1984 United States Senate elections

November 6, 1984
33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Howard Baker (retired) Robert Byrd Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 5, 1980 January 3, 1977 Leader's seat Tennessee West Virginia Seats before 55 45 Seats won 53 47 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 22,850,493 23,079,278 Percentage 49.3% 49.8% Seats up 19 14 Races won 17 16
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Howard Baker Republican Elected Majority Leader Bob Dole Republican

The 1984 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of President Ronald Reagan in the presidential election. In spite of the lopsided presidential race, Reagan's Republican Party suffered a net loss of two Senate seats to the Democrats, although it retained control of the Senate with a reduced 53–47 majority. Democrats defeated incumbents in Illinois and Iowa, and won an open seat in Tennessee, while Republicans defeated an incumbent in Kentucky.

Results summary

Parties						Total
		Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Other
Last elections (1982)		46	54	0	0	100
Before these elections		45	55	0	0	100
Not up		31	36	—	—	67
Up Class 2 (1978→1984)		14	19	—	—	33
Incumbent retired		2	2	—	—	4
	Held by same party	2	1	—	—	3
	Replaced by other party	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat		—	—	1
	Result	3	1	—	—	4
Incumbent ran		12	17	—	—	29
	Won re-election	11	15	—	—	26
	Lost re-election	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	—	3
	Lost renomination, but held by same party	0	0	—	—	0
	Result	13	16	—	—	29
Total elected		16	17	0	0	33
Net gain/loss		2	2			2
Nationwide vote		23,079,278	22,850,493	160,798	232,231	46,322,800
	Share	49.82%	49.33%	0.35%	0.50%	100%
Result		47	53	0	0	100

Source: Office of the Clerk^[1]

Gains, losses, and holds

Change in composition

Race summary

Closest races

In six races the margin of victory was under 10%.

Minnesota was the tipping point state with a margin of victory of 16.8%.

Alabama

1984 United States Senate election in Alabama

November 6, 1984

Nominee Howell Heflin Albert L. Smith Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 857,535 498,508 Percentage 62.7% 36.4%

County results Heflin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Smith:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Howell Heflin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Howell Heflin Democratic

Republican primary results by county

  Smith

•   80–90%
•   70–80%
•   60–70%
•   50–60%
•   40–50%
•   30–40%

  Carter

•   50–60%
•   40–50%
•   30–40%

  Tie

•   30–40%

  No Vote

The 1984 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Democratic Senator Howell Heflin was easily re-elected to a second term. Heflin received 94% of the black vote.^[2]

Alaska

Alaska election

Nominee Ted Stevens John Havelock Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 146,919 58,804 Percentage 71.17% 28.49%

U.S. senator before election Ted Stevens Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Republican

Incumbent Republican Ted Stevens sought re-election to a fourth term. Owing to his popularity and the conservative bent of Alaska, Stevens did not face major opposition, and easily defeated former Alaska Attorney General John Havelock in the general election.

Arkansas

Arkansas election

Nominee David Pryor Ed Bethune Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 502,341 373,615 Percentage 57.35% 42.65%

County results

U.S. senator before election David Pryor Democratic Elected U.S. Senator David Pryor Democratic

Incumbent Democrat David Pryor won re-election to a second term over Republican U.S. Representative Ed Bethune.

Colorado

Colorado election

November 6, 1984

Nominee William L. Armstrong Nancy E. Dick Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 833,821 449,327 Percentage 64.25% 34.62%

County results Armstrong:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Dick:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election William L. Armstrong Republican Elected U.S. Senator William L. Armstrong Republican

Incumbent Republican William L. Armstrong won re-election to a second term over Democrat Lieutenant Governor of Colorado Nancy E. Dick.

Delaware

Delaware election

Nominee Joe Biden John M. Burris Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 147,831 98,101 Percentage 60.11% 39.89%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joe Biden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Biden Democratic

Incumbent Democrat and future President of the United States Joe Biden won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican challenger John M. Burris, former Majority Leader of the Delaware House of Representatives.

