1980 United States Senate election in Florida

1980 United States Senate election in Florida
	County results Hawkins: 50–60% 60–70% Gunter: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Richard Stone; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Paula Hawkins; Republican

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.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

John B. Coffey
Bill Gunter, Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative
Buddy MacKay, State Senator
James L. Miller
Richard A. Pettigrew
Richard Stone, incumbent U.S. Senator

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.^[2] 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.^[2] As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination.^{[citation needed]}

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Stone (incumbent)	355,287	32.08%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	335,859	30.33%
	Democratic	Buddy MacKay	272,538	24.61%
	Democratic	Richard A. Pettigrew	108,154	9.77%
	Democratic	James L. Miller	18,118	1.64%
	Democratic	John B. Coffey	17,410	1.57%
Total votes			1,107,366	100.00%

Democratic primary runoff results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	594,676	51.76%
	Democratic	Richard Stone (incumbent)	554,268	48.24%
Total votes			1,148,944	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Ander Crenshaw, former state representative
Lewis Dinkins
Louis Frey Jr., former U.S. Representative
Paula Hawkins, Florida Public Service Commissioner
Ellis Rubin, criminal defense attorney
John T. Ware, State Senator

Results

Republican primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	209,856	48.14%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	119,834	27.49%
	Republican	Ander Crenshaw	54,767	12.56%
	Republican	Ellis Rubin	19,990	4.59%
	Republican	John T. Ware	16,341	3.75%
	Republican	Lewis Dinkins	15,174	3.48%
Total votes			435,962	100.00%

Republican primary runoff results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	293,600	61.61%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	182,911	38.39%
Total votes			476,511	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Bill Gunter (D), Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Congressman
Paula Hawkins (R), Florida Public Service Commissioner

Results

General election results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	1,822,460	51.66%	+10.74%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	1,705,409	48.34%	+4.96%
	Write-in		0	0.00%	N/A
Total votes			3,528,028	100.00%	N/A
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

^ ^a ^b "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Abramowitz, Alan I.; Segal, Jeffrey Allan (1992). Senate Elections. University of Michigan Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-472-08192-6. Retrieved January 31, 2007. bill gunter richard stone.
^ ^a ^b "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

[clerk.house.gov-1] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022.

[SenElecBook-2] Abramowitz, Alan I.; Segal, Jeffrey Allan (1992). Senate Elections. University of Michigan Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-472-08192-6. Retrieved January 31, 2007. bill gunter richard stone.

[doe.dos.state.fl.us-3] "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

[ReferenceA-4] "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

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1980 United States Senate election in Florida

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References