1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee
(Redirected from United States Senate election in Tennessee, 1978)
The 1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 1978, to elect the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Two-term popular incumbent Republican U.S. Senator, Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Minority Leader since 1977, won reelection over first-time candidate and Democratic Party activist Jane Eskind.
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 County results Baker: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Eskind: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates:
- Jame Boyd
- Walter Bradley
- Former State Senate Majority Leader Bill Bruce
- Jane Eskind
- James Foster
- Douglas L. Heinsohn
- J. D. Lee
- Virginia Nyabongo
- Charles Gordon Vick
In an open primary on August 3, Eskind defeated eight other candidates:[1]
- Eskind – 196,156 (34.52%)
- Bruce – 170,795 (30.06%)
- Lee – 89,939 (15.83%)
- Boyd – 48,458 (8.53%)
- Bradley – 22,130 (3.90%)
- Heinsohn – 17,787 (3.13%)
- Foster – 10,671 (1.88%)
- Nyabongo – 7,682 (1.35%)
- Vick – 4,414 (0.78%)
- Write-in – 147 (0.03%)
Republican primary
editCandidates:
- Incumbent United States Senator and Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker
- J. Durelle Boles
- Harvey Howard
- Hubert David Patty
- Dayton Seiler
- Francis Trapp
Baker easily won the August 3 primary:[2]
- Baker – 205,680 (83.44%)
- Howard – 21,154 (8.58%)
- Boles – 8,899 (3.61%)
- Patty – 3,941 (1.60%)
- Seiler – 3,831 (1.55%)
- Trapp – 2,994 (1.22%)
General election
editBaker won with a 15-point margin in the general election, held on November 7:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 642,644 | 55.54% | |
| Democratic | Jane Eskind | 466,228 | 40.30% | |
| Independent | Thomas J. Anderson | 45,908 | 3.97% | |
| Independent | Fern L. Keasler | 2,243 | 0.19% | |
| Republican hold | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate – D Primary Race – Aug 03, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate – R Primary Race – Aug 03, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – TN US Senate Race – Nov 07, 1978". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.