1980 United States Senate election in California

1980 United States Senate election in California

November 3, 1980 (1980-11-03)

Nominee Alan Cranston Paul Gann Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,705,399 3,093,426 Percentage 56.51% 37.15%

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

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

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, won a landslide victory in the concurrent presidential election, and a target of the National Conservative Political Action Committee.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on June 3, 1980.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Alan Cranston, incumbent United States Senator
• Richard Morgan
• David Rees
• Frank L. Thomas

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston (incumbent)	2,608,746	79.91%
	Democratic	Richard Morgan	350,394	10.73%
	Democratic	Frank L. Thomas	195,351	5.98%
	Democratic	David Rees	110,125	3.37%
	Independent	Write-ins	26	0.00%
Total votes			3,264,642	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Paul Gann, political activist
• Rayburn Hanzlik, former Nixon and Ford staffer
• Brian Hyndman
• John G. Schmitz, State Senator and American Independent Party candidate for President in 1972
• Philip Schwartz
• Sam Yorty, former Mayor of Los Angeles, and Democratic nominee in 1954
• James A. Ware, nominee for Controller in 1978

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Gann	934,433	40.00%
	Republican	Sam Yorty	668,583	28.62%
	Republican	John G. Schmitz	442,839	18.96%
	Republican	James A. Ware	95,155	4.07%
	Republican	Rayburn Hanzlik	76,268	3.27%
	Republican	Philip Schwartz	68,790	2.95%
	Republican	Brian Hyndman	50,122	2.15%
Total votes			2,336,190	100.00

Results

Shift by county

Trend by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%
•   Democratic — +12.5−15%
•   Democratic — >15%

1980 United States Senate election, California^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston (incumbent)	4,705,399	56.51%
	Republican	Paul Gann	3,093,426	37.15%
	Libertarian	David Bergland	202,481	2.43%
	Peace and Freedom	David Wald	196,354	2.36%
	American Independent	James C. Griffin	129,648	1.56%
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1980 United States Senate elections

References

1. Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
2. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1980".