Complex sentence: Van Deerlin was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-eighth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3,1963--January 3,1981), but was an lost his bid for reelection to the Ninety-seventh Congress in 1980 against Duncan Hunter.
Split into simpler sentences: Van Deerlin was elected to the Eighty-eighth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3,1963--January 3,1981). In 1980 he lost his bid for reelection to the Ninety-seventh Congress against Duncan Hunter.