1982 United States Senate election in Minnesota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Airbornemihir (talk | contribs) at 16:36, 30 May 2020 (→‎Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

1982 United States Senate election in Minnesota

← 1978 (special) November 2, 1982 1988 →
 
Nominee David Durenberger Mark Dayton
Party Ind.-Republican Democratic (DFL)
Popular vote 949,207 840,401
Percentage 52.6% 46.6%

County Results

Durenberger:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

Dayton:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

David Durenberger
Ind.-Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

David Durenberger
Ind.-Republican

The 1982 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator David Durenberger won re-election to his first full term.[1]

Dayton campaigning with former VP Walter Mondale.

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary election results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Mark Dayton 359,014 69.06%
Democratic (DFL) Eugene McCarthy 125,229 24.09%
Democratic (DFL) Charles E. Pearson 19,855 3.82%
Democratic (DFL) William A. Branstner 15,754 3.03%
Total votes 519,852 100.00%

Independent-Republican primary

Candidate

Results

Republican primary election results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Ind.-Republican David Durenberger (Incumbent) 287,651 94.38%
Ind.-Republican Mary Jane Rachner 20,401 6.62%
Total votes 308,052 100.00%

General election

Campaign

Dayton, 35, self-financed his campaign. Married to a Rockefeller and heir to a department store, his net worth was an estimated $30 million. Durenberger, who in 1978 and won the special election to finish the term of the late Hubert Humphrey , was largely unknown. He was considered a moderate, but supported Reagan's tax cuts. Dayton ran against Reaganomics. He has also campaigned against tax breaks for the wealthy and even promised "to close tax loopholes for the rich and the corporations—and if you think that includes the Daytons, you're right."[3] By the end of September, the senate election already became the most expensive election of all-time, with over $8 million being spent. Dayton spent over $5 million,[4] while Durenberger spent over $2 million.[5]

Results

General election results[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Ind.-Republican David Durenberger (Incumbent) 949,207 52.60%
Democratic (DFL) Mark Dayton 840,401 46.57%
Socialist Workers Bill Onasch 5,897 0.33%
Libertarian Frederick Hewitt 5,870 0.33%
New Union Party Jeffrey M. Miller 3,300 0.18%
Total votes 1,804,675 100.00%
Majority 108,806 6.03%
Turnout   67.65
Ind.-Republican hold

See also

References