South Carolina — 1980 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1980 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentReaganR+1.5
How it voted
Share of the 1980 vote
| Ronald Reagan ✓Republican | 49.6% | 441,206 |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy CarterDemocratic | 48.0% | 427,559 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.4% | 21,340 |
1980presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 1980 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Democratic | D+25.5 |
| Aiken County, SC | Republican | R+17.2 |
| Allendale County, SC | Democratic | D+40.0 |
| Anderson County, SC | Democratic | D+8.9 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Democratic | D+22.1 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Democratic | D+2.6 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Republican | R+7.2 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Republican | R+12.9 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Democratic | D+7.2 |
| Charleston County, SC | Republican | R+14.2 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Democratic | D+12.2 |
| Chester County, SC | Democratic | D+24.4 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Democratic | D+29.2 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Democratic | D+17.9 |
| Colleton County, SC | Democratic | D+9.7 |
| Darlington County, SC | Democratic | D+1.2 |
| Dillon County, SC | Democratic | D+14.2 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Republican | R+20.0 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Democratic | D+17.7 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Democratic | D+32.5 |
| Florence County, SC | Republican | R+2.0 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Democratic | D+12.9 |
| Greenville County, SC | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Democratic | D+11.8 |
| Hampton County, SC | Democratic | D+32.0 |
| Horry County, SC | Republican | R+1.5 |
| Jasper County, SC | Democratic | D+34.1 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Republican | R+12.9 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Democratic | D+12.3 |
| Laurens County, SC | Democratic | D+12.9 |
| Lee County, SC | Democratic | D+23.7 |
| Lexington County, SC | Republican | R+38.1 |
| Marion County, SC | Democratic | D+23.4 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Democratic | D+34.7 |
| McCormick County, SC | Democratic | D+37.5 |
| Newberry County, SC | Republican | R+7.1 |
| Oconee County, SC | Democratic | D+14.9 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Democratic | D+17.5 |
| Pickens County, SC | Republican | R+10.0 |
| Richland County, SC | Republican | R+4.4 |
| Saluda County, SC | Democratic | D+3.9 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Republican | R+4.8 |
| Sumter County, SC | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Union County, SC | Democratic | D+21.4 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Democratic | D+22.7 |
| York County, SC | Democratic | D+3.4 |
South Carolina results by county
46 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Jimmy Carter+1,688 | 2,36135.6% | 4,04961.1% | 2223.3% | 6,632 |
| Aiken County | Ronald Reagan+5,556 | 18,57057.4% | 13,01440.2% | 7852.4% | 32,369 |
| Allendale County | Jimmy Carter+1,596 | 1,18229.6% | 2,77869.6% | 300.8% | 3,990 |
| Anderson County | Jimmy Carter+3,134 | 15,66744.4% | 18,80153.3% | 8372.4% | 35,305 |
| Bamberg County | Jimmy Carter+1,196 | 2,09838.7% | 3,29460.8% | 300.6% | 5,422 |
| Barnwell County | Jimmy Carter+171 | 3,22848.1% | 3,39950.7% | 781.2% | 6,705 |
| Beaufort County | Ronald Reagan+1,205 | 8,62051.6% | 7,41544.4% | 6654.0% | 16,700 |
| Berkeley County | Ronald Reagan+2,980 | 12,83055.6% | 9,85042.7% | 3841.7% | 23,064 |
| Calhoun County | Jimmy Carter+276 | 1,76745.9% | 2,04353.0% | 431.1% | 3,853 |
| Charleston County | Ronald Reagan+11,384 | 44,11155.1% | 32,72740.9% | 3,1744.0% | 80,012 |
| Cherokee County | Jimmy Carter+1,510 | 5,37943.3% | 6,88955.5% | 1501.2% | 12,418 |
