1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 1978, to elect the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Two-term popular incumbent Republican U.S. Senator, Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Minority Leader since 1977, won re-election over first-time candidate and Democratic Party activist Jane Eskind.
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November 7, 1978
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 County results Baker: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Eskind: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates:
- Incumbent United States Senator and Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker
- J. Durelle Boles
- Harvey Howard
- Hubert David Patty
- Dayton Seiler
- Francis Trapp
Baker easily won the August 3 primary:[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 205,680 | 83.44% | |
| Republican | Harvey Howard | 21,154 | 8.58% | |
| Republican | James Boles | 8,899 | 3.61% | |
| Republican | Hubert Patty | 3,941 | 1.60% | |
| Republican | Dayton Seiler | 3,831 | 1.55% | |
| Republican | Francis Trapp | 2,994 | 1.22% | |
| Total votes | 246,499 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates:
- Jame Boyd
- Walter Bradley
- Former State Senate Majority Leader Bill Bruce
- Jane Eskind
- James Foster
- Douglas L. Heinsohn
- J. D. Lee
- Virginia Nyabongo
- Charles Gordon Vick
In an open primary on August 3, Eskind defeated eight other candidates:[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jane Eskind | 196,156 | 34.52% | |
| Democratic | Bill Bruce | 170,795 | 30.06% | |
| Democratic | J.D. Lee | 89,939 | 15.83% | |
| Democratic | James Boyd | 48,458 | 8.53% | |
| Democratic | Walter Bradley | 22,130 | 3.90% | |
| Democratic | Douglas Heinsohn | 17,787 | 3.13% | |
| Democratic | James Foster | 10,671 | 1.88% | |
| Democratic | Virginia Nyabongo | 7,682 | 1.35% | |
| Democratic | Charles Vick | 4,414 | 0.78% | |
| Write-ins | Write-in | 147 | 0.03% | |
| Total votes | 568,179 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Baker won with a 15-point margin in the general election, held on November 7:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 642,644 | 55.54% | |
| Democratic | Jane Eskind | 466,228 | 40.30% | |
| Independent | Thomas J. Anderson | 45,908 | 3.97% | |
| Independent | Fern L. Keasler | 2,243 | 0.19% | |
| Republican hold | ||||
By county
| County | Howard Baker, Jr. Republican |
Jane Eskind Democratic |
Others Independent |
Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | # | % | # | % | # | ||
| Anderson | 62.9% | 13,098 | 32.5% | 6,777 | 4.6% | 949 | 20,824 |
| Bedford | 51.0% | 3,730 | 46.2% | 3,384 | 2.8% | 203 | 7,317 |
| Benton | 47.0% | 2,319 | 50.0% | 2,465 | 2.9% | 145 | 4,929 |
| Bledsoe | 53.5% | 1,537 | 42.1% | 1,211 | 4.4% | 127 | 2,875 |
| Blount | 62.7% | 13,751 | 31.4% | 6,891 | 6.0% | 1,306 | 21,948 |
