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.

1980 United States Senate election in Georgia

← 1974 November 4, 1980 1986 →

Nominee Mack Mattingly Herman Talmadge Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 803,686 776,143 Percentage 50.87% 49.13%

County results Mattingly:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Talmadge:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Herman Talmadge Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly Republican

Mattingly became the first Republican Senator from the state since Reconstruction in 1873. This marked the first time that a Republican served a full term in the state's history. This race was part of a landslide national election for Republicans that would come to be known as the Reagan Revolution.^[1]

As of 2024, this is the last time an incumbent Democratic Senator lost a bid for re-election while the Democratic nominee for president simultaneously carried that same state's electoral votes.^{[lower-alpha 1]} This is also the only U.S. Senate election (as of 2024) in which the Republican nominee carried Fulton County in its current form.

This election was the first time ever that a Republican was elected to the United States Senate from Georgia by popular vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• John Francis Collins
• Dawson Mathis, U.S. Representative from Albany
• Zell Miller, Lieutenant Governor
• J. B. Stoner, white supremacist and terrorist
• Herman Talmadge, incumbent Senator since 1957
• Norman Underwood, Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals

Campaign

Talmadge's ethical issues made him uniquely vulnerable, especially after being censured in 1979. 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.^[2]

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.

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herman Talmadge (incumbent)	432,215	41.99%
	Democratic	Zell Miller	247,766	24.07%
	Democratic	Norman Underwood	183,683	17.85%
	Democratic	Dawson Mathis	133,729	12.99%
	Democratic	J. B. Stoner	19,664	1.91%
	Democratic	John F. Collins	12,243	1.19%
Total votes			1,029,300	100.00%

Democratic primary runoff results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herman Talmadge (incumbent)	559,615	58.58%
	Democratic	Zell Miller	395,773	41.43%
Total votes			955,388	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mack Mattingly, businessman and Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party

Mattingly was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Results

1980 United States Senate election, Georgia^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mack Mattingly	803,686	50.87%	+22.63%
	Democratic	Herman Talmadge (incumbent)	776,143	49.13%	−22.63%
Majority			27,543	1.74%	−41.78%
Turnout			1,579,829
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	22.63%

See also

• 1980 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. In 1992, Bill Clinton carried the electoral votes of Georgia, but incumbent Democratic Senator Wyche Fowler lost re-election. However, this did not occur on the same day as the presidential election. In fact, Fowler won the popular vote by a margin of 49% to 48% in the first round, which was simultaneous with the presidential election. However, because no candidate achieved >50% of the vote, a runoff was required, which the Democrat lost 51% to 49% on November 24, three weeks later.

References

1. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022.
2. Harris, Art (August 23, 1980). "Drawlin' and Brawlin'". Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
3. "GA US Senate – D Primary, 1980". OurCampaigns. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
4. "GA US Senate – D Runoff, 1980". OurCampaigns. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
5. "United States Senator". Our Campaigns. Retrieved January 1, 2009.