles Mathias won re-election to a third term in a landslide, defeating Democratic State Senator Edward T. Conroy.


1980 United States Senate election in Maryland
As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans won a U.S. Senate election in Maryland. It is also the last time a Republican won Prince George's County and the city of Baltimore in a statewide election.


1980 United States Senate election in Missouri
The 1980 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat Thomas Eagleton defeated Republican nominee Gene McNary with 52.00% of the vote. As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat in Missouri.


1980 United States Senate election in Nevada
The 1980 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt won re-election to a second term. As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 3 Senate seat from Nevada.


1980 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
The 1980 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Durkin was defeated by attorney Warren Rudman in a relatively close election, where nationwide Republicans would have a landslide election known as the Reagan Revolution.


1980 United States Senate election in New York
The 1980 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jacob Javits was defeated in the primary, and Republican Al D'Amato won the three-way election. It is speculated by some that Elizabeth Holtzman would have won the election had Javits not ran after his defeat in the Republican primary.


1980 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Democratic
The Democratic field included four major candidates. Despite receiving the support of Governor Hugh Carey, Bess Myerson lost the Democratic primary to Elizabeth Holtzman.


1980 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Democratic
During the campaign boasted that she was "never been handpicked by the bosses. I have never been handpicked by anyone." in a thinly-veiled dig to her opponents. Holtzman touted her support for women's rights, having secured an extension for the Equal Rights Amendment's 1979 ratification.


1980 United States Senate election in New York, Candidates, Results
Nominated: Al D'Amato, Presiding Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead


1980 United States Senate election in New York, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in New York, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The 1980 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 4, 1980 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Morgan ran for reelection to a second term, but narrowly lost to Republican John East.


1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota
The 1980 U.S. Senate election for the state of North Dakota was held November 4, 1980. The incumbent, Republican Senator Milton Young, was retiring. Republican Mark Andrews defeated North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Kent Johanneson to fill the vacated seat.


1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota
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.


1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota
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 Ohio
The 1980 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 4, 1980. It was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S Senator John Glenn won re-election to a second term in a landslide with 69% of the vote, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's substantial win in the state during the presidential election. Glenn won by a state-record 1.6 million votes.


1980 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
The 1980 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held November 3, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Henry Bellmon decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee Don Nickles won the open seat.


1980 United States Senate election in Oklahoma, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Oklahoma, Campaign
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 32, Nickles was the youngest Republican ever elected to the United States Senate.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon
The 1980 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator (and future Governor) Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, Primaries, Volcano eruption
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 United States Senate election in Oregon, Primaries, Republican primary, Campaign
In the Republican primary, incumbent Senator Bob Packwood was running for a third term. With his moderate stance on issues such as abortion, several conservative challengers filed to challenge Packwood in the Republican primary. These included Brenda Jose, the vice chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, and Rosalie Huss, who was the wife of Walter Huss, an ultraconservative minister who had been chair of the Oregon Republican Party before being ousted by a moderate and liberal coalition, which included Packwood and Republican governor Victor G. Atiyeh. Packwood went on to defeat all challengers by a wide margin.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, Primaries, Democratic primary, Campaign
In the Democratic primary, several high-profile Democrats considered a run, including incumbent U. S. Congressmen Les AuCoin and Jim Weaver and Portland mayor Neil Goldschmidt, but ultimately opted not to challenge the incumbent Packwood. In October 1979, Ted Kulongoski, a labor lawyer and state senator from Junction City, became the first major candidate to declare his candidacy, claiming that Packwood was beholden to large corporate special interests. Kulongoski had the field to himself until March, when former two-term U. S. Congressman Charles O. Porter joined the race.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, Primaries, Democratic primary, Campaign
Porter, a Eugene attorney, was a supporter of Edward Kennedy's bid for President and planned to campaign on a strong anti-war platform. Porter and Kulongski agreed on most major issues, clashing only on gun control and nationalization of energy resources, both of which Porter favored and Kulongoski opposed. Though the race was expected to be close, Kulongoski defeated Porter handily by a 5–2 margin.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, General election
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, General election, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, General election, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, General election, Campaign
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, Aftermath
Packwood served as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee until his appointment to chair the Finance Committee in 1985. He was re-elected to two more terms, in 1986 and 1992. Shortly after the 1992 election, allegations of sexual harassment revealed by The Washington Post led to his eventual resignation from the Senate in 1995.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, Aftermath
Following his unexpectedly good showing in this race, Kulongoski was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1982, but lost badly to Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh. In 1987, he was appointed state insurance commissioner by governor Neil Goldschmidt. In 1992, he was elected Oregon Attorney General, in 1997, he was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court. In 2002, 20 years after his initial gubernatorial attempt, Kulongoski was elected as Oregon's 36th Governor and was re-elected in 2006.


