1980 United States Senate election in Florida

The 1980 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 4, 1980, alongside other elections for President of the United States as well as to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Stone ran for re-election to a second term, but lost the Democratic primary election to Bill Gunter. Republican Paula Hawkins defeated Gunter in the general election.^[1]

1980 United States Senate election in Florida

← 1974 November 4, 1980 1986 →

Nominee Paula Hawkins Bill Gunter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,822,460 1,705,409 Percentage 51.66% 48.34%

County results Hawkins:      50–60%      60–70% Gunter:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Richard Stone Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins Republican

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John B. Coffey
• Bill Gunter, Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative
• Buddy MacKay, State Senator
• James L. Miller
• Richard A. Pettigrew
• Richard Stone, incumbent U.S. Senator

Campaign

Stone, a freshman senator, had a reputation for changing his mind. In 1980, the AFL-CIO actively campaigned against him, and Stone was deemed vulnerable in his re-election bid.^[2] Six Democrats entered the race for Stone's seat including his 1974 runoff opponent Bill Gunter who was Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner in 1980.^[2] As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination.^{[citation needed]}

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Stone (incumbent)	355,287	32.08%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	335,859	30.33%
	Democratic	Buddy MacKay	272,538	24.61%
	Democratic	Richard A. Pettigrew	108,154	9.77%
	Democratic	James L. Miller	18,118	1.64%
	Democratic	John B. Coffey	17,410	1.57%
Total votes			1,107,366	100.00%

Democratic primary runoff results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	594,676	51.76%
	Democratic	Richard Stone (incumbent)	554,268	48.24%
Total votes			1,148,944	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Ander Crenshaw, former state representative
• Lewis Dinkins
• Louis Frey Jr., former U.S. Representative
• Paula Hawkins, Florida Public Service Commissioner
• Ellis Rubin, criminal defense attorney
• John T. Ware, State Senator

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	209,856	48.14%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	119,834	27.49%
	Republican	Ander Crenshaw	54,767	12.56%
	Republican	Ellis Rubin	19,990	4.59%
	Republican	John T. Ware	16,341	3.75%
	Republican	Lewis Dinkins	15,174	3.48%
Total votes			435,962	100.00%

Republican primary runoff results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	293,600	61.61%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	182,911	38.39%
Total votes			476,511	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Bill Gunter (D), Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Congressman
• Paula Hawkins (R), Florida Public Service Commissioner

Results

General election results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	1,822,460	51.66%	+10.74%
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	1,705,409	48.34%	+4.96%
	Write-in		0	0.00%	N/A
Total votes			3,528,028	100.00%	N/A
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• 1980 United States Senate elections