The 1980 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator

Adlai Stevenson III Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (October 10, 1930 – September 6, 2021) was an American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981. A member of the prominent Stevenson fami ...

decided to retire. Democrat Alan J. Dixon won the open seat.

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices ( President and

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), as well as those for state offices.

Background

Incumbent Democrat

opted not to seek reelection to a third-term. This was the first open-race for this senate seat since

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Turnout

Turnout in the primary elections was 35.36%, with a total of 2,026,814 votes cast. Turnout during the general election was 73.51%, with 4,579,933 votes cast.

Democratic primary

Alan J. Dixon overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary.

Candidates

* Alan J. Dixon, Illinois Secretary of State * Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, candidate for U.S. Senator in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Alex Seith Alex Robert Seith (July 27, 1934 – March 23, 2010) was the 1978 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from Illinois. A complete newcomer to electoral politics, he nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Senate history whe ...

, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator in 1978 * Robert Ash "Bob" Wallace * Dakin Williams, prosecutor, candidate for U.S. Senator in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and 1974, candidate for Illinois Governor in

Campaign

, who had won the Democratic nomination for Senator two years earlier, almost winning the 1978 race in what would have been a major upset, laid hopes of capturing the nomination again. Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, a political activist who had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for senate in 1978, again ran for the nomination. Robert Ash "Bob" Wallace made use of his friendship with boxer

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, featuring him in campaign ads and having him make campaign appearances. Dakin Williams was a prosecutor, and was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams. He had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' other US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for this seat in 1974. He had also been a candidate for governor in 1978.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Richard E. Carver, Mayor of

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

Dave O'Neal David C. O’Neal (January 24, 1937 – July 10, 2021) was an American politician who served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1981. For six years he served as Saint Clair County Sheriff, the first Republican to hold tha ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois * William J. Scott, Illinois Attorney General

Results

General election

References

{{1980 United States elections

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 – ...

Illinois United States Senate

Election information

Background

Turnout

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

See also

References