United States · Election results history · 1980 president · Kentucky

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.

1980 presidential election in Kentucky

Ronald Reagan (Republican) beat Jimmy Carter (Democrat) in Kentucky in 1980, 49.0% to 47.7%, a margin of 1.4 points and 17,857 votes.

Kentucky voted 8.4 points more Democratic than the country as a whole, where the margin was R+9.7.

Kentucky changed party: in 1976 it went Democratic, for Jimmy Carter.

Democrats led in 69 of the 120 counties as they stood then and Republicans in 51. The largest, Jefferson, cast 265,286 votes and went to the Republican by 0.5 points. The closest was Todd, where 11 votes separated the two parties.

United States

Results

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If only voted How this works

If the polls miss like

Or set the national mood Turnout

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.

Result

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Ronald Reagan won	Republican	635,274	49.0%
Jimmy Carter	Democratic	617,417	47.7%
All other candidates		42,936	3.3%
Total		1,295,627

Every county

County	Democrat	Republican	Others	Total	Margin
Jefferson	125,844 47.4%	127,254 48.0%	12,188	265,286	R+0.5
Fayette	30,511 42.5%	35,349 49.2%	5,957	71,817	R+6.7
Kenton	17,907 38.7%	25,965 56.2%	2,360	46,232	R+17.4
Daviess	14,902 48.5%	14,643 47.7%	1,172	30,717	D+0.8
Campbell	11,059 37.9%	16,743 57.3%	1,406	29,208	R+19.5
Pike	14,878 57.8%	10,550 41.0%	292	25,720	D+16.8
McCracken	13,365 54.9%	10,281 42.3%	679	24,325	D+12.7
Warren	9,643 42.7%	12,184 53.9%	777	22,604	R+11.2
Boyd	10,702 49.3%	10,367 47.8%	626	21,695	D+1.5
Pulaski	6,570 33.0%	12,970 65.1%	379	19,919	R+32.1
Hardin	8,339 44.5%	9,779 52.2%	620	18,738	R+7.7
Franklin	11,193 60.4%	6,455 34.8%	882	18,530	D+25.6
Madison	8,208 46.4%	8,437 47.7%	1,026	17,671	R+1.3
Christian	7,048 45.4%	8,209 52.9%	255	15,512	R+7.5
Floyd	10,975 71.3%	4,179 27.2%	231	15,385	D+44.2
Hopkins	8,810 57.4%	6,238 40.6%	307	15,355	D+16.8
Harlan	8,798 60.9%	5,460 37.8%	199	14,457	D+23.1
Greenup	7,126 49.9%	6,857 48.0%	292	14,275	D+1.9
Boone	5,374 38.0%	8,263 58.4%	511	14,148	R+20.4
Graves	6,999 50.7%	6,556 47.5%	261	13,816	D+3.2
Henderson	8,082 59.2%	5,074 37.1%	503	13,659	D+22.0
Laurel	3,969 30.5%	8,868 68.2%	160	12,997	R+37.7
Bullitt	5,884 46.8%	6,364 50.6%	328	12,576	R+3.8
Bell	6,362 52.6%	5,433 44.9%	293	12,088	D+7.7
Calloway	6,809 56.9%	4,498 37.6%	657	11,964	D+19.3
Barren	5,285 44.3%	6,405 53.7%	243	11,933	R+9.4
Muhlenberg	6,616 56.5%	4,893 41.8%	197	11,706	D+14.7
Whitley	3,889 35.1%	7,007 63.3%	181	11,077	R+28.1
Marshall	6,231 57.8%	4,403 40.8%	145	10,779	D+17.0
Perry	6,031 58.2%	4,226 40.8%	110	10,367	D+17.4
Clark	5,071 52.4%	4,302 44.4%	312	9,685	D+7.9
Oldham	3,487 36.7%	5,586 58.7%	437	9,510	R+22.1
Knox	3,543 38.3%	5,539 59.9%	158	9,240	R+21.6
Nelson	5,514 60.5%	3,349 36.7%	251	9,114	D+23.8
Ohio	3,486 39.1%	5,272 59.1%	163	8,921	R+20.0
Boyle	4,429 51.7%	3,848 44.9%	297	8,574	D+6.8
Jessamine	3,310 38.8%	4,809 56.4%	411	8,530	R+17.6
Johnson	3,142 37.7%	5,039 60.5%	148	8,329	R+22.8