Georgia

Georgia election

Nominee Sam Nunn Mike Hicks Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,344,104 337,196 Percentage 79.9% 20.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Sam Nunn Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Sam Nunn Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Sam Nunn won re-election to a third term over Republican educator, Mike Hicks^[5][6]

Idaho

Idaho election

Nominee James A. McClure Peter M. Busch Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 293,193 105,591 Percentage 72.19% 26.00%

County Results McClure:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%

U.S. senator before election James A. McClure Republican Elected U.S. Senator James A. McClure Republican

Incumbent Republican James A. McClure won re-election to a third term over Democratic Vietnam War veteran, Peter M. Busch.

Illinois

Illinois election

Nominee Paul Simon Charles Percy Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,397,165 2,308,039 Percentage 50.07% 48.21%

County results

U.S. senator before election Charles H. Percy Republican Elected U.S. Senator Paul Simon Democratic

Incumbent Republican Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a fourth term in the United States Senate. Senator Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Paul Simon, who was a United States Congressman from Illinois's 22nd congressional district. The campaign between Percy and Simon was brutal and toughly-fought, and ended up with Simon ousting Percy by fewer than 90,000 votes, which was, at the time, considered an upset.

The election was very close. Simon prevailed by only 89,126 votes, or 1.86%. Incumbent Percy did well all throughout the state, including the Chicago collar counties. However, Simon received huge numbers out of the heavily populated and Democratic Cook County, which encompasses most of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Percy led early on and well into the night, but as Cook County began to count all of its votes, Simon pulled ahead. Simon won despite then-president Reagan winning the state easily. Percy called Simon at around 5 A.M. the next day and conceded. Percy also congratulated Simon on his hard-earned victory. Simon was sworn in on January 3, 1985, and served in the senate until January 3, 1997, when he retired. Simon was later succeeded by Dick Durbin, a close friend and fellow Democrat.

Iowa

Iowa election

Nominee Tom Harkin Roger Jepsen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 716,883 564,381 Percentage 55.46% 43.66%

County results

U.S. senator before election Roger Jepsen Republican Elected U.S. Senator Tom Harkin Democratic

Incumbent Republican Roger Jepsen ran for re-election to a second term in the United States Senate. Jepsen was opposed by United States Congressman Tom Harkin, from Iowa's 5th congressional district, who won the Democratic primary uncontested. The general election was full of mudslinging and personal attacks, including the embellishment by both candidates of their military records; Harkin attacked Jepsen for failing to keep his promise to not sell AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia.^[7] Ultimately, Harkin defeated Jepsen by a wide margin, winning the first of five terms in the Senate.

Kansas

Kansas election

Nominee Nancy Kassebaum James R. Maher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 757,402 211,664 Percentage 75.99% 21.24%

County Results Kassebaum:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

U.S. senator before election Nancy Kassebaum Republican Elected U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum Republican

Incumbent Republican Nancy Kassebaum won re-election to a second term over Democrat James R. Maher, a financial consultant.

Kentucky

Kentucky election

Nominee Mitch McConnell Walter Huddleston Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 644,990 639,721 Percentage 49.9% 49.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election Walter Huddleston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Republican

Incumbent Democrat Walter Huddleston ran for re-election to a third term, but lost by less than 0.5% to Jefferson County Executive Mitch McConnell.

Huddleston was unopposed in the Democratic Party's primary.

Louisiana

Louisiana election

Nominee J. Bennett Johnston Party Democratic

U.S. senator before election J. Bennett Johnston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston Democratic

Incumbent Democratic J. Bennett Johnston won unopposed to a third term.

Maine

Maine election

Nominee William Cohen Libby Mitchell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 404,414 142,626 Percentage 73.3% 25.9%

U.S. senator before election William Cohen Republican Elected U.S. Senator William Cohen Republican

Incumbent Republican William Cohen won re-election to a second term over Democrat Libby Mitchell, State Representative.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

Nominee John Kerry Ray Shamie Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,393,150 1,136,913 Percentage 55.06% 44.94%

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Ray Shamie, blue indicates towns carried by John Kerry.

