# 1980 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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vte :
The 1980 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 4, 1980, as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Morgan ran for reelection to a second term, but narrowly lost to Republican John East.
This was the first time Republicans won this seat since 1897, and the inauguration of John East marked the first time since Reconstruction that they held both Senate seats simultaneously.

## Primaries
### Democratic

Robert Morgan was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

### Republican

John East was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

## General election
### Candidates

* John East (R), Professor at East Carolina University
* Robert Morgan (D), incumbent U.S. Senator

### Results

1980 North Carolina U.S. Senate election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | John East | 898,064 | 49.96% | +12.18% |
| | Democratic | Robert Morgan (incumbent) | 887,653 | 49.38% | −12.39% |
| | Libertarian | F.W. (Rick) Pasotto | 7,602 | 0.04% | N/A |
| | Socialist Workers | Rebecca Finch | 4,346 | 0.02% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,797,655 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |