1980 United States Senate election in California
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The 1980 United States Senate election in California took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Alan Cranston easily won re-election to a third term, even as the state's former Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, won a landslide victory in the concurrent presidential election, and a target of the National Conservative Political Action Committee.
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November 3, 1980
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 County results Cranston: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Gann: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Primary elections
Primary elections were held on June 3, 1980.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Alan Cranston, incumbent United States Senator
- Richard Morgan
- David Rees
- Frank L. Thomas
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Cranston (incumbent) | 2,608,746 | 79.91% | |
| Democratic | Richard Morgan | 350,394 | 10.73% | |
| Democratic | Frank L. Thomas | 195,351 | 5.98% | |
| Democratic | David Rees | 110,125 | 3.37% | |
| Independent | Write-ins | 26 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 3,264,642 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Paul Gann, political activist
- Rayburn Hanzlik, former Nixon and Ford staffer
- Brian Hyndman
- John G. Schmitz, State Senator and American Independent Party candidate for president in 1972
- Philip Schwartz
- Sam Yorty, former Mayor of Los Angeles, and Democratic nominee in 1954
- James A. Ware, nominee for Controller in 1978
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Gann | 934,433 | 40.00% | |
| Republican | Sam Yorty | 668,583 | 28.62% | |
| Republican | John G. Schmitz | 442,839 | 18.96% | |
| Republican | James A. Ware | 95,155 | 4.07% | |
| Republican | Rayburn Hanzlik | 76,268 | 3.27% | |
| Republican | Philip Schwartz | 68,790 | 2.95% | |
| Republican | Brian Hyndman | 50,122 | 2.15% | |
| Total votes | 2,336,190 | 100.00 | ||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Cranston (incumbent) | 4,705,399 | 56.51% | ||
| Republican | Paul Gann | 3,093,426 | 37.15% | ||
| Libertarian | David Bergland | 202,481 | 2.43% | ||
| Peace and Freedom | David Wald | 196,354 | 2.36% | ||
| American Independent | James C. Griffin | 129,648 | 1.56% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Results by county
| County | Alan Cranston Democratic |
Paul Gann Republican |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 273,332 | 66.8% | 108,790 | 26.6% | 27,079 | 6.6% | 164,542 | 40.2% | 409,201 |
| Alpine | 242 | 53.3% | 169 | 37.2% | 43 | 9.5% | 73 | 16.1% | 454 |
| Amador | 4,591 | 48.4% | 4,112 | 43.4% | 775 | 8.2% | 479 | 5.0% | 9,478 |
| Butte | 31,359 | 48.5% | 28,014 | 43.3% | 5,284 | 8.2% | 3,345 | 5.2% | 64,657 |
| Calaveras | 4,484 | 46.1% | 4,257 | 43.8% | 977 | 10.0% | 227 | 2.3% | 9,718 |
| Colusa | 2,579 | 56.2% | 1,562 | 34.1% | 445 | 9.7% | 1,017 | 22.1% | 4,586 |
| Contra Costa | 170,685 | 60.3% | 95,943 | 33.9% | 16,371 | 5.7% | 74,742 | 26.4% | 282,999 |
| Del Norte | 3,255 | 50.7% | 2,384 | 37.1% | 782 | 12.2% | 871 | 13.6% | 6,421 |
| El Dorado | 16,305 | 45.6% | 16,345 | 45.7% | 3,112 | 8.8% | -40 | -0.1% | 35,762 |
| Fresno | 94,164 | 60.4% | 54,073 | 34.7% | 7,739 | 5.0% | 40,091 | 25.7% | 155,976 |
| Glenn | 4,079 | 49.9% | 3,618 | 44.2% | 482 | 5.9% | 461 | 5.7% | 8,179 |
| Humboldt | 27,698 | 57.9% | 15,610 | 32.6% | 4,540 | 9.5% | 12,088 | 25.3% | 47,848 |
| Imperial | 12,946 | 59.2% | 7,355 | 33.6% | 1,568 | 7.2% | 5,591 | 25.6% | 21,869 |
| Inyo | 3,179 | 40.2% | 4,172 | 52.8% | 555 | 7.1% | -993 | -12.6% | 7,906 |
| Kern | 66,943 | 55.6% | 44,997 | 37.4% | 8,419 | 7.0% | 21,946 | 18.2% | 120,359 |