1980 United States Senate election in Oregon, Aftermath
Nathan ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress against Peter DeFazio in 1986 and 1990.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
The 1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator 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. As of 2021, this is the last time Philadelphia voted for a Republican statewide candidate.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
Shortly after Specter opened a law practice in Atlantic City, New Jersey, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator 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.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, Campaign
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 United States Senate election in South Carolina
The 1980 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Marshall Mays to win his third full term.


1980 United States Senate election in South Carolina, Democratic primary
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for Senator on June 10, 1980. Fritz Hollings, the incumbent Senator, won the Democratic primary against two minor candidates; Nettie Durant Dickerson and William Kreml.


1980 United States Senate election in South Carolina, Republican primary
The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on June 10, 1980. Marshall Mays, a former state legislator, emerged as the frontrunner and went on to defeat Charlie Rhodes in the runoff election on June 24.


1980 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election campaign
The Republican Party did not see the race as winnable and Mays received little assistance for his campaign. Hollings did little campaigning for the race and easily won re-election in the midst of an otherwise strong Republican year.


1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota
The 1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican James Abdnor.


1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota, General election, Campaign
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 pro-life groups especially focused on McGovern's support for pro-choice abortion laws. McGovern faced a Democratic primary challenge for the first time, from a pro-life candidate.


1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota, General election, Campaign
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.


1980 United States Senate election in South Dakota, General election, Campaign
However, McGovern was solidly defeated in the general election, receiving only 39 percent of the vote to Abdnor's 58 percent. McGovern became one of many Democratic casualties in that year's Republican sweep, which became known as the "Reagan Revolution". McGovern was one of nine incumbent Senators to lose a general election that year, and his margin of defeat was by far the largest until Blanche Lincoln was unseated by John Boozman in 2010.


1980 United States Senate election in Utah
The 1980 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 4, 1980.


1980 United States Senate election in Utah
Incumbent Republican U.S Senator Jake Garn won re-election to a second term in a landslide against Democrat Dan Berman.


1980 United States Senate election in Utah, American Party primary, Results
After losing the primary, Topham became the American Party nominee for Governor of Utah.


1980 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 1980 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy narrowly won reelection to a second term, defeating Stewart M. Ledbetter.


1980 United States Senate election in Washington
The 1980 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 4, 1980. Longtime incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson, the Senate President pro tempore, lost re-election to State Attorney General Slade Gorton, a Republican. As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 3 Senate seat in Washington.


1980 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
The 1980 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson ran for re-election to a fourth term but was defeated by Bob Kasten, a Republican.


1980 United States Senate elections
The 1980 United States Senate elections coincided with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. 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.


1980 United States Senate elections
This is one of only five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in an election, with the other occasions being in 1920, 1932, 1946, and 1958. As of 2021, this is the last time Republicans won a U.S. Senate election in Maryland.


1980 United States Senate elections
It was believed for years after that Carter had hurt many Senators on the West Coast as he had conceded rather early in the evening.


1980 United States Senate elections, Gains and losses
The Republicans gained 12 seats from the Democrats to gain control of the Senate, 53–46–1, marking the first time since 1954 that the Republican Party controlled either chamber of Congress; majority and minority leaders Robert Byrd and Howard Baker exchanged places.


1980 United States Senate elections, Gains and losses
All Republican incumbents won re-election, while the Republicans won three open seats (in Alabama, Alaska, and Florida) and defeated nine Democratic incumbents: Herman Talmadge (GA), Frank Church (ID), Birch E. Bayh II (IN), John Culver (IA), John A. Durkin (NH), Robert Morgan (NC), 1972 Presidential nominee George S. McGovern (SD), Warren Magnuson (WA), and Gaylord Nelson (WI) (see Reagan's coattails).


1980 United States Senate elections, Milestones
This was the largest Senate swing since 1958, and was the largest Republican gain since 1946, when 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, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1981; ordered by state.


1980 United States Senate elections, Closest races
In nineteen races the margin of victory was under 10%.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Incumbent Democrat Donald Stewart decided to run for his second term, but was defeated in the primary. In November, Republican Jeremiah Denton defeated Democrat Jim Folsom, Public Service Commissioner.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alaska
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alaska
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alaska
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alaska
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Alaska
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Arkansas
Incumbent Democrat Dale Bumpers won re-election to a second term over real estate broker William Clark.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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 elections, Colorado
Incumbent Democrat Gary Hart won re-election to a second term over Mary Estill Buchanan, Colorado Secretary of State.


1980 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
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 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Florida
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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 elections, Hawaii
Incumbent Democrat Daniel Inouye was re-elected to a fourth term, defeating Republican Cooper Brown.


1980 United States Senate elections, Idaho
Incumbent Democrat Frank Church ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by Republican Steve Symms, U.S. Congressman.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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 United States Senate elections, Indiana
Incumbent Democrat Birch Bayh ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican Dan Quayle.


1980 United States Senate elections, Indiana
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Kansas
Incumbent Republican Bob Dole won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic (formerly Republican) State Senator John Simpson.


1980 United States Senate elections, Kentucky
Democrat Wendell Ford won re-election, defeating Republican Mary Louise Foust.


1980 United States Senate elections, Louisiana
Incumbent Russell B. Long ran for re-election to a seventh and final term, defeating State Representative Woody Jenkins.


1980 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Incumbent Republican Charles Mathias ran for re-election to a third term and defeated Democratic State Senator Edward T. Conroy.


1980 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Incumbent Democrat Thomas Eagleton won reelection, defeating Republican County Executive of St. Louis County Gene McNary.


1980 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Incumbent Republican won re-election to a second term over Mary Gojack, former State senator (1974–1978) and former State Assemblywoman (1972–1974).


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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 United States Senate elections, New York
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, New York
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
Incumbent Democrat Robert Morgan lost re-election a second term to Republican John East, Professor at East Carolina University.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
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 elections, 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 United States Senate elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
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 32, Nickles was the youngest Republican ever elected to the United States Senate.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Republican incumbent Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oregon
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 United States Senate elections, Oregon
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oregon
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oregon
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Oregon
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 elections, 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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
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 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Incumbent Democratic senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Marshall Mays to win his third full term.


1980 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Incumbent Democrat George McGovern ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican James Abdnor, U.S. Representative.


1980 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
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 pro-life groups especially focused on McGovern's support for pro-choice abortion laws. McGovern faced a Democratic primary challenge for the first time, from a pro-life candidate.


1980 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
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.


1980 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
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".


1980 United States Senate elections, 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 elections, Vermont
Incumbent Democrat Patrick Leahy ran successfully for reelection to a second term in the United States Senate, defeating Stewart M. Ledbetter


1980 United States Senate elections, Washington
Incumbent Democrat Warren Magnuson lost re-election to State Attorney General Slade Gorton.


1980 United States Senate elections, 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).


1980 United States census
The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was the first census in which a state – California – recorded a population of 20 million people, as well as the first in which all states recorded populations of over 300,000.


1980 United States census, Census questions
The 1980 census collected the following information from all respondents:


1980 United States census, Census questions
It was the first census not to ask for the name of the "head of household."


1980 United States census, Census questions
Approximately 16 percent of households received a "long form" of the 1980 census, which contained over 100 questions. Full documentation on the 1980 census, including census forms and a procedural history, is available from  the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.


