1980Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1980 election for Missouri's 8th District
U.S. House · Missouri
R. Wendell Bailey (R) won with 57.1% of the vote, defeating Steve Gardner (D) by 14.3 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
R. Wendell BaileyRepublican · winner
57.1%127,675
Steve GardnerDemocrat
42.9%95,751
223,426 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Steve GardnerR. Wendell Bailey
$95.8K
Raised by the campaign
$341.3K
$90.9K
Spent by the campaign
$337.2K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1980.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1980