1980 United States Senate election in Florida

none March 2026 September 2023 1980 United States Senate election in Florida Florida 1900 presidential no 1974 United States Senate election in Florida 1974 November 4, 1980 1986 United States Senate election in Florida 1986 File:Paula Hawkins (cropped).jpg Paula Hawkins Republican Party (United States) 1,822,460 51.66% U.S. Senator Richard Stone Democratic Party (United States) Paula Hawkins Republican Party (United States) File:WD Gunter JR (cropped).jpg 150x150px Bill Gunter Democratic Party (United States) 1,705,409 48.34% 1980 United States Senate election in Florida results map by county.svg 300px County results Hawkins: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% Gunter: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% 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.http://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 She became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in the state's history. 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.Abramowitz Alan I. Segal, Jeffrey Allan Senate Elections University of Michigan Press 1992 January 31, 2007 https://archive.org/details/senateelections0000abra registration bill gunter richard stone. 0-472-08192-6 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.September 2017 Endorsements Bill Gunter (D) Newspapers St. Petersburg Times (Democratic primary only)Times recommends: Gunter and Hawkins https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-times-recommends-gunter/203940886/ August 16, 2026 St. Petersburg Times October 1, 1980 St. Petersburg, Florida 6A Newspapers.com Richard Stone (D) Newspapers The Bradenton Herald (Democratic primary only)Our viewpoint https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bradenton-herald-our-viewpoint/203950280/ August 16, 2026 The Bradenton Herald October 5, 1980 Bradenton, Florida B-4 Newspapers.com The Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville Journal (Democratic primary only)For Stone, Frey and all five of the amendments https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-florida-times-union-for-stone-frey/203950510/ August 16, 2026 The Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville Journal October 5, 1980 Jacksonville, Florida C-2 Newspapers.com The Ledger (Democratic primary only)Editorial: The U.S. Senate runoff https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ledger-editorial-the-us-senate-ru/203950108/ August 16, 2026 The Ledger October 2, 1980 Lakeland, Florida 14A Newspapers.com The Post (Democratic primary only)'''U.S. Senate https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-us-senate/203950982/ August 16, 2026 The Post October 5, 1980 West Palm Beach, Florida 14A Newspapers.comSarasota Journal (Democratic primary only)''Editorials: The Senate race https://www.newspapers.com/article/sarasota-journal-editorials-the-senate/203926399/ August 16, 2026 Sarasota Journal September 26, 1980 Sarasota, Florida 6A Newspapers.com Results Democratic primary resultshttps://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=9%2F9%2F1980&DATAMODE= Florida Department of State - Election Results 2019-02-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144952/https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=9%2F9%2F1980&DATAMODE= 2011-07-18 dead Richard Stone (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 355,287 32.08% Bill Gunter Democratic Party (United States) 335,859 30.33% Buddy MacKay Democratic Party (United States) 272,538 24.61% Richard A. Pettigrew Democratic Party (United States) 108,154 9.77% James L. Miller Democratic Party (United States) 18,118 1.64% John B. Coffey Democratic Party (United States) 17,410 1.57% 1,107,366 100.00% Democratic primary runoff resultshttps://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=10%2F7%2F1980&DATAMODE= Florida Department of State - Election Results 2019-02-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718145008/https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=10%2F7%2F1980&DATAMODE= 2011-07-18 dead Bill Gunter Democratic Party (United States) 594,676 51.76% Richard Stone (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 554,268 48.24% 1,148,944 100.00% Republican primary Candidates Ander Crenshaw, former state representative Lewis Dinkins Lou Frey, former U.S. Representative Paula Hawkins, Florida Public Service Commissioner Ellis Rubin, criminal defense attorney John T. Ware, State Senator Endorsements Lou Frey (R) Newspapers The Bradenton Herald (Republican primary only) The Post (Republican primary only)'''The Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville Journal (Republican primary only)The Ledger (Republican primary only)Sarasota Journal (Republican primary only)'' Paula Hawkins (R) Newspapers St. Petersburg Times (Republican primary only) Results Republican primary resultshttps://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=9%2F9%2F1980&DATAMODE= Florida Department of State - Election Results 2019-02-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144952/https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=9%2F9%2F1980&DATAMODE= 2011-07-18 dead Paula Hawkins Republican Party (United States) 209,856 48.14% Lou Frey Republican Party (United States) 119,834 27.49% Ander Crenshaw Republican Party (United States) 54,767 12.56% Ellis Rubin Republican Party (United States) 19,990 4.59% John T. Ware Republican Party (United States) 16,341 3.75% Lewis Dinkins Republican Party (United States) 15,174 3.48% 435,962 100.00% Republican primary runoff resultshttps://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=10%2F7%2F1980&DATAMODE= Florida Department of State - Election Results 2019-02-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718145008/https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=10%2F7%2F1980&DATAMODE= 2011-07-18 dead Paula Hawkins Republican Party (United States) 293,600 61.61% Lou Frey Republican Party (United States) 182,911 38.39% 476,511 100.00% General election Candidates Bill Gunter (D), Florida State Treasurer and former U.S. Congressman Paula Hawkins (R), Florida Public Service Commissioner Results General election results Republican Party (United States) Paula Hawkins 1,822,460 51.66% +10.74% Democratic Party (United States) Bill Gunter 1,705,409 48.34% +4.96% 0 0.00% N/A 3,528,028 100.00% N/A Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) See also 1980 United States Senate elections References Florida 1980 Category:1980 Florida elections