Template:SHORTDESC:
1980 United States presidential election in South Carolina
County Results
Reagan
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
Carter
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
The 1980 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 1980. All 50 states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1980 United States presidential election . South Carolina voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
South Carolina was won by former California Governor Ronald Reagan (R) by a very slim margin of 1 point and a half.[ 1] This remains the third-closest presidential election in South Carolina history after the controversial 1876 election and the transformative 1952 election .
Campaign
The state weighed in for this election as 8% more Democratic than the national average, just 3% less than four years earlier. As of the 2020 presidential election [update] , this is the last election in which the following counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Anderson , Cherokee , Greenwood , Laurens , Oconee , Saluda and York .[ 2]
64% of white voters supported Reagan while 32% supported Carter.
Carter lost in eight of the ten most populous counties.[ 5]
Predictions
Results
Results by county
County[ 13]
Ronald Reagan Republican
Jimmy Carter Democratic
John B. Anderson Independent
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Abbeville
2,361
35.60%
4,049
61.05%
111
1.67%
111
1.67%
-1,688
-25.45%
6,632
Aiken
18,570
57.37%
13,014
40.21%
601
1.86%
184
0.57%
5,556
17.16%
32,369
Allendale
1,182
29.62%
2,778
69.62%
17
0.43%
13
0.33%
-1,596
-40.00%
3,990
Anderson
15,667
44.38%
18,801
53.25%
474
1.34%
363
1.03%
-3,134
-8.87%
35,305
Bamberg
2,098
38.69%
3,294
60.75%
17
0.31%
13
0.24%
-1,196
-22.06%
5,422
Barnwell
3,228
48.14%
3,399
50.69%
64
0.95%
14
0.21%
-171
-2.55%
6,705
Beaufort
8,620
51.62%
7,415
44.40%
513
3.07%
152
0.91%
1,205
7.22%
16,700
Berkeley
12,830
55.63%
9,850
42.71%
292
1.27%
92
0.40%
2,980
12.92%
23,064
Calhoun
1,767
45.86%
2,043
53.02%
31
0.80%
12
0.31%
-276
-7.16%
3,853
Charleston
44,111
55.13%
32,727
40.90%
2,222
2.78%
952
1.19%
11,384
14.23%
80,012
Cherokee
5,379
43.32%
6,889
55.48%
86
0.69%
64
0.52%
-1,510
-12.16%
12,418
Chester
3,104
37.12%
5,145
61.52%
87
1.04%
27
0.32%
-2,041
-24.40%
8,363
Chesterfield
3,478
34.88%
6,393
64.11%
64
0.64%
37
0.37%
-2,915
-29.23%
9,972
Clarendon
4,158
40.79%
5,979
58.65%
28
0.27%
29
0.28%
-1,821
-17.86%
10,194
Colleton
4,719
44.76%
5,745
54.49%
58
0.55%
21
0.20%
-1,026
-9.73%
10,543
Darlington
8,289
48.39%
8,489
49.55%
220
1.28%
133
0.78%
-200
-1.16%
17,131
Dillon
3,385
42.31%
4,518
56.48%
59
0.74%
38
0.48%
-1,133
-14.17%
8,000
Dorchester
10,893
59.53%
7,237
39.55%
140
0.77%
28
0.15%
3,656
19.98%
18,298
Edgefield
2,415
40.68%
3,465
58.36%
29
0.49%
28
0.47%
-1,050
-17.68%
5,937
Fairfield
2,098
33.18%
4,153
65.68%
37
0.59%
35
0.55%
-2,055
-32.50%
6,323
Florence
17,069
50.19%
16,391
48.19%
348
1.02%
203
0.60%
678
2.00%
34,011
Georgetown
5,151
42.78%
6,701
55.65%
148
1.23%
42
0.35%
-1,550
-12.87%
12,042
Greenville
46,168
57.41%
32,135
39.96%
1,600
1.99%
512
0.64%
14,033
17.45%
80,415
Greenwood
7,290
43.17%
9,283