1980 United States census, Data availability
Microdata from the 1980 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2052.


1980 United States census, State rankings
Between the 1980 census and the 1990 census, the United States population increased by approximately 22,164,837 or 9.8%.


1980 United States elections
The 1980 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 4. Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Republicans also won control of the Senate, though Democrats retained a majority in the House of Representatives. The election is sometimes referred to as part of the "Reagan Revolution", a conservative realignment in U.S. politics, and marked the start of the Reagan Era.


1980 United States elections
Reagan defeated George H. W. Bush and other candidates in the 1980 Republican presidential primaries, while Carter fended off a challenge from Senator Ted Kennedy in the 1980 Democratic primaries. In the general election, Reagan won 489 of 538 electoral votes and 50.7 percent of the popular vote, while Carter won 41.0 percent of the popular vote and independent candidate John B. Anderson took 6.6 percent of the vote.


1980 United States elections
Republicans picked up twelve Senate seats to take control of a chamber of Congress for the first time since the 1954 elections. They picked up 34 seats in the House, but Democrats retained a comfortable majority in that chamber. In the gubernatorial elections, Republicans won a net gain of four seats. This widely described as a coattail election, the first such election since Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory in 1964.


1980 United States elections, Issues, Domestic issues
The United States in the 1970s underwent "stagflation"—a wrenching period of low economic growth, high inflation and high interest rates and intermittent energy crises. These issues played a large role in the 1980 campaign.


1980 United States elections, Issues, Domestic issues
While during Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign, many voters saw his warnings about a too-powerful government as hyperbolic and only 30% of the electorate agreed that government was too powerful, by 1980 a majority of Americans believed that government held too much power.


1980 United States elections, Issues, Foreign issues
Events such as the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan played a large role in the 1980 elections. America was perceived by many to be weakening as a world power while the Soviet Union was perceived to be strengthening and expanding.


1980 United States elections, Issues, Foreign issues
At the time, 60% of Americans polled felt that United States defense spending was too low.


1980 United States elections, Federal elections, Presidential election
Republican Ronald Reagan won the election in a landslide, receiving 489 electoral votes, defeating incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter, who received 49. Reagan received the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbent presidential candidate.


1980 United States elections, Federal elections, Presidential election
Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent, received 6.6% of the vote.


1980 United States elections, Federal elections, Congressional elections, Senate elections
The 34 seats of Class III of the United States Senate were up for election. Republicans won majority control of the Senate for the first time in 26 years, picking up 12 seats and losing none.


1980 United States elections, Federal elections, Congressional elections, House of Representatives elections
Elections were held for all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Though Democrats won the nationwide popular vote by 2.6 percentage points, Republicans gained 34 seats. Nonetheless, Democrats retained a majority with 243 seats, compared to 193 seats held by Republicans.


1980 United States elections, State/territorial elections, Gubernatorial elections
Thirteen of the fifty state governorships were up for election. Four state governorships changed hands from Democrat to Republican.


1980 United States elections, State/territorial elections, Gubernatorial elections
The territorial governorships of American Samoa and Puerto Rico were also up for election.