| Chester County | Jimmy Carter+2,041 | 3,10437.1% | 5,14561.5% | 1141.4% | 8,363 |
| Chesterfield County | Jimmy Carter+2,915 | 3,47834.9% | 6,39364.1% | 1011.0% | 9,972 |
| Clarendon County | Jimmy Carter+1,821 | 4,15840.8% | 5,97958.7% | 570.6% | 10,194 |
| Colleton County | Jimmy Carter+1,026 | 4,71944.8% | 5,74554.5% | 790.7% | 10,543 |
| Darlington County | Jimmy Carter+200 | 8,28948.4% | 8,48949.6% | 3532.1% | 17,131 |
| Dillon County | Jimmy Carter+1,133 | 3,38542.3% | 4,51856.5% | 971.2% | 8,000 |
| Dorchester County | Ronald Reagan+3,656 | 10,89359.5% | 7,23739.6% | 1680.9% | 18,298 |
| Edgefield County | Jimmy Carter+1,050 | 2,41540.7% | 3,46558.4% | 571.0% | 5,937 |
| Fairfield County | Jimmy Carter+2,055 | 2,09833.2% | 4,15365.7% | 721.1% | 6,323 |
| Florence County | Ronald Reagan+678 | 17,06950.2% | 16,39148.2% | 5511.6% | 34,011 |
| Georgetown County | Jimmy Carter+1,550 | 5,15142.8% | 6,70155.6% | 1901.6% | 12,042 |
| Greenville County | Ronald Reagan+14,033 | 46,16857.4% | 32,13540.0% | 2,1122.6% | 80,415 |
| Greenwood County | Jimmy Carter+1,993 | 7,29043.2% | 9,28355.0% | 3151.9% | 16,888 |
| Hampton County | Jimmy Carter+2,112 | 2,21733.6% | 4,32965.6% | 570.9% | 6,603 |
| Horry County | Ronald Reagan+435 | 14,32349.6% | 13,88848.1% | 6532.3% | 28,864 |
| Jasper County | Jimmy Carter+1,695 | 1,61732.5% | 3,31266.7% | 400.8% | 4,969 |
| Kershaw County | Ronald Reagan+1,549 | 6,65255.6% | 5,10342.6% | 2191.8% | 11,974 |
| Lancaster County | Jimmy Carter+1,873 | 6,41042.3% | 8,28354.6% | 4773.1% | 15,170 |
| Laurens County | Jimmy Carter+1,820 | 6,03642.8% | 7,85655.7% | 2011.4% | 14,093 |
| Lee County | Jimmy Carter+1,866 | 2,95237.5% | 4,81861.2% | 1071.4% | 7,877 |
| Lexington County | Ronald Reagan+15,979 | 28,31367.6% | 12,33429.4% | 1,2393.0% | 41,886 |
| Marion County | Jimmy Carter+2,058 | 3,32137.7% | 5,37961.1% | 1011.1% | 8,801 |
| Marlboro County | Jimmy Carter+2,793 | 2,58532.2% | 5,37866.9% | 771.0% | 8,040 |
| McCormick County | Jimmy Carter+977 | 79730.6% | 1,77468.1% | 341.3% | 2,605 |
| Newberry County | Ronald Reagan+743 | 5,56853.0% | 4,82545.9% | 1201.1% | 10,513 |
| Oconee County | Jimmy Carter+2,026 | 5,65141.6% | 7,67756.5% | 2631.9% | 13,591 |
| Orangeburg County | Jimmy Carter+4,865 | 11,31340.8% | 16,17858.3% | 2420.9% | 27,733 |
| Pickens County | Ronald Reagan+1,786 | 9,57553.4% | 7,78943.5% | 5593.1% | 17,923 |
| Richland County | Ronald Reagan+3,179 | 36,33749.9% | 33,15845.5% | 3,3744.6% | 72,869 |
| Saluda County | Jimmy Carter+201 | 2,45047.4% | 2,65151.3% | 681.3% | 5,169 |
| Spartanburg County | Ronald Reagan+2,847 | 30,09251.1% | 27,24546.3% | 1,5322.6% | 58,869 |
| Sumter County | Ronald Reagan+1,352 | 10,55752.5% | 9,20545.7% | 3641.8% | 20,126 |
| Union County | Jimmy Carter+2,239 | 4,03538.6% | 6,27460.0% | 1471.4% | 10,456 |
| Williamsburg County | Jimmy Carter+3,025 | 5,11038.3% | 8,13561.0% | 990.7% | 13,344 |
| York County | Jimmy Carter+810 | 11,26546.9% | 12,07550.2% | 7032.9% | 24,043 |
Nominees: Jimmy Carter (D) · Ronald Reagan (R)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1980 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +58.6% |
| 1896 | +71.8% |
| 1900 | +86.0% |
| 1904 | +90.8% |
| 1908 | +87.8% |
| 1912 | +95.9% |
| 1916 | +94.3% |
| 1920 | +92.1% |
| 1924 | +94.3% |
| 1928 | +82.9% |
| 1932 | +98.0% |
| 1936 | +98.6% |
| 1940 | +91.3% |
| 1944 | +83.2% |
| 1948 | +20.4% |
| 1952 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | +20.2% |
| 1960 | +2.5% |
| 1964 | −17.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −42.7% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −28.0% |
| 1988 | −23.9% |
| 1992 | −8.1% |
| 1996 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | −15.9% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | −9.0% |
| 2012 | −10.5% |
| 2016 | −14.3% |
| 2020 | −11.7% |
| 2024 | −17.9% |
Same ballot, 1980SC
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1980 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.