Leahy was elected to the United States Senate for the first time in 1974, succeeding retiring 34-year incumbent George Aiken. At 34 years old, he was the youngest Senator in Vermont history. Leahy was nearly defeated in 1980 by Republican Stewart Ledbetter, winning by only 2,700 votes amid Ronald Reagan's landslide victory. In 1986, he faced what was on paper an even stronger challenger in former governor Richard Snelling, but Leahy turned back this challenge, taking 63 percent of the vote. In 1992, he faced another opponent in Secretary of State of Vermont Jim Douglas, winning by 11 points.