1980 United States Senate election in California

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.

1980 United States Senate election in California

← 1974 November 3, 1980 (1980-11-03) 1986 →

Nominee Alan Cranston Paul Gann Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,705,399 3,093,426 Percentage 56.51% 37.15%

County results Cranston:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Gann:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Alan Cranston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Alan Cranston Democratic

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

Democratic primary results^[1]

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

Republican primary results^[1]

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

Shift by county

Trend by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%
•   Democratic — +12.5−15%
•   Democratic — >15%

1980 United States Senate election, California^[2]

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

See also

• 1980 United States Senate elections