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1978 United States Senate election in Virginia

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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

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

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Candidates

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Convention

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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

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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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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References

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  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.