1984 United States Senate election in Idaho

The 1984 United States Senate election in Idaho was held on November 6, 1984.

1984 United States Senate election in Idaho

November 6, 1984

Nominee James A. McClure Peter M. Busch Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 293,193 105,591 Percentage 72.19% 26.00%

County Results McClure:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%

U.S. senator before election James A. McClure Republican Elected U.S. Senator James A. McClure Republican

Incumbent Senator James A. McClure was re-elected to a third term in office.

Republican primary

Candidates

• James A. McClure, incumbent Senator

Results

Senator McClure was unopposed for re-nomination by the Republican Party.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Peter M. Busch, Vietnam War veteran
• Louis Hathaway

Results

1984 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Busch	27,871	62.02%
	Democratic	Louis A. Hathaway	17,065	37.98%
Total votes			44,936	100.00%

Independents and third parties

Libertarian

• Donald Billings

General election

Campaign

The campaign was largely uneventful given McClure's large lead in polls and the Republican tendency of Idaho.

During the campaign, Democratic candidate Peter Busch was involved in a minor plane crash. Busch would die in a similar crash while campaigning for Congress in 1986.[2]

Results

General election results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James A. McClure (incumbent)	293,193	72.19%	3.75
	Democratic	Peter M. Busch	105,591	26.00%	5.56
	Libertarian	Donald Billings	7,384	1.82%	1.82
Total votes			406,168	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1984 United States Senate elections

References

1. "ID US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
2. "Officials Confirm Three Dead In Crash Of Plane Carrying Candidates". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
3. "ID US Senate Race". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 15 August 2019.