In 1980, Mattingly scored a historic upset by unseating the veteran [[Democratic Party| Democratic]] Senator [[Herman Talmadge]], a former Georgia governor and the son of Governor [[Eugene Talmadge]]. Mattingly outpolled [[Ronald Reagan]], who lost Georgia to native son Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Timothy J. Minchin|title='An Historic Upset': Herman Talmadge's 1980 Senate Defeat and the End of a Political Dynasty|journal=''Georgia Historical Quarterly''|date=2015|volume=99|issue=3|pages=156–197|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=111013094&site=eds-live|accessdate=November 2, 2016}}</ref> Mattingly served in the Senate from January 1981 until January 1987, with membership on the Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee on military construction and veterans matters. Mattingly also served at various times on the Banking and the Housing and Urban Affairs committees. He was a leading proponent of the proposed [[line-item veto]] backed by Reagan but opposed by Congress. Reagan recognized Mattingly for his efforts to establish fiscal sanity in the 1985 [[State of the Union]] address. | In 1980, Mattingly scored a historic upset by unseating the veteran [[Democratic Party| Democratic]] Senator [[Herman Talmadge]], a former Georgia governor and the son of Governor [[Eugene Talmadge]]. Mattingly outpolled [[Ronald Reagan]], who lost Georgia to native son Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Timothy J. Minchin|title='An Historic Upset': Herman Talmadge's 1980 Senate Defeat and the End of a Political Dynasty|journal=''Georgia Historical Quarterly''|date=2015|volume=99|issue=3|pages=156–197|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=111013094&site=eds-live|accessdate=November 2, 2016}}</ref> Mattingly served in the Senate from January 1981 until January 1987, with membership on the Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee on military construction and veterans matters. Mattingly also served at various times on the Banking and the Housing and Urban Affairs committees. He was a leading proponent of the proposed [[line-item veto]] backed by Reagan but opposed by Congress. Reagan recognized Mattingly for his efforts to establish fiscal sanity in the 1985 [[State of the Union]] address. |