1978 United States Senate election in Maine
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator William Hathaway ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by William Cohen, the Republican U.S. Representative from Maine's 2nd congressional district.
No incumbent Senator has lost by such a large margin since Hathaway's 22.65-point loss, though James Abdnor in 1980, John Boozman in 2010, and Tommy Tuberville in 2020 all received larger percentages of the vote than Cohen's 56.59% against incumbent Senators.
Background
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 in an upset victory against incumbent Margaret Chase Smith, Hathaway had established himself as a very liberal senator, being ranked an average of 92 percent more liberal than the Senate as a whole during his first term.[1] This put him at risk, considering the conservative nature of Maine before the 1990s.[2] Meanwhile, young former state senator Hayes Gahagan launched an independent campaign, running well to the right of Cohen.[3] Other candidates to join the race were independent John J. Jannace and perennial candidate Plato Truman.[4]
Republican primary
Results
| Year | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | William Cohen | 69,824 | 100 |
Democratic primary
Results
| Year | Candidate | Votes | % | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | William D. Hathaway (inc.) | 48,453 | 99.83 | Write-In | 84 | 0.17 |
General election
Candidates
- William Cohen, U.S. Representative from Bangor
- Hayes Gahagan, former State Senator from Caribou (Independent)
- William Hathaway, incumbent United States Senator (Democratic)
- John J. Jannace (Independent)
- Plato Truman (Independent)
Campaign
During the campaign, all candidates hit the campaign trail hard, with Hathaway receiving significant support from Jimmy Carter, Edmund Muskie, Ted Kennedy, and other national Democrats.[7] The biggest surprise, however, came from Hayes Gahagan. Shortly before election day, he held a press conference where he announced that "unknown, subversive agents" had been altering his campaign photos by implanting subliminal images of female genitalia in his hairline.[8]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William Cohen | 212,294 | 56.59% | +9.83% | |
| Democratic | William Hathaway (incumbent) | 127,327 | 33.94% | -19.29% | |
| Independent | Hayes E. Gahagan | 27,824 | 7.42% | ||
| Independent | John J. Jannace | 5,553 | 1.48% | ||
| Independent | Plato Truman | 2,116 | 0.56% | ||
| Majority | 84,967 | 22.65% | +16.19% | ||
| Turnout | 375,114 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "HATHAWAY, William Dodd (1924-2013)". VoteView. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "Maine". 270towin. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "The Bangor Daily News from Bangor, Maine · 30". Bangor Daily News. July 29, 1978. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "ME US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "ME US Senate - R Primary", OurCampaigns, retrieved August 22, 2022
- ^ "ME US Senate - D Primary", OurCampaigns, retrieved August 22, 2022
- ^ "Bill Hathaway, U.S. senator from Maine, dies at 89", The Press Herald, June 24, 2013, retrieved August 22, 2022
- ^ "Politics & Other Mistakes: No trophies", Daily Bulldog, November 7, 2016, retrieved August 22, 2022
- ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
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