The 1980 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 4, 1980, 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. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
Donald Stewart, elected in a
special election to finish the term of the seat left vacant by the death of Senator
James B. Allen, decided to run for a full term, but was defeated in the primary by
Jim Folsom. In November, Folsom narrowly lost the general election to Republican
Jeremiah Denton.
Denton was the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since the end of
Reconstruction in 1879 and the first Republican elected since the passage of the
17th amendment requiring the direct election of senators. He would lose reelection in the
1986 election to Democratic nominee
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alabama. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat who later switched to the Republican Party in 1994, h ...
who later joined the Republican Party in 1994.
Candidates
Democratic
*
Jim Folsom,
Public Service Commissioner
*
Donald Stewart, incumbent U.S. Senator
Republican
*
Jeremiah Denton, U.S. Navy veteran
*
Armistead I. Selden Jr.
Armistead Inge Selden Jr. (February 20, 1921 – November 14, 1985) was a segregationist U.S. Representative from Alabama.
Early life and military service
Born in Greensboro, Alabama, Selden attended the public schools. He graduated from G ...
, former Democratic U.S. Representative and Ambassador to New Zealand, Fiji, and Samoa
Results
See also
*
1980 United States Senate elections
The 1980 United States Senate elections coincided with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 ...
*
Reagan's coattails
References
1980 Alabama elections
Alabama
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
{{Alabama-election-stub