1980 United States Senate election in Florida
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1980 United States Senate election in Florida
| country = Florida
| flag_year = 1900
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1974 United States Senate election in Florida
| previous_year = 1974
| election_date = November 4, 1980
| next_election = 1986 United States Senate election in Florida
| next_year = 1986
| image1 = File:Paula Hawkins (cropped).jpg
| nominee1 = Paula Hawkins
| party1 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 1,822,460
| percentage1 = 51.66%
| title = U.S. Senator
| before_election = Richard Stone
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Paula Hawkins
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
| image2 = File:WD Gunter JR (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 150x150px
| nominee2 = Bill Gunter
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 1,705,409
| percentage2 = 48.34%
| map_image = 1980 United States Senate election in Florida results map by county.svg
| map_size = 300px
| map_caption = County results
Hawkins: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}} {{legend0|#d75d5d|60–70%}}
Gunter: {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}}
}}
{{ElectionsFL}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980|website=clerk.house.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320200405/https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf|archive-date=March 20, 2022}}
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.{{cite book
| last=Abramowitz
| first=Alan I.
| author2=Segal, Jeffrey Allan
| title=Senate Elections
| publisher=University of Michigan Press
| year=1992
| access-date=January 31, 2007
| url=https://archive.org/details/senateelections0000abra
| url-access=registration
| quote=bill gunter richard stone.
| isbn=0-472-08192-6
| page=[https://archive.org/details/senateelections0000abra/page/78 78]
}} 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. As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}
= Results =
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Richard Stone (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 355,287
| percentage = 32.08%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Bill Gunter
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 335,859
| percentage = 30.33%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Buddy MacKay
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 272,538
| percentage = 24.61%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Richard A. Pettigrew
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 108,154
| percentage = 9.77%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = James L. Miller
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 18,118
| percentage = 1.64%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John B. Coffey
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 17,410
| percentage = 1.57%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 1,107,366
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Bill Gunter
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 594,676
| percentage = 51.76%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Richard Stone (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 554,268
| percentage = 48.24%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 1,148,944
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
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 =
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Paula Hawkins
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 209,856
| percentage = 48.14%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Louis Frey Jr.
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 119,834
| percentage = 27.49%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ander Crenshaw
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 54,767
| percentage = 12.56%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ellis Rubin
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 19,990
| percentage = 4.59%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John T. Ware
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 16,341
| percentage = 3.75%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Lewis Dinkins
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 15,174
| percentage = 3.48%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 435,962
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Paula Hawkins
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 293,600
| percentage = 61.61%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Louis Frey Jr.
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 182,911
| percentage = 38.39%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 476,511
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
= Candidates =
- Bill Gunter (D), Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Congressman
- Paula Hawkins (R), Florida Public Service Commissioner
= Results =
{{Election box begin | title=General election results}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Paula Hawkins
| votes = 1,822,460
| percentage = 51.66%
| change = +10.74%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Bill Gunter
| votes = 1,705,409
| percentage = 48.34%
| change = +4.96%
}}
{{Election box write-in with party link
| votes = 0
| percentage = 0.00%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = 3,528,028
| percentage = 100.00%
| change= N/A
}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}