1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia

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1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Flag of West Virginia.svg
  1972 November 7, 1978 1984  
  Jennings Randolph headshot.jpg Arch A. Moore, Jr..jpg
Nominee Jennings Randolph Arch Moore
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote249,034244,317
Percentage50.48%49.52%

1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia results map by county.svg
County results
Randolph:      50–60%     60–70%
Moore:      50–60%     60–70%     70-80%

U.S. senator before election

Jennings Randolph
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Jennings Randolph
Democratic

The 1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jennings Randolph was re-elected to a fifth term and a fourth full term in office, narrowly defeating Republican former Governor Arch Moore. Despite his defeat, Moore's daughter, Shelley Moore Capito, would later win election to this seat in 2014, becoming the first female Senator from the state. This was the closest of the five contests Randolph faced for a full term.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1978 Democratic Senate primary [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jennings Randolph (incumbent) 181,480 80.49%
Democratic Sharon Rogers43,99119.51%
Total votes225,471 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

1978 Democratic Senate primary [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Arch Moore 90,406 90.57%
Republican Donald G. Michels9,4149.43%
Total votes99,820 100.00%

General election

Results

General election results [3] [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Jennings Randolph (incumbent) 249,034 50.48% Decrease2.svg15.97
Republican Arch Moore 244,31749.52%Increase2.svg15.97
Total votes493,351 100.00%
Democratic hold

See also

References

  1. "Our Campaigns - WV US Senate- D Primary Race - May 09, 1978".
  2. "Our Campaigns - WV US Senate- R Primary Race - May 09, 1978".
  3. "Our Campaigns - WV US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
  4. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 11, 2020.