Ronald Reagan carried North Carolina R+2.1.

Jimmy Carter (D) vs Ronald Reagan (R) in North Carolina, 1980. The state ran 7.6 points more Democratic than the nation (R+9.7 nationally). A US Senate contest shared the 1980 ballot here.

Nominees: Jimmy Carter (D) · Ronald Reagan (R)

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North Carolina result

1,855,833 votes counted

Carter (D)

875,635

47.2%

Reagan (R)

915,018

49.3%

All others

65,180

3.5%

Margin

R+2.1

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1980 presidential election

North Carolina, 1980

ReaganR+2.1

How it voted

Share of the 1980 vote

Ronald Reagan ✓Republican	49.3%	915,018
Jimmy CarterDemocratic	47.2%	875,635
John B. AndersonIndependent	3.5%	65,180

D+60

R+60

100 counties, each filled by 1980 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

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North Carolina's presidential margins

1892–2024, the 1980 contest in context

North Carolina's presidential margins

Year	Margin (D minus R)
1892	+11.6%
1896	+5.8%
1900	+8.5%
1904	+20.1%
1908	+8.7%
1912	+47.3%
1916	+16.4%
1920	+13.5%
1924	+19.4%
1928	−9.9%
1932	+40.6%
1936	+46.8%
1940	+48.1%
1944	+33.4%
1948	+25.3%
1952	+7.8%
1956	+1.3%
1960	+4.2%
1964	+12.3%
1968	−10.3%
1972	−40.6%
1976	+11.0%
1980	−2.1%
1984	−24.0%
1988	−16.3%
1992	−0.8%
1996	−4.7%
2000	+12.8%
2004	−12.4%
2008	+0.3%
2012	−2.0%
2016	−3.7%
2020	−1.3%
2024	−3.2%

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County results — 1980

100 counties; every row links to the county's full page.

