1978 United States Senate election in Delaware

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1978 United States Senate election in Delaware
Flag of Delaware.svg
  1972 November 7, 1978 1984  
  Portrait of Senator Joe Biden circa 1978-79.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Joe Biden James H. Baxter Jr.
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote93,93066,479
Percentage57.96%41.02%

1978 United States Senate election in Delaware results map by county.svg
US Senate 1978 Delaware by State House District.svg
Biden:

     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Baxter:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Joe Biden
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Joe Biden
Democratic

The 1978 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic senator Joe Biden won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger James H. Baxter Jr. in a landslide victory. This is the first of five elections in which Biden won all counties.

Contents

Republican primary

The Republican Party primary was held on September 9, 1978. Venema was previously an independent before declaring himself a candidate in March 1978. Candidates Venema and Baxter were described by The Washington Post as being "two think-alike Reagan conservatives" but differed in terms of background and "personal style". [1]

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican James H. Baxter Jr. 12,107 53.74%
Republican James Allyn Venema [3] 10,42246.26%
Total votes22,662 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Results

General election results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (incumbent) 93,930 57.96% +7.48%
Republican James H. Baxter Jr. 66,47941.02%-8.08%
American Donald G. Gies1,6631.02%+0.68%
Majority27,45116.94%+15.56%
Turnout 162,072
Democratic hold Swing

County results

County [9] [10] Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Democratic

James H. Baxter Jr.

Republican

Donald G. Gies

American

Total votes cast
#%#%#%
Kent 12,86059.95%8,48539.95%1070.5%21,452
New Castle 66,25658.87%44,83439.84%1,4491.29%112,539
Sussex 14,81452.75%13,16046.86%1070.38%28,081
Total93,93057.96%66,47941.02%1,6631.03%162,072

Results by state representative district

District [9] [10] Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Democratic

James H. Baxter Jr.

Republican

Donald G. Gies

American

Total votes cast
District 12,8521,336274,215
District 21,247248151,510
District 31,238263101,511
District 41,491470121,973
District 52,423496332,952
District 63,0661,956445,066
District 71,9651,774373,776
District 81,9531,400553,408
District 91,8121,548883,448
District 102,5392,254534,846
District 112,6272,999675,693
District 122,5282,620545,202
District 132,2273,416415,684
District 142,7122,150534,915
District 152,951944463,941
District 162,3151,463553,833
District 171,757597262,380
District 181,960571312,562
District 192,5411,304663,911
District 202,1391,085773,301
District 212,3401,434523,826
District 222,6641,993554,712
District 232,2091,903694,181
District 242,4451,685784,208
District 252,3931,743654,201
District 261,370967362,373
District 273,2292,938776,244
District 282,6111,697714,379
District 292,6521,580564,288
District 302,7521,668224,442
District 312,3581,483183,859
District 322,1291,867164,012
District 332,2131,322143,549
District 341,037694101,741
District 352,3711,451273,849
District 362,5952,128314,754
District 373,0943,112216,227
District 382,4112,108234,542
District 392,0862,039164,141
District 402,2381,77084,016
District 412,3902,00384,401
Total93,93066,4791,663162,072

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Edmonds, Rick (September 9, 1978). "Conservative Rivals Face Delaware Vote". The Washington Post (Digital). Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "James H. Baxter Jr., farmer, politician". Cape Gazette . August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "James Allyn Venema". Legacy.com. delawareonline. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  4. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - James E. Venema". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  5. "Our Campaigns - DE US Senate- R Primary Race - Sep 09, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  6. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Donald G. Gies". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. "DONALD GIES". Legacy.com. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  8. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Wrightson, Lewis. STATE OF DELAWARE: Official Results of General Election (PDF). p. 12.
  10. 1 2 "Our Campaigns - DE US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.