U.S. senator before election Paul Tsongas Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Kerry Democratic

The election was won by Democrat John Kerry, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts who remained Senator until 2013 when he resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State. One-term incumbent Paul Tsongas declined to seek re-election and retired from the Senate following a battle with cancer.

Michigan

Michigan election

Nominee Carl Levin Jack Lousma Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,915,831 1,745,302 Percentage 51.8% 47.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Carl Levin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Carl Levin Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Carl Levin won re-election to a second term.

Minnesota

Minnesota election

Nominee Rudy Boschwitz Joan Growe Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 1,199,926 852,844 Percentage 58.08% 41.28%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Rudy Boschwitz Republican Elected U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz Republican

Incumbent Republican Rudy Boschwitz defeated Democratic challenger Joan Growe, Minnesota Secretary of State.

Mississippi

Mississippi election

Nominee Thad Cochran William Winter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 580,314 371,926 Percentage 60.9% 39.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Thad Cochran Republican Elected U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Republican

Incumbent Republican Thad Cochran won re-election to a second term over former Democratic Governor William Winter.

Montana

Montana election

Nominee Max Baucus Chuck Cozzens Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 215,704 154,308 Percentage 56.89% 40.70%

County results

U.S. senator before election Max Baucus Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Baucus Democratic

Incumbent Max Baucus ran for re-election. He easily won renomination in the Democratic primary, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Chuck Cozzens, a former State Representative and the Republican nominee. Despite President Ronald Reagan's strong performance in the state that year, Baucus was able to easily win a second term over Cozzens.

Nebraska

Nebraska election

Nominee J. James Exon Nancy Hoch Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 332,117 307,147 Percentage 51.9% 48.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election J. James Exon Democratic Elected U.S. Senator J. James Exon Democratic

Incumbent Democrat J. James Exon won re-election to a second term over Republican businesswoman Nancy Hoch.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire election

Nominee Gordon J. Humphrey Norman D'Amours Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 225,828 157,447 Percentage 58.75% 40.96%

County Results Humphrey:      50-60%      60-70% D'Amours:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Gordon J. Humphrey Republican Elected U.S. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey Republican

Incumbent Republican Gordon J. Humphrey won re-election to a second term over Democratic U.S. Representative Norman D'Amours.

New Jersey

New Jersey election

Nominee Bill Bradley Mary V. Mochary Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,986,644 1,080,100 Percentage 64.16% 34.88%

County results Bradley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Bill Bradley Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Bill Bradley Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Bill Bradley ran for re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Mayor of Montclair Mary V. Mochary.

New Mexico

New Mexico election

Nominee Pete Domenici Judith Pratt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 361,371 141,253 Percentage 71.9% 28.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Pete Domenici Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pete Domenici Republican

Incumbent Republican Pete Domenici ran for re-election to a third term, defeating Democrat Judith Pratt.

North Carolina

North Carolina election

Nominee Jesse Helms Jim Hunt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,156,768 1,070,488 Percentage 51.7% 47.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Jesse Helms Republican Elected U.S. Senator Jesse Helms Republican

The election was fought between the Republican incumbent Jesse Helms and Democratic Governor Jim Hunt. Helms won the election, the most expensive non-presidential election in United States history up to that point, by a margin significantly reduced from that that Helms achieved in 1978.

