Republican candidate Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator (and future Governor) Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.

Interest in the primaries was somewhat subdued because they occurred just two days after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Oregon's most populous city, Portland.

[8][9] In October 1979, Ted Kulongoski, a labor lawyer and state senator from Junction City, became the first major candidate to declare his candidacy, claiming that Packwood was beholden to large corporate special interests.

Porter, a Eugene attorney, was a supporter of Edward Kennedy's bid for President and planned to campaign on a strong anti-war platform.

[16] As a well-funded incumbent, Packwood was expected to have a fairly easy road to re-election and led by double digit margins in most early polls.

[19] As the campaign wore on, Kulongoski grew more confident and tried to appeal to Oregonians' independent values by saying that Packwood's enormous cash advantage was due to "eastern" money.

[25] Following his unexpectedly good showing in this race, Kulongoski was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1982, but lost badly to Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh.