Election 1980 Results
Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.
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1980 governor election results by state and county
Ronald Reagan's victory year saw Republicans win seven of 13 governor races and gain four states, with Frank D. White unseating a young Bill Clinton in Arkansas.
13 governor races were held in 1980. Democrats won 6 and Republicans 7.
The closest were Arkansas (R+3.9), Missouri (R+5.6) and North Dakota (R+7.2). 4 governorships changed party: Arkansas to the Republicans, Missouri to the Republicans, North Dakota to the Republicans and Washington to the Republicans.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1980 governor elections
Ronald Reagan defeated President Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Republicans won control of the Senate for the first time since 1954. Thirteen states elected governors, and Republicans won seven to the Democrats' six. Republicans gained Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington. In Arkansas, Frank D. White beat Governor Bill Clinton by about four points, a defeat Clinton blamed partly on a car tag fee increase and the riots by Cuban refugees held at Fort Chaffee. In Missouri, Christopher S. "Kit" Bond won back the office he had lost in 1976, beating Joseph P. Teasdale. Allen I. Olson unseated Arthur A. Link in North Dakota, and John D. Spellman took Washington. Democrats held their ground elsewhere. John D. Rockefeller IV was re-elected in West Virginia over Arch A. Moore Jr., Scott M. Matheson won again in Utah, Ted Schwinden took Montana and Hugh J. Gallen beat Meldrim Thomson Jr. a second time in New Hampshire. Republican Robert D. Orr won Indiana.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas flip | Bill Clinton | 403,241 (48.1%) | Frank D. White | 435,684 (51.9%) | R+3.9 | |
| Delaware | William J. Gordy | 64,217 (28.5%) | Pete du Pont | 159,004 (70.7%) | 1,815 | R+42.1 |
| Indiana | John A. Hillenbrand | 913,116 (41.9%) | Robert D. Orr | 1,257,383 (57.7%) | 7,904 | R+15.8 |
| Missouri flip | Joseph P. Teasdale | 981,884 (47.0%) | Kit Bond | 1,098,950 (52.6%) | 7,194 | R+5.6 |
| Montana | Ted Schwinden | 199,574 (55.4%) | Jack Ramirez | 160,896 (44.6%) | D+10.7 | |
| New Hampshire | Hugh Gallen | 226,436 (59.0%) | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | 156,178 (40.7%) | 1,417 | D+18.3 |
| North Carolina | Jim Hunt | 1,143,145 (61.9%) | I. Beverly Lake | 691,449 (37.4%) | 12,492 | D+24.5 |
| North Dakota flip | Arthur A. Link | 140,391 (46.4%) | Allen I. Olson | 162,230 (53.6%) | R+7.2 | |
| Rhode Island | J. Joseph Garrahy | 299,174 (73.7%) | Vincent A. Cianci | 106,729 (26.3%) | D+47.4 | |
| Utah | Scott M. Matheson | 330,974 (55.2%) | Bob Wright | 266,578 (44.4%) | 2,467 | D+10.7 |
| Vermont | M. Jerome Diamond | 77,363 (36.8%) | Richard A. Snelling | 123,229 (58.6%) | 9,789 | R+21.8 |
| Washington flip | James A. McDermott | 749,813 (43.3%) | John D. Spellman | 981,083 (56.7%) | R+13.4 | |
| West Virginia | Jay Rockefeller | 401,863 (54.1%) | Arch A. Moore Jr. | 337,240 (45.4%) | 3,047 | D+8.7 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.