| Kings | 11,089 | 59.2% | 6,634 | 35.4% | 1,066 | 5.4% | 4,455 | 23.8% | 18,729 |
| Lake | 8,723 | 52.9% | 6,543 | 39.7% | 1,213 | 7.4% | 2,180 | 13.2% | 16,479 |
| Lassen | 4,220 | 54.2% | 2,872 | 36.9% | 695 | 8.9% | 1,348 | 17.3% | 7,787 |
| Los Angeles | 1,348,919 | 57.0% | 894,712 | 37.8% | 123,557 | 5.2% | 454,207 | 19.2% | 2,367,188 |
| Madera | 10,562 | 58.1% | 6,505 | 35.8% | 1,103 | 6.1% | 4,057 | 22.3% | 18,170 |
| Marin | 68,464 | 64.3% | 30,921 | 29.1% | 7,011 | 6.6% | 37,453 | 35.2% | 106,396 |
| Mariposa | 2,879 | 52.4% | 2,171 | 39.5% | 445 | 8.0% | 708 | 12.9% | 5,495 |
| Mendocino | 15,744 | 56.9% | 9,013 | 32.6% | 2,920 | 10.6% | 6,731 | 24.3% | 27,677 |
| Merced | 20,053 | 59.5% | 10,590 | 31.4% | 3,044 | 9.0% | 9,463 | 28.1% | 33,687 |
| Modoc | 1,784 | 45.7% | 1,848 | 47.3% | 273 | 6.9% | -64 | -1.6% | 3,905 |
| Mono | 1,459 | 43.6% | 1,609 | 48.1% | 275 | 8.2% | -150 | -4.5% | 3,343 |
| Monterey | 52,180 | 62.0% | 26,966 | 32.0% | 5,057 | 6.0% | 25,214 | 30.0% | 84,203 |
| Napa | 23,503 | 56.7% | 15,369 | 37.1% | 2,588 | 6.2% | 8,134 | 19.6% | 41,460 |
| Nevada | 10,252 | 40.9% | 12,080 | 48.2% | 2,722 | 10.9% | -1,828 | -7.3% | 25,054 |
| Orange | 335,720 | 43.8% | 380,762 | 49.7% | 49,470 | 6.5% | -45,042 | -5.9% | 765,952 |
| Placer | 24,373 | 49.0% | 20,950 | 42.1% | 4,429 | 8.9% | 3,423 | 6.9% | 49,752 |
| Plumas | 3,654 | 48.5% | 2,972 | 39.4% | 913 | 12.0% | 682 | 9.1% | 7,539 |
| Riverside | 121,407 | 50.7% | 103,583 | 43.2% | 14,650 | 6.1% | 17,824 | 7.5% | 239,640 |
| Sacramento | 178,243 | 56.7% | 110,579 | 35.2% | 25,467 | 8.0% | 67,664 | 21.5% | 314,289 |
| San Benito | 4,612 | 65.2% | 1,930 | 27.3% | 537 | 7.6% | 2,682 | 37.9% | 7,079 |
| San Bernardino | 143,992 | 50.9% | 123,024 | 43.5% | 15,964 | 5.7% | 20,968 | 7.4% | 282,980 |
| San Diego | 361,742 | 54.0% | 266,877 | 39.8% | 41,335 | 6.2% | 94,865 | 14.2% | 669,954 |
| San Francisco | 188,239 | 75.6% | 46,415 | 18.6% | 14,481 | 5.8% | 141,824 | 57.0% | 249,135 |
| San Joaquin | 62,183 | 54.4% | 45,208 | 39.6% | 6,899 | 6.0% | 16,975 | 14.8% | 114,290 |
| San Luis Obispo | 38,995 | 57.4% | 23,863 | 35.1% | 5,136 | 7.6% | 15,132 | 22.3% | 67,994 |
| San Mateo | 145,208 | 63.6% | 61,810 | 27.1% | 21,244 | 9.3% | 83,398 | 36.5% | 228,262 |
| Santa Barbara | 73,570 | 58.6% | 44,451 | 35.4% | 7,443 | 6.0% | 29,119 | 23.2% | 125,464 |
| Santa Clara | 280,732 | 60.8% | 150,423 | 32.6% | 30,728 | 6.6% | 130,309 | 28.2% | 461,883 |
| Santa Cruz | 53,679 | 64.3% | 22,917 | 27.4% | 6,921 | 8.2% | 30,762 | 36.9% | 83,517 |
| Shasta | 26,785 | 57.5% | 16,482 | 35.4% | 3,323 | 7.2% | 10,303 | 22.1% | 46,590 |
| Sierra | 880 | 54.7% | 582 | 36.2% | 146 | 9.1% | 298 | 18.5% | 1,608 |
| Siskiyou | 8,742 | 54.5% | 6,029 | 37.6% | 1,282 | 8.0% | 2,713 | 16.9% | 16,053 |
| Solano | 45,910 | 58.5% | 27,072 | 34.5% | 5,441 | 7.0% | 18,838 | 24.0% | 78,423 |
| Sonoma | 75,239 | 61.1% | 38,797 | 31.5% | 9,010 | 7.4% | 36,442 | 29.6% | 123,046 |
| Stanislaus | 42,669 | 54.8% | 27,422 | 35.2% | 7,736 | 9.9% | 15,277 | 19.6% | 77,857 |
| Sutter | 7,459 | 44.3% | 7,617 | 45.2% | 1,758 | 10.5% | -158 | -0.9% | 16,834 |
| Tehama | 8,236 | 54.2% | 5,713 | 37.6% | 1,235 | 8.2% | 2,523 | 16.6% | 15,184 |
| Trinity | 2,887 | 53.2% | 1,964 | 36.2% | 571 | 10.5% | 923 | 17.0% | 5,422 |
| Tulare | 38,099 | 55.4% | 27,084 | 39.4% | 3,566 | 5.2% | 11,015 | 16.0% | 68,749 |
| Tuolumne | 8,177 | 52.2% | 6,358 | 40.6% | 1,135 | 7.2% | 1,819 | 11.6% | 15,670 |
| Ventura | 91,104 | 48.6% | 84,379 | 45.0% | 11,975 | 6.4% | 6,725 | 3.6% | 187,458 |
| Yolo | 30,617 | 63.5% | 13,218 | 27.4% | 4,391 | 9.1% | 17,399 | 36.1% | 48,226 |
| Yuba | 6,544 | 48.6% | 5,711 | 42.4% | 1,217 | 9.0% | 833 | 6.2% | 13,472 |
| Total | 4,705,399 | 56.5% | 3,093,426 | 37.1% | 528,656 | 6.3% | 1,611,973 | 19.4% | 8,327,481 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
