The 1980 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and former

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

Herman Talmadge ran for reelection to a fifth term, but lost narrowly to

Mack Mattingly Mack Francis Mattingly (born January 7, 1931) is an American diplomat and politician who served one term as a United States senator from Georgia, the first Republican to have served in the U.S. Senate from that state since Reconstruction. Early ...

, Chairman of the

Georgia Republican Party The Georgia Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Georgia and one of the two major political parties in the state and is currently chaired by David Shafer. Current structure David Shafer is the current ...

. Mattingly became the first Republican Senator from the state since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

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. As of 2023, 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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* John Francis Collins *

Dawson Mathis Marvin Dawson Mathis (November 30, 1940 – April 17, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Georgia. Born in Nashville, Georgia, Mathis attended the Nashville public schools. He attended South Georgia Colleg ...

, U.S. Representative from Albany *

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American author and politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as U.S ...

, Lieutenant Governor *

J. B. Stoner Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (April 13, 1924 – April 23, 2005) was an American lawyer, white supremacist, neo-nazi, segregationist politician, and a domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingh ...

, white supremacist and terrorist * Herman Talmadge, incumbent Senator since 1957 * Norman Underwood, Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals

Campaign

Talmadge's ethical issues made him uniquely vulnerable. 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 Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American politician and attorney from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 1973 at the age of 35 as the first black mayor of Atlanta, Georgia and of ...

and State Senator Julian Bond. 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.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, businessman and Chairman of the

Mattingly was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Results

Notes

References

{{United States elections, 1980 1980 Georgia (U.S. state) elections Georgia

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 – ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Campaign

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

General election

Results

See also

Notes

References