Hunt had a commanding lead in opinion polls for much of the campaign, with one poll in 1983 putting him nineteen points clear of Helms.^[19] However, that was changed by the most bitterly contested election in the country that year.^[19] Hunt ran a campaign ad connecting Helms to death squads in El Salvador through his association with the Nationalist Republican Alliance, for whom Roberto d'Aubuisson had recently run for the President of El Salvador.^[19] In the short time before election day, however, the highly popular incumbent US President Ronald Reagan gave Helms a significant boost^[20] by campaigning for him and running a local TV ad praising Helms and asking registered voters in North Carolina to re-elect him.^[21]

The election cost a total of $26,379,483 in total reported spending (over twelve times as much as the 1980 race), of which, 64% ($16.9m) was spent by Helms.^[22]

Voters Education Project (VEP) in Atlanta study showed that Helms received 63 percent of the white vote and was particularly successful in small towns and rural areas, while receiving less than 1 percent of the black vote in 35 almost-all-black precincts.^[23] "Hunt got 37 percent of the white and 98.8 percent of the black vote, according to VEP. But only 61 percent of registered blacks voted, down from 63 percent in 1980."^[23] While, It had among the lowest industrial wages in the United States and was third in terms of mobile homes.^[23]

Oklahoma

Incumbent Democrat David Boren won re-election to a second term.

Oklahoma election

Nominee David Boren Will E. Bill Crozier Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 906,131 280,638 Percentage 75.6% 23.4%

County results

U.S. senator before election David Boren Democratic Elected U.S. Senator David Boren Democratic

Oregon

Oregon election

Nominee Mark Hatfield Margie Hendriksen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 808,152 406,112 Percentage 66.56% 33.45%

County Results Hatfield:      60-70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Mark Hatfield Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield Republican

Incumbent Republican Mark Hatfield sought re-election, defeating Democrat State Senator Margie Hendricksen.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

Nominee Claiborne Pell Barbara Leonard Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 285,811 107,545 Percentage 72.7% 27.3%

County results

U.S. senator before election Claiborne Pell Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Claiborne Pell sought re-election, defeating Republican Barbara M. Leonard.

South Carolina

South Carolina election

Nominee Strom Thurmond Melvin Purvis Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 644,814 306,982 Percentage 66.8% 31.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Strom Thurmond Republican Elected U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond Republican

Popular incumbent Republican Strom Thurmond cruised to re-election against Democratic challenger Melvin Purvis. Melvin Purvis, a white minister and the son of famous FBI agent Melvin Purvis, won a close race against black photographer Cecil J. Williams. The closeness of the race and the fact that the black candidate did not win propelled Jesse Jackson to request a Justice Department investigation into the primary and he also considered an independent bid for the seat. Governor Richard Riley and 3rd district Representative Butler Derrick flirted with running, but backed down when Thurmond received endorsements from prominent Democrats in South Carolina.

Senator Strom Thurmond easily defeated Robert Cunningham to advance to the general election.

Thurmond received endorsements from former Democratic governor Robert Evander McNair, Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., and an assortment of black mayors in the state. He did not face a serious challenge and spent almost $1.5 million on the race whereas Purvis spent less than $10,000. An ironic footnote to the election is the fact that Purvis used Thurmond's age as an issue in the campaign. He claimed Thurmond was too old, yet Purvis died less than two years after the election of a heart attack at age 46.

South Dakota

South Dakota election

Nominee Larry Pressler George V. Cunningham Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 235,176 80,537 Percentage 74.49% 25.51%

County Results Pressler:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80–90%      >90% Cunningham:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Larry Pressler Republican Elected U.S. Senator Larry Pressler Republican

Incumbent Republican Larry Pressler won re-election for a second term, defeating Democrat George V. Cunningham.

Tennessee

Tennessee election

November 6, 1984

Nominee Al Gore Victor Ashe Ed McAteer Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 1,000,607 557,016 87,234 Percentage 60.72% 33.80% 5.29%

U.S. senator before election Howard Baker Republican Elected U.S. Senator Al Gore Democratic

Three-term popular incumbent Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Majority Leader since 1981 (Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981) decided not to seek re-election in order to concentrate on a planned bid for 1988 Republican presidential nomination (which did not happen, as he later accepted a White House Chief of Staff position under President Ronald Reagan). This made a seat open.

Democrats nominated Representative and future Vice President of the United States Al Gore, whose father Albert Gore, Sr. once held the other Tennessee Senate seat.

In the Republican primary, held on August 2, Ashe easily emerged as a winner