1980 Senate elections · Pennsylvania history
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate election 1980
Arlen Specter REP +2.4 · Class III seat · held 11/4/80
- Votes counted
- 4,418,042
- Margin
- 2.4 pts
- Seat held by
- Republicanheld
- President in PA
- R+7.1same year
General election 11/4/80
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlen Specter Won | REP | 2,230,404 | 50.48% | |
| Pete Flaherty | DEM | 2,122,391 | 48.04% | |
| Linda Mohrbacher | SWP | 27,229 | 0.62% | |
| David K. Walter | LIB | 18,595 | 0.42% | |
| Lee Frissell | CIT | 16,089 | 0.36% | |
| Frank Kinces | COM | 3,334 | 0.08% | |
| Total | 4,418,042 | |||
Official source: data
Other Pennsylvania Senate races
| Year | Seat | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Class I | Dave McCormick | 0.2 |
| 2022 | Class III | John Fetterman | 4.9 |
| 2018 | Class I | Robert P. Casey Jr. | 13.1 |
| 2016 | Class III | Patrick J. Toomey | 1.4 |
| 2012 | Class I | Robert P. Casey Jr. | 9.1 |
| 2010 | Class III | Patrick J. Toomey | 2.0 |
| 2006 | Class I | Robert P. Casey Jr. | 17.4 |
| 2004 | Class III | Arlen Specter | 10.6 |
| 2000 | Class I | Rick Santorum | 6.9 |
| 1998 | Class III | Arlen Specter | 26.6 |
| 1994 | Class I | Rick Santorum | 2.5 |
| 1992 | Class III | Arlen Specter | 2.8 |
Full Pennsylvania Senate history →
Questions and answers
Who won the 1980 Pennsylvania Senate race?
Arlen Specter (REP) won with 50.5% of the vote, ahead of Pete Flaherty (48.0%), a margin of 2.4 points.
Did the Pennsylvania Senate seat change party in 1980?
No. The Republican Party held it.
How many votes were cast in the 1980 Pennsylvania Senate race?
4,418,042 votes were counted for the candidates in the general election.
Compiled by FiveThirtyEight from the official source linked above.