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County	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
Alamance County	R	−8.9%	15,042	18,077	34,066
Alexander County	R	−16.5%	4,546	6,376	11,109
Alleghany County	D	+4.7%	2,198	1,995	4,310
Anson County	D	+42.4%	4,973	1,968	7,087
Ashe County	R	−11.5%	4,461	5,643	10,312
Avery County	R	−37.7%	1,527	3,480	5,182
Beaufort County	R	−5.7%	6,024	6,773	13,037
Bertie County	D	+38.5%	3,863	1,695	5,632
Bladen County	D	+37.6%	6,104	2,745	8,941
Brunswick County	D	+6.6%	6,761	5,897	13,003
Buncombe County	R	−2.4%	24,837	26,124	53,530
Burke County	R	−5.0%	11,680	12,956	25,417
Cabarrus County	R	−21.0%	9,768	15,143	25,585
Caldwell County	R	−18.9%	8,738	12,965	22,310
Camden County	D	+19.1%	1,212	813	2,088
Carteret County	R	−8.5%	6,485	7,733	14,767
Caswell County	D	+23.8%	3,529	2,156	5,777
Catawba County	R	−23.8%	13,873	22,873	37,878
Chatham County	D	+13.1%	7,144	5,414	13,205
Cherokee County	R	−10.4%	3,114	3,849	7,079
Chowan County	D	+19.7%	2,146	1,424	3,660
Clay County	R	−22.9%	1,324	2,136	3,547
Cleveland County	D	+5.9%	12,219	10,828	23,498
Columbus County	D	+29.4%	10,212	5,522	15,940
Craven County	R	−4.6%	7,781	8,554	16,783
Cumberland County	D	+1.2%	22,073	21,540	45,228
Currituck County	D	+8.2%	1,980	1,668	3,786
Dare County	R	−5.3%	2,497	2,794	5,615
Davidson County	R	−21.5%	14,579	22,794	38,269
Davie County	R	−30.5%	3,289	6,302	9,880
Duplin County	D	+16.2%	7,524	5,403	13,069
Durham County	D	+11.9%	24,969	19,276	47,901
Edgecombe County	D	+14.4%	7,945	5,916	14,056
Forsyth County	R	−4.1%	38,870	42,389	84,798
Franklin County	D	+21.1%	5,427	3,508	9,081
Gaston County	R	−13.5%	19,016	25,139	45,204
Gates County	D	+42.6%	2,435	957	3,467
Graham County	R	−9.8%	1,608	1,961	3,615
Granville County	D	+22.1%	5,556	3,513	9,246
Greene County	D	+12.0%	2,835	2,221	5,113
Guilford County	R	−8.6%	44,516	53,291	102,622
Halifax County	D	+15.9%	8,364	6,033	14,648
Harnett County	D	+9.2%	8,791	7,284	16,295
Haywood County	D	+14.9%	9,814	7,217	17,462
Henderson County	R	−27.0%	7,578	13,573	22,181
Hertford County	D	+37.1%	4,102	1,854	6,060
Hoke County	D	+47.7%	3,376	1,168	4,628
Hyde County	D	+20.0%	1,221	807	2,072
Iredell County	R	−10.3%	12,067	14,926	27,794
Jackson County	D	+7.7%	4,857	4,140	9,310
Johnston County	R	−4.1%	9,601	10,444	20,376
Jones County	D	+22.0%	2,198	1,401	3,630
Lee County	D	+5.5%	5,426	4,847	10,574
Lenoir County	R	−12.9%	7,546	9,832	17,714
Lincoln County	R	−7.1%	7,796	9,009	17,196
Macon County	R	−6.9%	4,105	4,727	9,031
Madison County	D	+9.6%	3,202	2,629	5,972
Martin County	D	+29.5%	4,750	2,564	7,412
McDowell County	R	−9.2%	4,703	5,680	10,606
Mecklenburg County	R	−1.0%	66,995	68,384	143,058
Mitchell County	R	−40.8%	1,765	4,322	6,270
Montgomery County	D	+6.9%	4,129	3,587	7,842
Moore County	R	−11.0%	8,084	10,158	18,911
Nash County	R	−14.6%	8,184	11,043	19,601
New Hanover County	R	−11.1%	13,670	17,243	32,244
Northampton County	D	+45.0%	4,933	1,847	6,861
Onslow County	R	−8.9%	7,371	8,861	16,736
Orange County	D	+20.9%	15,226	9,261	28,589
Pamlico County	D	+18.9%	2,224	1,504	3,803
Pasquotank County	D	+10.2%	4,128	3,340	7,698
Pender County	D	+18.1%	4,382	3,018	7,536
Perquimans County	D	+12.3%	1,560	1,210	2,854
Person County	D	+11.0%	4,111	3,281	7,534
Pitt County	R	−0.9%	12,590	12,816	26,371
Polk County	R	−11.5%	2,375	3,021	5,609
Randolph County	R	−31.8%	10,107	19,881	30,717
Richmond County	D	+30.2%	7,416	3,911	11,609
Robeson County	D	+42.5%	17,618	6,982	25,030
Rockingham County	D	+2.1%	11,708	11,205	23,522
Rowan County	R	−22.2%	11,671	18,566	31,109
Rutherford County	R	−0.3%	8,315	8,363	16,966
Sampson County	D	+5.6%	9,090	8,097	17,578
Scotland County	D	+34.1%	4,446	2,133	6,782
Stanly County	R	−10.9%	7,784	9,734	17,846
Stokes County	R	−11.4%	5,764	7,275	13,245
Surry County	R	−5.6%	8,987	10,065	19,408
Swain County	D	+15.1%	1,987	1,457	3,520
Transylvania County	R	−8.9%	4,008	4,826	9,175
Tyrrell County	D	+30.7%	887	466	1,370
Union County	D	+5.4%	10,073	9,012	19,688
Vance County	D	+12.3%	5,415	4,217	9,774
Wake County	R	−0.7%	49,003	49,768	105,193
Warren County	D	+39.9%	3,750	1,582	5,430
Washington County	D	+21.1%	3,008	1,943	5,037
Watauga County	R	−9.4%	5,022	6,149	11,958
Wayne County	R	−14.3%	9,586	12,860	22,836
Wilkes County	R	−27.2%	8,184	14,462	23,049
Wilson County	R	−1.7%	8,042	8,329	16,704
Yadkin County	R	−31.8%	3,850	7,530	11,570
Yancey County	D	+8.6%	4,010	3,363	7,546