| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
County results Mattingly: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Talmadge: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
|
Elections 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.
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.
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.
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% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Herman Talmadge (incumbent) | 559,615 | 58.58% | |
Democratic | Zell Miller | 395,773 | 41.43% | |
Total votes | 955,388 | 100.00% |
Mattingly was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
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% |
Zell Bryan Miller was an American politician who served as a United States senator representing Georgia from 2000 to 2005 and as the 79th governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
John Hardy Isakson was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia legislature and the United States House of Representatives.
Reagan's coattails refers to the influence of Ronald Reagan's popularity in elections other than his own, after the American political expression to "ride in on another's coattails". Chiefly, it refers to the "Reagan Revolution" accompanying his 1980 election to the U.S. presidency. This victory was accompanied by the change of twelve seats in the United States Senate from Democratic to Republican hands, producing a Republican majority in the Senate for the first time since 1954.
Herman Eugene Talmadge was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a U.S. senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. A Democrat, Talmadge served during a time of political transition, both in Georgia and nationally. He began his career as a staunch segregationist known for his opposition to civil rights, including supporting legislation that would have closed public schools to prevent desegregation. By the later stages of his career, following the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, which gave substance to the Fifteenth Amendment enacted nearly one hundred years before, and increased African American voter participation, Talmadge, like many other Southern politicians of that period, had modified his views on race. His life eventually encapsulated the emergence of his native Georgia from entrenched white supremacy into a multiracial political culture where many white voters regularly elect Black and other non-white candidates to the U.S. Congress and Georgia General Assembly.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 1980, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.
Mack Francis Mattingly is an American diplomat and politician from Georgia who served as a member of the United States Senate for one term from 1981 to 1987. He was the first Republican to have served in the U.S. Senate from that state since the Reconstruction era, and was also the first Republican ever to have been elected to the United States Senate from Georgia by popular vote.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, 1968, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked 5 net seats up in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. The runoff election took place on December 2, 2008. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, first elected in 2002, sought re-election to his position as a United States Senator from Georgia. He was challenged by Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley. After a runoff election on December 2, Chambliss was elected.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in Georgia after elections in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller decided to retire instead of seeking a first full term in office, leaving an open seat.
The 1990 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller ran for governor after incumbent Joe Frank Harris was term-limited, defeating Andrew Young, Roy Barnes, and Lester Maddox for the Democratic nomination, and defeated Johnny Isakson, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. As of 2022, this is the last time that Dade, Walker, Whitfield, Murray, Gilmer, Fannin, Floyd, Gordon, Pickens, Dawson, Forsyth, Hall, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, White, Walton, Paulding, Carroll, Coweta, Troup, Spalding, Pike, Harris, Glynn, Camden, Bryan, and Effingham counties voted for the Democratic candidate for governor.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 3, 1992. In the general election, which occurred simultaneously with the presidential election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler received more votes, but did not achieve a simple majority. Under Georgia law, this demanded a runoff. Paul Coverdell, the former Director of the Peace Corps, edged out Fowler in the November 24 runoff by a narrow margin, flipping the seat to the Republicans. It was the first Senate runoff election to be held in Georgia since runoffs were first mandated in 1964. This was the third consecutive election for this Senate seat where the incumbent was defeated.
The 2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller, who was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes to replace the deceased Paul Coverdell, overwhelmingly won election to serve the remainder of the term. Miller defeated Republican Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. Senator in a landslide of over 20 points, carrying 149 of the state's 159 counties.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Sam Nunn decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Democratic Secretary of State Max Cleland won the open seat over Republican businessman Guy Millner.
The 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Governor Zell Miller was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, therefore creating an open seat. To replace him, State Representative Roy Barnes won the Democratic Party's nomination after a close and highly contested primary election, while businessman Guy Millner, who had run for Governor and the United States Senate in the previous four years, won the nomination of the Republican Party.
The 1992 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1992, and was part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1994 Georgia gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 1994, to elect the next governor of Georgia from 1995 to 1999. Incumbent Democratic Governor Zell Miller, first elected in 1990, ran for a second term. In his party's primary, Miller received three challengers, but easily prevailed with just over 70% of the vote. The contest for the Republican nomination, however, was a competitive race. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, John Knox and Guy Millner advanced to a run-off election. Millner was victorious and received the Republican nomination after garnering 59.41% of the vote.
The 1988 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Georgia was won by incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
The 1956 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Walter F. George did not run for re-election.
The 1962 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1962. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herman Talmadge was re-elected to a second consecutive term in office, winning large victories in the primary and general elections.
The 1968 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herman Talmadge was re-elected to a third consecutive term in office, winning large victories in the primary and general elections.