54.97%
230
1.36%
85
0.50%
-1,993
-11.80%
16,888
Hampton
2,217
33.58%
4,329
65.56%
35
0.53%
22
0.33%
-2,112
-31.98%
6,603
Horry
14,323
49.62%
13,888
48.12%
528
1.83%
125
0.43%
435
1.50%
28,864
Jasper
1,617
32.54%
3,312
66.65%
32
0.64%
8
0.16%
-1,695
-34.11%
4,969
Kershaw
6,652
55.55%
5,103
42.62%
145
1.21%
74
0.62%
1,549
12.93%
11,974
Lancaster
6,410
42.25%
8,283
54.60%
331
2.18%
146
0.96%
-1,873
-12.35%
15,170
Laurens
6,036
42.83%
7,856
55.74%
125
0.89%
76
0.54%
-1,820
-12.91%
14,093
Lee
2,952
37.48%
4,818
61.17%
18
0.23%
89
1.13%
-1,866
-23.69%
7,877
Lexington
28,313
67.60%
12,334
29.45%
762
1.82%
477
1.14%
15,979
38.15%
41,886
McCormick
797
30.60%
1,774
68.10%
22
0.84%
12
0.46%
-977
-37.50%
2,605
Marion
3,321
37.73%
5,379
61.12%
75
0.85%
26
0.30%
-2,058
-23.39%
8,801
Marlboro
2,585
32.15%
5,378
66.89%
52
0.65%
25
0.31%
-2,793
-34.74%
8,040
Newberry
5,568
52.96%
4,825
45.90%
80
0.76%
40
0.38%
743
7.06%
10,513
Oconee
5,651
41.58%
7,677
56.49%
189
1.39%
74
0.54%
-2,026
-14.91%
13,591
Orangeburg
11,313
40.79%
16,178
58.33%
141
0.51%
101
0.36%
-4,865
-17.54%
27,733
Pickens
9,575
53.42%
7,789
43.46%
402
2.24%
157
0.88%
1,786
9.96%
17,923
Richland
36,337
49.87%
33,158
45.50%
1,812
2.49%
1,562
2.14%
3,179
4.37%
72,869
Saluda
2,450
47.40%
2,651
51.29%
38
0.74%
30
0.58%
-201
-3.89%
5,169
Spartanburg
30,092
51.12%
27,245
46.28%
941
1.60%
591
1.00%
2,847
4.84%
58,869
Sumter
10,557
52.45%
9,205
45.74%
250
1.24%
114
0.57%
1,352
6.71%
20,126
Union
4,035
38.59%
6,274
60.00%
93
0.89%
54
0.52%
-2,239
-21.41%
10,456
Williamsburg
5,110
38.29%
8,135
60.96%
64
0.48%
35
0.26%
-3,025
-22.67%
13,344
York
11,265
46.85%
12,075
50.22%
539
2.24%
164
0.68%
-810
-3.37%
24,043
Totals
441,207
49.57%
427,560
48.04%
14,150
1.59%
7,166
0.81%
13,647
1.53%
890,083
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
References
↑ "1980 Presidential General Election Results – South Carolina" . Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
↑ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’ ; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review ; June 29, 2016
↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991 , p. 123.
↑ "Visit Might Put Reagan "Over the Top" in S.C.". The Times and Democrat . Orangeburg , South Carolina . The Associated Press. September 23, 1980. p. 9b.
↑ Tyson, Remer (October 12, 1980). "Long Shot Strategy: Reagan's Efforts in South Paying Off". Boca Raton News . p. 12A.
↑ Walser, Jim (October 22, 1980). "Carter, Reagan Battle for S.C.". The Charlotte Observer . Charlotte , North Carolina . Observer Columbia Bureau. p. 1.
↑ Ragan (October 29, 1980). "Riley Leads Carter Vote Drive". Anderson Independent-Mail . p. 1.
↑ Pettys, Dick (October 31, 1980). "Reagan Quietly Undermining Carter's '76 Support". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . The Associated Press. p. 8A.
↑ Stucker, Jan (November 2, 1980). "Carter in the Carolinas — A Tale of Two States". The State . Columbia, South Carolina . p. B1.
↑ "Down by the Wire: State by State, It's Just too Close to Call". Daily Press . Victorville , California . November 3, 1980. p. B-1.
↑ "SC US President — November 04, 1980" . Our Campaigns.
Works cited