1978 United States Senate election in Virginia

1978 United States Senate election in Virginia

← 1972 November 7, 1978 1984 →
 
Nominee John Warner Andrew P. Miller
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 613,232 608,511
Percentage 50.17% 49.79%

County and independent city results
Warner:      50–60%      60–70%
Miller:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

William Lloyd Scott
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John Warner
Republican

Elections in Virginia
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican Senator William L. Scott did not run for re-election to a second term. Republican former Secretary of the Navy John Warner narrowly defeated Democratic Attorney General of Virginia Andrew P. Miller to succeed him. Originally, this election was a match between Republican Richard Obenshain and Miller, then Obenshain died in a plane crash, leaving the party in disarray. Warner was then nominated to run in Obenshain's place, and his victorious election thrust him into a thirty-year career in the United States Senate, which started with this election.

Republican nomination

Candidates

Convention

1978 Virginia Republican Convention[1]
Ballot 1 2 3 4 5 6
Obenshain 1,192 1,261 1,338 1,521 1,516 1,580
Warner 853 908 996 1,338 1,393 1,474
Holton 780 751 620 0 0 0
Miller 262 160 122 201 166 0

Obenshain's victory set up the general election as a rematch of the 1969 Attorney General race between him and Andrew P. Miller, the Democratic nominee who defeated Obenshain in 1969.

Aftermath

On August 2, Obenshain died in a twin-engine plane crash, effectively shaking up this election. He was then replaced by Warner after other recruits turned down the chance to be nominated in respect for Obenshain.[2][3]

General election

Candidates

Results

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1978[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Warner 613,232 50.17% -1.28%
Democratic Andrew P. Miller 608,511 49.79% +3.67%
Write-ins 513 0.04% +0.04%
Majority 4,721 0.39% +0.39%
Turnout 1,222,256
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - VA US Senate - R Convention Race - Jun 03, 1978".
  2. ^ Ken Ringle (August 4, 1978). "Crash Kills Obenshain". Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Harden, Blaine (August 4, 1978). "Pilot of Obenshain Plane Called 'Very Cautious'". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - VA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
  5. ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
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(1977 ←)   1978 United States elections   (→ 1979)
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