1980 United States federal government shutdown
The United States federal government shutdown of 1980 was the first federal government shutdown in the United States. It occurred on May 1, 1980, and affected only the Federal Trade Commission for one day. Congress had allowed its funding to lapse as part of an effort to pass an authorization bill that would limit its powers, but the Carter Administration for the first time enforced a shutdown of a federal agency based on a new interpretation of the 1884 Antideficiency Act, causing new funding to be approved that evening. The shutdown caused the furlough of 1,600 employees and cost the government $700,000 (equal to $1.8 million in 2018), mostly as a result of lost labor.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Background
Prior to 1980, federal funding gaps caused by the expiration of appropriations legislation did not lead to government shutdowns. This was technically noncompliant with the Antideficiency Act, a law passed in 1884 that made it illegal to expend government funds without a Congressional appropriation under most circumstances, because it was believed that Congress did not intend the cessation of government services under these circumstances.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Background
Over the course of the 1970s, there were many funding lapses often caused by tangential issues. In the course of legislative research, a staffer for Representative Gladys Spellman came across the Antideficiency Act provisions, and Spellman contacted Comptroller General Elmer Staats for an opinion. Staats responded that "we do not believe that the Congress intends that federal agencies be closed during periods of expired appropriations". However, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti overruled this on April 25, 1980, issuing an opinion that the Antideficiency Act did require agencies to shut down during a funding gap.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Shutdown
On May 1, 1980, five days after the Civiletti opinion was issued, funding for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expired, causing the first ever shutdown of a government agency due to a lapse in appropriations. The FTC was at the time being funded through its own appropriations legislation, and the shutdown did not affect any other agencies. Congressional members had delayed the funding extension, seeking to first pass an authorization bill that would limit the investigatory and rule-making powers of the FTC, which they, and businesses, had criticized for its aggressive monitoring of economic activity. They were surprised that a shutdown was actually enforced.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Shutdown
A total of 1,600 workers were furloughed, and meetings and court dates were canceled. U.S. Marshals were dispatched to at least two FTC field offices to ensure that the facilities shut down. Confidential documents were turned over to federal security personnel to be put into storage, as it was believed that the agency might be without funding for a significant period of time; packing and unpacking of these documents added significantly to the expense of the shutdown.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Shutdown
The shutdown ended that evening, with the House approving an extension of funding 284–96, and the Senate 71–10. The shutdown was estimated to cost $700,000, of which $600,000 was for salaries. The shutdown occurred with the same party controlling the presidency and both houses of Congress, a situation that would not be repeated until the 2018 shutdown.


1980 United States federal government shutdown, Aftermath
Carter threatened to shut down the entire government if Congress did not pass appropriations legislation by the beginning of the next fiscal year on October 1, 1980, but this did not come to pass. Civiletti issued a revised opinion on January 18, 1981, that softened some aspects of the shutdown, allowing work that protects human safety or property to continue. A widespread government shutdown affecting more than one agency did occur for the first time during the Reagan administration, on November 23, 1981.


1980 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 1980, in 13 states and two territories. The Republican party had a net gain of four seats in this election, with the Senate, House elections and presidential election. This was the last election in which a Democrat won the gubernatorial contest in Utah and also the last election in which a Republican won the gubernatorial race in the state of Washington.


1980 United States gubernatorial elections, Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.


1980 United States heat wave
The 1980 United States heat wave was a period of intense heat and drought that wreaked havoc on much of the Midwestern United States and Southern Plains throughout the summer of 1980. It is among the most devastating natural disasters in terms of deaths and destruction in U.S. history, claiming at least 1,700 lives. Because of the massive drought, agricultural damage reached US$20.0 billion (equivalent to $63 billion in 2020 dollars). It is among the billion-dollar weather disasters listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


1980 United States heat wave, Causes
The heat wave began in June when a strong high pressure ridge began to build in the central and southern United States allowing temperatures to soar to 90 °F (32 °C) almost every day from June to September. The high pressure system also acted as a cap on the atmosphere inhibiting the development of thunderstorm activity, leading to exceptionally severe drought conditions. The heat wave paused briefly when the decaying Hurricane Allen disrupted the prevailing weather pattern.


1980 United States heat wave, Effects
The drought and heat wave conditions led many Midwestern cities to experience record heat. In Kansas City, Missouri, the high temperature was below 90°F (32°C) only twice and soared above the century mark (100 °F or 38 °C) for 17 days straight; in Memphis, Tennessee, the temperature reached an all-time high of 108 °F (42 °C) on July 13, 1980, part of a 15-day stretch of temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) that lasted from July 6 to 20. In Indianapolis, Indiana on July 15, the temperature reached 100 °F (38 °C) for the first time since 1954.


1980 United States heat wave, Effects
In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, high temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) a total of 69 times, including a record 42 consecutive days from June 23 to August 3, of which 28 days were above 105, and five days above 110. The area saw 29 days in which the previous record high temperature was either broken or tied, including its all-time high when the temperature hit 113 °F (45 °C) on three consecutive days (June 26 and 27 at DFW Airport and June 28 at Dallas Love Field).


