1980 United States Senate election in Maryland

Main article: 1980 United States Senate elections

The 1980 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 4, 1980.

1980 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1974 November 4, 1980 1986 →

Nominee Charles Mathias Edward T. Conroy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 850,970 435,118 Percentage 66.17% 33.83%

County results Mathias:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Charles Mathias Republican Elected U.S. Senator Charles Mathias Republican

Incumbent Republican U.S Senator Charles Mathias won re-election to a third term in a landslide, defeating Democratic State Senator Edward T. Conroy.

As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican won a U.S. Senate election in Maryland. It is also the last time a Republican won Prince George's County and Baltimore City in a statewide election, and the last time a U.S. Senate candidate won every county in the state, although Barbara Mikulski won all but Garrett County in 1992 and 1998.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Roscoe Bartlett
• John M. Brennan
• Jack Fortune Holden
• Charles Mathias, incumbent Senator
• V. Dallas Merrell
• Gerald G. Warren

Results

Republican Senate primary^[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Mathias (incumbent)	82,430	54.96%
	Republican	John M. Brennan	24,848	16.57%
	Republican	V. Dallas Merrell	23,073	15.39%
	Republican	Roscoe Bartlett	10,970	7.32%
	Republican	Jack Fortune Holden	5,176	3.45%
	Republican	Gerald G. Warren	3,476	2.32%
Total votes			149,973	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Frank J. Broschart, candidate for U.S. Representative in 1972
• Edward T. Conroy, State Senator from Bowie
• Mello Cottone
• Victor Crawford, State Senator from Silver Spring
• Robert L. Douglass, State Senator from Baltimore
• John A. Kennedy
• Dennis C. McCoy, Delegate from Baltimore
• R. Spencer Oliver, Chief of Staff of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
• David E. Shaw
• Kurt Summers
• Richard J. Taranto
• James A. Young

Results

Democratic Senate primary^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward T. Conroy	79,033	22.42%
	Democratic	Victor Crawford	52,803	14.98%
	Democratic	Robert L. Douglass	43,035	12.21%
	Democratic	Dennis C. McCoy	40,510	11.49%
	Democratic	R. Spencer Oliver	35,407	10.04%
	Democratic	John A. Kennedy	20,255	5.75%
	Democratic	Frank J. Broschart	19,455	5.52%
	Democratic	James A. Young	17,364	4.93%
	Democratic	Richard J. Taranto	12,375	3.51%
	Democratic	Mello Cottone	11,461	3.25%
	Democratic	David E. Shaw	10,869	3.08%
	Democratic	Kurt Summers	9,952	2.82%
Total votes			352,519	100.00%

General election

Results

1980 United States Senate election in Maryland^[5][6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles Mathias (Incumbent)	850,970	66.17%	8.84
	Democratic	Edward T. Conroy	435,118	33.83%	8.84
Total votes			1,286,088	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

Results by county

County	Charlies Mathias Republican		Edward T. Conroy Democratic		Margin		Total Votes Cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Allegany	18,700	73.25%	6,829	26.75%	11,871	46.50%	25,529
Anne Arundel	76,352	69.80%	33,028	30.20%	43,324	39.61%	109,380
Baltimore (City)	108,051	56.50%	83,176	43.50%	24,875	13.01%	191,227
Baltimore (County)	151,087	65.75%	78,694	34.25%	72,393	31.51%	229,781
Calvert	5,774	65.10%	3,096	34.90%	2,678	30.19%	8,870
Caroline	3,586	69.54%	1,571	30.46%	2,015	39.07%	5,157
Carroll	16,623	61.78%	10,285	38.22%	6,338	23.55%	26,908
Cecil	9,507	65.08%	5,101	34.92%	4,406	30.16%	14,608
Charles	11,308	63.32%	6,551	36.68%	4,757	26.64%	17,859
Dorchester	5,463	68.43%	2,520	31.57%	2,943	36.87%	7,983
Frederick	26,230	76.31%	8,143	23.69%	18,087	52.62%	34,373
Garrett	5,136	76.15%	1,609	23.85%	3,527	52.29%	6,745
Harford	32,805	72.31%	12,562	27.69%	20,243	44.62%	45,367
Howard	31,740	72.61%	11,970	27.39%	19,770	45.23%	43,710
Kent	3,331	70.13%	1,419	29.87%	1,912	40.25%	4,750
Montgomery	196,817	76.49%	60,506	23.51%	136,311	52.97%	257,323
Prince George's	87,311	52.33%	79,532	47.67%	7,779	4.66%	166,843
Queen Anne's	4,730	68.64%	2,161	31.36%	2,569	37.28%	6,891
St. Mary's	7,602	62.55%	4,551	37.45%	3,051	25.10%	12,153
Somerset	2,986	65.38%	1,581	34.62%	1,405	30.76%	4,567
Talbot	6,439	77.10%	1,912	22.90%	4,527	54.21%	8,351
Washington	22,460	68.73%	10,220	31.27%	12,240	37.45%	32,680
Wicomico	11,675	67.34%	5,663	32.66%	6,012	34.68%	17,338
Worcester	5,257	68.32%	2,438	31.68%	2,819	36.63%	7,695
Total	850970	66.17%	435,118	33.83%	415,852	32.33%	1,286,088

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Baltimore (County)
• Baltimore (City)

See also

• 1980 United States Senate elections
• 1980 United States elections