1980 United States Senate election in Idaho

none March 2026 September 2023 1980 United States Senate election in Idaho Idaho presidential no 1974 United States Senate election in Idaho 1974 1986 United States Senate election in Idaho 1986 November 4, 1980 150x150px Stevesymms.jpg Steve Symms Republican Party (United States) 218,701 49.74% FrankChurch.jpg Frank Church Democratic Party (United States) 214,439 48.78% U.S. Senator Frank Church Democratic Party (United States) Steve Symms Republican Party (United States) 1980 United States Senate election in Idaho results map by county.svg 180px County results Symms: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Church: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% The 1980 United States Senate election in Idaho took place on November 4, 1980, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Frank Church ran for a fifth term and narrowly lost to Republican Steve Symms. This is the last time that a Senator from Idaho lost re-election. Since Symms took office in 1981, Republicans have held both of Idaho's U.S. Senate seats, which they had not done since 1957. General election Candidates Frank Church, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic) Larry Fullmer (Libertarian) Steve Symms, U.S. Representative from Caldwell (Republican) Campaign Entering the election, Church was seen as vulnerable because he was a liberal Senator representing one of the most conservative states.AP https://books.google.com/books?id=lgZMAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA35&article_id=7256,4187844 Sen. Church Termed Vulnerable Spokane Daily Chronicle August 14, 1979 Spokane, Washington 5 enMIller Judith November 6, 1980 TimesMachine: Thursday November 6, 1980 - NYTimes.com en A29 The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/06/archives/church-chief-of-senate-foreign-relations-panel-defeated.html live 2023-06-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20230625033207/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/06/archives/church-chief-of-senate-foreign-relations-panel-defeated.html 2023-06-25 Nevertheless, Church was considered by many to be the favorite, with even prominent Republicans in the state not giving his opponent, 1st congressional district Representative Steve Symms much of a chance to unseat Church.AP https://books.google.com/books?id=vc1eAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA7&article_id=2789,7706426 GOP Leaders Doubt Symms Could Beat Church Lewiston Morning Tribune April 22, 1979 7A en However, due to a variety of factors, the dynamic of the race would soon shift. For one, the race was affected by the concurrent Presidential Election, in which Ronald Reagan's coattails were anticipated to have an effect.Evans Rowland https://books.google.com/books?id=dvxXAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA6&article_id=3512,1924640 Church/Can Conservative Tide Wash Him Out? Novak Robert The Bulletin July 19, 1980 6 en Another factor was an influx of out-of-state money affecting the campaigns. Church and Symms both raised considerable sums from out of state donors from states such as Texas and Florida, and by the campaigns end, both had spent close to $3.5 million, a state record.AP https://books.google.com/books?id=BqxfAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA21&article_id=6210,5634088 Symms, Church get 'big' $ Lewiston Morning Tribune April 16, 1980 3C enAP https://books.google.com/books?id=FFVOAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA3&article_id=6951,6839134 Church won the spending battle The Spokesman-Review January 31, 1981 8 en Moreover, groups such as the ABC (Anybody But Church), which was affiliated with the NCPAC (National Conservative Political Action Committee), spent big on advertisements and mailers to damage Church's standing.Riordan Patrick https://books.google.com/books?id=KB5UAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+spending+1980&pg=PA7&article_id=6817,1838209 Frank Church: A Man Under Fire Boca Raton News May 18, 1980 13A en Church criticized these efforts as using the big lie.https://books.google.com/books?id=NcBeAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church+1980&pg=PA9&article_id=6059,5056738 Church: They're using the big lie Lewiston Morning Tribune August 15, 1979 C6 en These factors, plus criticism over his stance on the Panama Canal Treaties, made this a difficult campaign for the Senator.Sinclair Ward 1979-10-12 Church Perceived as Apostate Fearful of Election Disaster en-US Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/10/12/church-perceived-as-apostate-fearful-of-election-disaster/8191ec15-f6dc-4009-946b-0b871060d2ab/ 2023-06-25 0190-8286It's 'Frank' vs. 'Steve' as Idaho's Church seeks re-election to Senate Christian Science Monitor https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/1016/101651.html 2023-06-25 0882-7729 Polling Polls throughout the election showed Church up by small margins, highlighting the race's closeness. Even in the final days, it had been believed that a large number of voters remained undecided.Wilson Marc https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfhLAAAAIBAJ&dq=symms+church++debate+1980&pg=PA18&article_id=5098,5751053 How many undecided in Idaho? The Spokesman-Review October 28, 1980 28 en Results In the end, Church lost by a margin of 4,262 votes or 0.96%. Many reasons were attributed to Church's defeat. One reason was that Ronald Reagan's landslide victory caused a coattail effect that Church couldn't overcome. Another one was Jimmy Carter's early concession. Because Carter had conceded before polls closed in the Panhandle (which is in Pacific Time as opposed to the rest of the state, which is in Mountain Time), this was believed to have depressed voters in one of Church's strongest regions.Hatzenbuehler Ronald L. Marley Bert W. February 1987 Why Church Lost: A Preliminary Analysis of the Church-Symms Election of 1980 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3638828 Pacific Historical Review 56 1 105 10.2307/3638828 3638828 subscription Leahy Patrick The Road Taken: A Memoir Simon & Schuster 2022 978-1982157357 137 There was also the factor of shifts among Mormon voters, who due to a focus on moral issues such as abortion, turned away from Church in the Eastern part of the state.Hatzenbuehler Ronald L. January 2020 Dissent among Mormons in the 1980 Senatorial Election in Idaho https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=912458 International Journal of Religion 1 1 18–19 10.33182/ijor.v1i1.980 229498933 Central and Eastern European Online Library free subscription 1980 U.S. Senate election in Idahohttp://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980 clerk.house.gov live https://web.archive.org/web/20220320200405/https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf March 20, 2022 Republican Party (United States) Steve Symms 218,701 49.74% 7.61 Democratic Party (United States) Frank Church (incumbent) 214,439 48.78% 7.30 Libertarian Party (United States) Larry Fullmer 6,507 1.48% N/A 4,262 0.97% -12.96% 439,647 +41.13% Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) See also 1980 United States Senate elections References Category:1980 Idaho elections Idaho 1980