# 1980 United States presidential election in South Carolina

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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. 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, this is the last election in which the following counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Anderson, Cherokee, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Saluda and York.
64% of white voters supported Reagan while 32% supported Carter.
Carter lost in eight of the ten most populous counties.

### Predictions

| Source | Rating | As of |
| The Times and Democrat | Tossup | September 23, 1980 |
| Boca Raton News | Tossup | October 12, 1980 |
| The Charlotte Observer | Tossup | October 22, 1980 |
| Anderson Independent | Tossup | October 29, 1980 |
| Fort Worth Star-Telegram | Tossup | October 31, 1980 |
| The State | Tossup | November 2, 1980 |
| Daily Press | Lean D | November 3, 1980 |

## Results

Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Ronald Reagan | Republican | California | 441,207 | 49.57% | 8 | George H. W. Bush | Texas | 8 |
| Jimmy Carter (incumbent) | Democratic | Georgia | 427,560 | 48.04% | 0 | Walter Mondale (incumbent) | Minnesota | 0 |
| John B. Anderson | Independent | Illinois | 14,150 | 1.59% | 0 | Patrick Lucey | Wisconsin | 0 |
| Ed Clark | Libertarian | California | 4,975 | 0.56% | 0 | David Koch | New York | 0 |
| John Rarick | American Independent | Louisiana | 1,815 | 0.20% | 0 | Eileen Shearer | California | 0 |
| — | Write-ins | — | 37 | 0.04% | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 890,105 | 100% | 8 | | | 8 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 270 | | | 270 |

### Results by county

| County | Ronald Reagan Republican | Ronald Reagan Republican | Jimmy Carter Democratic | Jimmy Carter Democratic | John B. Anderson Independent | John B. Anderson Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | 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

* Beaufort
* Berkeley
* Charleston
* Dorchester
* Florence
* Horry
* Kershaw
* Newberry
* Pickens
* Richland
* Spartanburg
* Sumter