| Bradley | 59.3% | 7,507 | 32.3% | 4,091 | 8.4% | 1,061 | 12,659 |
| Campbell | 55.8% | 4,019 | 38.8% | 2,792 | 5.4% | 388 | 7,199 |
| Cannon | 51.2% | 1,476 | 46.1% | 1,330 | 2.7% | 77 | 2,883 |
| Carroll | 56.5% | 5,057 | 40.7% | 3,645 | 2.8% | 254 | 8,956 |
| Carter | 66.3% | 8,320 | 28.3% | 3,554 | 5.4% | 679 | 12,553 |
| Cheatham | 49.1% | 2,359 | 46.8% | 2,248 | 4.2% | 200 | 4,807 |
| Chester | 55.3% | 2,054 | 42.5% | 1,580 | 2.2% | 81 | 3,715 |
| Claiborne | 55.5% | 2,796 | 38.3% | 1,931 | 6.2% | 313 | 5,040 |
| Clay | 52.6% | 1,223 | 45.0% | 1,046 | 2.4% | 56 | 2,325 |
| Cocke | 60.2% | 3,895 | 32.4% | 2,096 | 7.5% | 483 | 6,474 |
| Coffee | 52.6% | 5,455 | 43.5% | 4,517 | 3.9% | 400 | 10,372 |
| Crockett | 52.7% | 2,054 | 41.6% | 1,622 | 5.7% | 223 | 3,899 |
| Cumberland | 54.7% | 4,375 | 36.9% | 2,952 | 8.4% | 671 | 7,998 |
| Davidson | 52.9% | 69,163 | 44.2% | 57,791 | 2.9% | 3,805 | 130,759 |
| Decatur | 54.5% | 2,001 | 42.9% | 1,577 | 2.6% | 96 | 3,674 |
| DeKalb | 48.3% | 1,741 | 48.7% | 1,754 | 3.0% | 107 | 3,602 |
| Dickson | 47.1% | 3,938 | 49.9% | 4,171 | 3.1% | 257 | 8,366 |
| Dyer | 47.5% | 3,621 | 38.9% | 2,968 | 13.7% | 1,042 | 7,631 |
| Fayette | 44.9% | 2,366 | 51.7% | 2,726 | 3.4% | 181 | 5,273 |
| Fentress | 53.2% | 1,627 | 42.1% | 1,289 | 4.7% | 143 | 3,059 |
| Franklin | 46.9% | 3,520 | 49.2% | 3,692 | 3.9% | 294 | 7,506 |
| Gibson | 52.4% | 6,782 | 45.0% | 5,830 | 2.6% | 342 | 12,954 |
| Giles | 42.3% | 2,188 | 51.8% | 2,682 | 5.9% | 308 | 5,178 |
| Grainger | 61.8% | 2,472 | 32.4% | 1,295 | 5.8% | 233 | 4,000 |
| Greene | 63.0% | 8,025 | 31.8% | 4,042 | 5.2% | 663 | 12,730 |
| Grundy | 40.3% | 994 | 56.2% | 1,384 | 3.5% | 86 | 2,464 |
| Hamblen | 60.0% | 7,714 | 35.6% | 4,574 | 4.4% | 570 | 12,858 |
| Hamilton | 55.7% | 35,649 | 37.5% | 23,987 | 6.9% | 4,405 | 64,041 |
| Hancock | 66.7% | 1,019 | 31.3% | 478 | 2.0% | 30 | 1,527 |
| Hardeman | 47.3% | 2,465 | 48.8% | 2,542 | 3.9% | 201 | 5,208 |
| Hardin | 59.2% | 3,290 | 38.4% | 2,135 | 2.3% | 129 | 5,554 |
| Hawkins | 61.9% | 6,261 | 34.8% | 3,524 | 3.3% | 336 | 10,121 |
| Haywood | 47.6% | 2,317 | 46.8% | 2,281 | 5.6% | 274 | 4,872 |
| Henderson | 64.6% | 3,958 | 33.2% | 2,034 | 2.3% | 138 | 6,130 |
| Henry | 49.4% | 3,661 | 45.6% | 3,380 | 5.1% | 375 | 7,416 |
| Hickman | 43.8% | 1,860 | 51.1% | 2,170 | 5.2% | 219 | 4,249 |
| Houston | 38.1% | 720 | 59.0% | 1,116 | 3.0% | 56 | 1,892 |
| Humphreys | 43.3% | 2,125 | 53.0% | 2,602 | 3.7% | 183 | 4,910 |
| Jackson | 39.5% | 1,068 | 57.6% | 1,557 | 2.9% | 79 | 2,704 |
| Jefferson | 61.4% | 4,975 | 30.8% | 2,497 | 7.8% | 629 | 8,101 |
| Johnson | 77.5% | 2,690 | 20.3% | 705 | 2.2% | 77 | 3,472 |
| Knox | 62.6% | 57,348 | 31.2% | 28,612 | 6.1% | 5,625 | 91,585 |
| Lake | 39.4% | 582 | 57.9% | 855 | 2.7% | 40 | 1,477 |
| Lauderdale | 43.5% | 2,417 | 51.8% | 2,878 | 4.7% | 262 | 5,557 |
| Lawrence | 58.4% | 5,846 | 39.2% | 3,923 | 2.4% | 236 | 10,005 |
| Lewis | 44.5% | 1,099 | 51.4% | 1,270 | 4.1% | 102 | 2,471 |
| Lincoln | 44.5% | 2,266 | 53.0% | 2,702 | 2.5% | 129 | 5,097 |
| Loudon | 60.4% | 4,878 | 33.0% | 2,664 | 6.6% | 531 | 8,073 |
| Macon | 66.8% | 2,179 | 31.2% | 1,018 | 1.9% | 63 | 3,260 |
| Madison | 57.1% | 11,174 | 39.4% | 7,704 | 3.5% | 677 | 19,555 |
| Marion | 49.9% | 2,932 | 46.2% | 2,712 | 3.9% | 227 | 5,871 |
| Marshall | 49.9% | 2,674 | 46.0% | 2,463 | 4.2% | 223 | 5,360 |
| Maury | 62.7% | 7,459 | 33.7% | 4,006 | 3.6% | 431 | 11,896 |
| McMinn | 62.1% | 6,159 | 35.0% | 3,467 | 3.0% | 293 | 9,919 |
| McNairy | 56.6% | 3,734 | 41.6% | 2,744 | 1.9% | 124 | 6,602 |
| Meigs | 54.6% | 1,076 | 41.9% | 825 | 3.5% | 68 | 1,969 |
| Monroe | 57.4% | 5,178 | 40.5% | 3,651 | 2.2% | 195 | 9,024 |
| Montgomery | 53.2% | 8,089 | 43.7% | 6,645 | 3.2% | 481 | 15,215 |
| Moore | 51.4% | 579 | 45.3% | 510 | 3.3% | 37 | 1,126 |
| Morgan | 49.6% | 2,037 | 44.5% | 1,827 | 5.8% | 240 | 4,104 |
| Obion | 44.9% | 3,082 | 49.4% | 3,385 | 5.7% | 390 | 6,857 |
| Overton | 46.5% | 1,928 | 50.4% | 2,087 | 3.1% | 127 | 4,142 |
| Perry | 47.0% | 909 | 50.7% | 981 | 2.3% | 45 | 1,935 |
| Pickett | 60.8% | 940 | 37.7% | 583 | 1.5% | 23 | 1,546 |
| Polk | 47.0% | 1,744 | 49.8% | 1,847 | 3.2% | 119 | 3,710 |
| Putnam | 55.4% | 6,801 | 42.0% | 5,159 | 2.6% | 324 | 12,284 |
| Rhea | 55.7% | 2,820 | 39.5% | 2,002 | 4.8% | 245 | 5,067 |
| Roane | 60.2% | 8,474 | 34.6% | 4,873 | 5.2% | 727 | 14,074 |
| Robertson | 46.4% | 3,870 | 50.6% | 4,224 | 3.0% | 250 | 8,344 |
| Rutherford | 56.2% | 10,841 | 39.9% | 7,697 | 4.0% | 765 | 19,303 |
| Scott | 66.3% | 2,215 | 29.6% | 988 | 4.2% | 140 | 3,343 |
| Sequatchie | 47.9% | 993 | 46.3% | 958 | 5.8% | 120 | 2,071 |
| Sevier | 60.7% | 6,078 | 26.5% | 2,659 | 12.8% | 1,279 | 10,016 |
| Shelby | 52.2% | 103,985 | 45.6% | 90,744 | 2.2% | 4,363 | 199,092 |
| Smith | 45.9% | 1,703 | 51.4% | 1,907 | 2.7% | 101 | 3,711 |
| Stewart | 42.8% | 1,015 | 55.0% | 1,306 | 2.2% | 52 | 2,373 |
| Sullivan | 62.2% | 21,909 | 33.5% | 11,800 | 4.4% | 1,542 | 35,251 |
| Sumner | 56.5% | 10,528 | 40.2% | 7,502 | 3.3% | 620 | 18,650 |
| Tipton | 52.3% | 3,726 | 42.9% | 3,057 | 4.7% | 335 | 7,118 |
| Trousdale | 44.0% | 663 | 54.2% | 817 | 1.9% | 28 | 1,508 |
| Unicoi | 66.3% | 2,823 | 28.7% | 1,222 | 4.9% | 210 | 4,255 |
| Union | 50.9% | 1,770 | 44.1% | 1,534 | 5.0% | 174 | 3,478 |
| Van Buren | 47.0% | 579 | 49.6% | 611 | 3.4% | 42 | 1,232 |
| Warren | 47.7% | 3,449 | 48.1% | 3,476 | 4.2% | 307 | 7,232 |
| Washington | 64.4% | 13,611 | 30.4% | 6,428 | 5.1% | 1,083 | 21,122 |
| Wayne | 69.3% | 2,793 | 29.7% | 1,198 | 0.9% | 38 | 4,029 |
| Weakley | 41.0% | 3,032 | 48.0% | 3,547 | 11.0% | 809 | 7,388 |
| White | 54.7% | 2,294 | 41.0% | 1,720 | 4.3% | 179 | 4,193 |
| Williamson | 65.6% | 10,182 | 30.9% | 4,800 | 3.4% | 529 | 15,511 |
| Wilson | 53.1% | 6,946 | 43.8% | 5,725 | 3.0% | 398 | 13,069 |
| Total | 55.5% | 642,644 | 40.3% | 466,228 | 4.2% | 48,222 | 1,157,094 |