PolitiFinder

1980 Minnesota U.S. House District 5 Election

Minnesota · 5 candidates · See every 1980 U.S. House race

Who won the 1980 Minnesota U.S. House District 5 Election?

Martin Olav Sabo won the 1980 Minnesota U.S. House District 5 Election. Martin Olav Sabo received 126,451 popular votes (70.08%). The main challenger was John Doherty (26.71%).

See the full head-to-head between Sabo and Doherty

Sabo +43.4 pts · won by 78,251 votes
Martin Olav SaboDemocraticWINNER70.08%
126,451 votes
John DohertyRepublican26.71%
48,200 votes
Jeffrey M. Millernew union1.41%
2,552 votes
Scott Wallaceindustrial government0.9%
1,616 votes
Steve Thomassocialist workers0.89%
1,611 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. House elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.