1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1980 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 4, 1980 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 10 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 24. Three incumbents were re-elected, but John Jenrette of the 6th congressional district was defeated in his bid for re-election and the open seat in the 1st congressional district was taken by the Republicans from the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was four Republicans and two Democrats.
| Elections in South Carolina |
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1st congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mendel Jackson Davis of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1971, opted to retire. Tommy Hartnett, a Republican state senator from Charleston, defeated Thomas G. Moore in the Republican primary and Democrat Charles D. Ravenel in the general election.
Democratic primary
| Democratic primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Charles D. Ravenel | 30,966 | 55.6 |
| Wheeler Tillman | 17,070 | 30.7 |
| Charles B. Brassell | 3,838 | 6.9 |
| Benjamin Frazier, Jr. | 3,786 | 6.8 |
Republican primary
| Republican primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Thomas F. Hartnett | 10,510 | 75.4 |
| Thomas G. Moore | 3,428 | 24.6 |
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas F. Hartnett | 81,988 | 51.6 | +12.2 | |
| Democratic | Charles D. Ravenel | 76,963 | 48.4 | -12.2 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 5,025 | 3.2 | -18.0 | ||
| Turnout | 158,961 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
2nd congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Democratic challenger Tom Turnipseed.
Democratic primary
| Democratic primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Tom Turnipseed | 28,490 | 71.6 |
| Leigh J. Leventis | 11,303 | 28.4 |
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Floyd Spence (incumbent) | 92,306 | 55.7 | -1.6 | |
| Democratic | Tom Turnipseed | 73,353 | 44.3 | +1.6 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 19 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 18,953 | 11.4 | -3.2 | ||
| Turnout | 165,678 | ||||
| Republican hold | |||||
3rd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Butler Derrick of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Republican challenger Marshall Parker.
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Butler Derrick (incumbent) | 87,680 | 59.8 | -22.1 | |
| Republican | Marshall Parker | 57,840 | 39.4 | +21.3 | |
| Libertarian | Boyce Lee Muller | 1,118 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 29,840 | 20.4 | -43.4 | ||
| Turnout | 146,642 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
4th congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1979, defeated Libertarian challenger Thomas P. Waldenfels.
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Carroll Campbell (incumbent) | 90,941 | 92.6 | +40.5 | |
| Libertarian | Boyce Lee Muller | 6,984 | 7.1 | +7.1 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 248 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 83,957 | 85.5 | +79.6 | ||
| Turnout | 98,173 | ||||
| Republican hold | |||||
5th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Kenneth Lamar Holland of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Libertarian challenger Thomas Campbell.
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ken Holland (incumbent) | 99,773 | 87.5 | +4.9 | |
| Libertarian | Thomas Campbell | 14,252 | 12.5 | +12.5 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 13 | 0.0 | -0.2 | |
| Majority | 85,521 | 75.0 | -9.6 | ||
| Turnout | 114,038 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
6th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John Jenrette of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1975, was defeated in his bid for re-election by Republican John Light Napier.
Democratic primary
| Democratic primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| John Jenrette | 38,565 | 45.3 |
| Hicks Harwell | 22,251 | 26.2 |
| John W. Brassington | 11,346 | 13.3 |
| Erick B. Ficken | 8,061 | 9.5 |
| William T. McElveen, Sr. | 4,887 | 5.7 |
| Democratic primary runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| John Jenrette | 42,759 | 52.5 | +7.3 |
| Hicks Harwell | 38,621 | 47.5 | +21.3 |
Republican primary
| Republican primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| John Light Napier | 3,735 | 60.0 |
| Edward Lunn Young | 2,491 | 40.0 |
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Light Napier | 75,635 | 51.7 | +51.7 | |
| Democratic | John Jenrette (incumbent) | 70,445 | 48.2 | -51.5 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 86 | 0.1 | -0.2 | |
| Majority | 5,190 | 3.5 | -95.9 | ||
| Turnout | 146,166 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||