The 1980 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican Senator Barry Goldwater decided to run for reelection to a third consecutive term, after returning to the Senate in 1968 following his failed presidential run in 1964 against Lyndon B. Johnson. Despite Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan's landslide win in Arizona, Goldwater defeated Democratic Party nominee Bill Schulz in the general election by a narrow margin, which later caused Goldwater to decide against running for reelection to a fourth consecutive term. Goldwater won only three counties, including Maricopa County.
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![]() County results Goldwater: 40–50% 50–60% Schulz: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Barry Goldwater, incumbent U.S. Senator
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Bill Schulz, businessman
- James F. McNulty Jr., state senator
- Frank DePaoli
- Frances Morgan
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bill Schulz | 97,520 | 55.4% | |
Democratic | James F. McNulty, Jr. | 58,894 | 33.4% | |
Democratic | Frank DePaoli | 19,259 | 10.9% | |
Democratic | Frances Morgan (withdrawn) | 485 | 0.3% | |
Total votes | 176,158 | 100.0 |
General election
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Barry Goldwater (incumbent) | 432,371 | 49.46% | −8.80% | |
Democratic | Bill Schulz | 422,972 | 48.38% | +6.64% | |
Libertarian | Fred R. Esser | 12,008 | 1.37% | ||
People Over Politics | Lorenzo Torrez | 3,608 | 0.41% | ||
Socialist Workers | Josefina Otero | 3,266 | 0.37% | ||
Majority | 9,399 | 1.08% | −15.44% | ||
Turnout | 874,225 | ||||
Republican hold | Swing |