1984 United States Senate election in Iowa

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1984 United States Senate election in Iowa
Flag of Iowa (xrmap collection).svg
  1978 November 6, 1984 1990  
  Tom Harkin 1979 congressional photo.jpg Roger Jepsen.JPG
Nominee Tom Harkin Roger Jepsen
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote716,883564,381
Percentage55.46%43.66%

1984 United States Senate election in Iowa results map by county.svg
County results
Harkin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Jepsen:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Roger Jepsen
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Tom Harkin
Democratic

The 1984 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican Senator Roger Jepsen ran for re-election to a second term in office. Jepsen was opposed by U.S. Representative Tom Harkin, from Iowa's 5th congressional district, who won the Democratic primary uncontested.

Contents

The general election was full of mudslinging and personal attacks, including the embellishment by both candidates of their military records; Harkin attacked Jepsen for failing to keep his promise to not sell AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia. [1] Ultimately, Harkin defeated Jepsen in a landslide 152,502 votes, winning the first of five terms in the Senate. This is the last time that a Senator from Iowa lost re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tom Harkin 106,005 99.93%
Democratic Write-ins700.07%
Total votes106,075 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Roger Jepsen (incumbent) 113,996 99.87%
Republican Write-ins1470.13%
Total votes114,143 100.00%

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1984 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Tom Harkin 716,883 55.46% +7.54%
Republican Roger Jepsen (incumbent)564,38143.66%−7.47%
Independent Garry De Young11,0140.85%
Write-in 4220.03%
Majority152,50211.80%+8.58%
Turnout 1,292,700
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

See also

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References

  1. "Down and Dirty | News | the Harvard Crimson".
  2. 1 2 "Summary of Official Canvass of Votes Cat in Iowa Primary Election June 5, 1984" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State.
  3. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1985). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1984" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.