1980 United States heat wave, Effects
Hurricane Allen briefly paused the heat wave in early August. The 2011 North American heat wave would ultimately surpass the 1980 heat wave in terms of number of days with highs exceeding 100 (with 71 days) and the highest-ever low temperature for a single day (86 degrees); however, that heat wave only had 40 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 100 (two short of the record) and the 113 degrees of 1980 remains a DFW all-time high. The high temperatures of the 1980 heat wave were worse than 2011, as was its early start in June and its ultimate human toll.


1980 United States heat wave, Effects
On the northern rim of the high pressure ridge, several severe long-lived windstorms called derechos formed. The most notable was the "More Trees Down Derecho" that occurred on July 5. It raced from eastern Nebraska to Virginia in 15 hours, killing six and injuring about 70. The Western Wisconsin Derecho of July 15 killed three, and caused extensive property damage.


1980 United States presidential debates
The 1980 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held for the presidential election. The League of Women Voters organized two presidential debates: the first on September 21, 1980, and the second on October 28, 1980. The second presidential debate is the second most-watched debate in American history.


1980 United States presidential debates
The Republican nominee Ronald Reagan participated in both debates. Independent candidate John B. Anderson only participated in the first debate, while the Democratic nominee and incumbent President Jimmy Carter participated in the second debate.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Negotiations
The tenative schedule for the debates, reported in August 1980, was as follows:


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Negotiations
The 1980 election featured a major third party candidate, John B. Anderson. The League of Women Voters allowed for Anderson to participate in the debate if he polled above 15%.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Negotiations
The Carter campaign, believing that a three-way debate between Carter, Reagan, and Anderson would boost Anderson's campaign, tried to push for an earlier debate only featuring Carter and Reagan This plan was supported by the chairs of the Democratic and Republican National Committee. The two-person debate did not materialize, and Carter declined to debate alongside Anderson.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Negotiations
The Vice Presidential debate was cancelled on September 29, days before it was scheduled to be held. George H. W. Bush and Walter Mondale refused to attend, leaving only Anderson's running mate Patrick Lucey accepting the invitation.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, First presidential debate (Baltimore Convention Center)
The first presidential debate was held on September 21 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The three invitees were Jimmy Carter, John B. Anderson and Ronald Reagan, though Carter refused to attend due to the presence of Anderson.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, First presidential debate (Baltimore Convention Center)
Following a strong performance by Reagan, Anderson's poll numbers began to drop; he would not be invited to the second debate.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, First presidential debate (Baltimore Convention Center), Format
The debate started at 10:00 p.m. EDT, and lasted for one hour. Anderson and Reagan both received six questions. They were given two and a half minutes to answer each question, as well as one minute and 15 seconds to rebut. Closing statements could be as long as three minutes.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall)
The second debate was held on October 28 in Cleveland, Ohio's Music Hall. The debate was held only a week before Election Day.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall)
Carter and Reagan were the only invitees. CNN attempted to include Anderson from the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. CNN's Daniel Schorr read the same questions to Anderson. They then aired Anderson's live responses along with tape delay of Carter and Reagan's responses, despite technical difficulties.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall)
Reagan's most notable moments include using the phrase "There you go again" and asking whether or not Americans were better off than they were four years ago.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall)
In 1983, Reagan's team came under fire for having access to Carter's internal debate briefing materials.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall), Format
The second presidential debate started at 9:30 p.m. EST, and lasted for 90 minutes. The debate consisted of two halves, and panelists were only allowed to offer follow-ups in the first half. Candidates Carter and Reagan both received the same 12 questions and the ability to rebut twice for one minute each.


1980 United States presidential debates, League of Women Voters-sponsored debates, Second presidential debate (Music Hall), Viewership
Nielsen Media Research states that the second presidential debate garnered 80.6 million viewers. It was the most-watched debate in American history until the first presidential debate of 2016.