1980 United States Senate election in New York
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![]() County results D'Amato: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% Holtzman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in New York State |
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The 1980 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jacob Javits was defeated in the primary, and Republican Al D'Amato won the three-way election. It is speculated by some that Elizabeth Holtzman would have won the election had Javits not ran after his defeat in the Republican primary.
Republican primary[]
Candidates[]
- Al D'Amato, Presiding Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead
- Jacob Javits, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1957
Results[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Al D'Amato | 323,468 | 55.68% | |
Republican | Jacob Javits (incumbent) | 257,433 | 44.32% | |
Total votes | 580,901 | 100.00% |
Democratic primary[]
Candidates[]
- Elizabeth Holtzman, U.S. Representative
- John Lindsay, former Mayor of New York City; former Republican U.S. Representative
- Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945; former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
- John J. Santucci, Queens County District Attorney
Campaign[]
The Democratic field included four major candidates. Despite receiving the support of Governor Hugh Carey, Bess Myerson lost the Democratic primary to Elizabeth Holtzman.[2]
During the campaign, Holtzman boasted that she was "never been hand-picked by the bosses. I have never been hand-picked by anyone.", in a thinly-veiled dig to her opponents. Holtzman touted her support for women's rights, having secured an extension for the Equal Rights Amendment's 1979 ratification.[3]
Results[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Elizabeth Holtzman | 378,567 | 40.74% | |
Democratic | Bess Myerson | 292,767 | 31.51% | |
Democratic | John Lindsay | 146,815 | 15.80% | |
Democratic | John J. Santucci | 36,770 | 11.96% | |
Total votes | 854,919 | 100.00% |
Liberal nomination[]
- Jacob Javits, incumbent U.S. Senator (registered Republican)
General election[]
Campaign[]
Javits's refusal to adjust politically to the rightward movement of his party, as well as his 1979 diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), led to a primary challenge. Javits was defeated in the primary by Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Al D'Amato on September 9.
D'Amato, also running on the Conservative line, proceeded to defeat Democratic U.S. Representative Elizabeth Holtzman and Javits, who ran on the Liberal Party ticket. In the traditionally liberal state of New York, Javits split the Democratic vote with Holtzman, to give D'Amato a close victory.[5]
Results[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Al D'Amato | 2,272,082 | 37.77% | ||
Conservative | Al D'Amato | 275,100 | 4.57% | ![]() | |
Right to Life | Al D'Amato | 152,470 | 2.53% | N/A | |
Total | Al D'Amato | 2,699,652 | 44.88% | N/A | |
Democratic | Elizabeth Holtzman | 2,618,661 | 43.54% | ![]() | |
Liberal | Jacob Javits (incumbent) | 664,544 | 11.05% | ||
Libertarian | Richard Savadel | 21,465 | 0.36% | N/A | |
Communist | William R. Scott | 4,161 | 0.07% | ![]() | |
Workers World | Thomas Soto | 3,643 | 0.06% | ||
Socialist Workers | Victor A. Nieto | 2,715 | 0.05% | ![]() | |
Write-in | 73 | 0.00% | |||
Majority | 80,991 | 1.34% | |||
Total votes | 6,014,914 | 100.00% | |||
Republican hold | Swing |
See also[]
- 1980 United States Senate elections
References[]
- ^ "Syracuse Mayoral Primary Results - 9wsyr.com". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
- ^ Lynn, Frank (24 Sep 1982). "CUOMO BEATS KOCH IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 8 Aug 2021.
- ^ "HOLTZMAN, Elizabeth | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 09, 1980".
- ^ Abramowitz, Alan; Segal, Jeffrey Allan (January 1, 1992). Senate Elections. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472081926.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1980".
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf
- United States Senate elections in New York (state)
- 1980 United States Senate elections
- 1980 New York (state) elections
- New York (state) election stubs