Shelby	4,429 54.6%	3,423 42.2%	256	8,108	D+12.4
Grayson	2,788 34.5%	5,084 63.0%	204	8,076	R+28.4
Carter	3,782 48.2%	3,934 50.2%	123	7,839	R+1.9
Letcher	4,280 54.7%	3,426 43.8%	112	7,818	D+10.9
Logan	4,264 54.8%	3,366 43.3%	151	7,781	D+11.5
Taylor	3,400 43.8%	4,243 54.6%	125	7,768	R+10.9
Knott	5,405 76.5%	1,602 22.7%	58	7,065	D+53.8
Mercer	3,528 50.6%	3,275 47.0%	167	6,970	D+3.6
Breckinridge	3,163 45.9%	3,629 52.7%	99	6,891	R+6.8
Clay	2,121 31.3%	4,594 67.8%	63	6,778	R+36.5
Wayne	2,673 39.8%	3,972 59.1%	71	6,716	R+19.3
Scott	3,531 53.0%	2,868 43.0%	268	6,667	D+9.9
Woodford	3,122 47.9%	3,105 47.7%	288	6,515	D+0.3
Adair	2,285 35.6%	4,051 63.1%	82	6,418	R+27.5
Montgomery	3,391 52.8%	2,869 44.7%	158	6,418	D+8.1
Bourbon	3,641 57.4%	2,475 39.0%	230	6,346	D+18.4
Mason	3,181 50.6%	2,926 46.5%	180	6,287	D+4.1
Hart	3,005 48.4%	3,129 50.4%	70	6,204	R+2.0
Lincoln	2,991 49.0%	3,034 49.7%	80	6,105	R+0.7
Meade	3,205 52.9%	2,740 45.2%	114	6,059	D+7.7
Rowan	2,975 49.7%	2,758 46.1%	254	5,987	D+3.6
Marion	3,577 61.5%	2,126 36.6%	113	5,816	D+24.9
Monroe	1,156 19.9%	4,592 79.0%	65	5,813	R+59.1
Caldwell	2,924 51.8%	2,609 46.2%	112	5,645	D+5.6
Harrison	3,319 58.8%	2,184 38.7%	142	5,645	D+20.1
Casey	1,298 23.0%	4,239 75.3%	95	5,632	R+52.2
Russell	1,693 30.6%	3,804 68.7%	43	5,540	R+38.1
Webster	3,506 63.3%	1,939 35.0%	90	5,535	D+28.3
Breathitt	3,916 70.8%	1,532 27.7%	84	5,532	D+43.1
Union	3,479 64.0%	1,847 34.0%	111	5,437	D+30.0
McCreary	1,377 25.9%	3,786 71.3%	149	5,312	R+45.4
Magoffin	2,986 56.4%	2,265 42.8%	46	5,297	D+13.6
Allen	2,010 38.1%	3,186 60.4%	82	5,278	R+22.3
Lawrence	2,362 47.4%	2,564 51.5%	54	4,980	R+4.1
Rockcastle	1,345 27.2%	3,543 71.6%	59	4,947	R+44.4
Leslie	1,327 27.0%	3,536 71.9%	58	4,921	R+44.9
Estill	1,965 40.4%	2,818 58.0%	78	4,861	R+17.5
Simpson	2,713 56.3%	2,020 41.9%	86	4,819	D+14.4
Henry	2,999 62.3%	1,723 35.8%	88	4,810	D+26.5
Anderson	2,567 53.9%	2,052 43.1%	145	4,764	D+10.8
Trigg	2,619 56.9%	1,913 41.5%	73	4,605	D+15.3
Clinton	1,000 21.8%	3,539 77.1%	51	4,590	R+55.3
Green	1,758 38.3%	2,775 60.5%	54	4,587	R+22.2
Garrard	1,774 39.6%	2,585 57.7%	121	4,480	R+18.1
Butler	1,274 28.6%	3,129 70.3%	47	4,450	R+41.7
Martin	1,567 35.4%	2,793 63.0%	70	4,430	R+27.7
Lewis	1,543 35.1%	2,802 63.8%	48	4,393	R+28.7
Fleming	2,051 47.5%	2,189 50.7%	75	4,315	R+3.2
Larue	2,183 51.4%	2,000 47.1%	66	4,249	D+4.3
Washington	2,147 50.5%	2,008 47.3%	94	4,249	D+3.3
Edmonson	1,252 29.6%	2,913 68.8%	68	4,233	R+39.2
Morgan	2,698 64.3%	1,450 34.5%	51	4,199	D+29.7
Grant	2,272 54.3%	1,779 42.5%	132	4,183	D+11.8
Jackson	702 17.0%	3,379 82.0%	42	4,123	R+64.9
Livingston	2,287 57.1%	1,670 41.7%	51	4,008	D+15.4
Todd	1,956 49.1%	1,945 48.9%	80	3,981	D+0.3
Pendleton	1,992 51.5%	1,757 45.4%	117	3,866	D+6.1
Ballard	2,583 67.5%	1,190 31.1%	53	3,826	D+36.4
Crittenden	1,508 40.0%	2,219 58.8%	44	3,771	R+18.9
Powell	2,006 53.3%	1,716 45.6%	45	3,767	D+7.7
McLean	2,147 57.9%	1,497 40.4%	66	3,710	D+17.5
Metcalfe	1,628 43.9%	2,013 54.3%	66	3,707	R+10.4
Bath	2,174 58.8%	1,463 39.6%	61	3,698	D+19.2
Fulton	2,016 56.8%	1,462 41.2%	69	3,547	D+15.6
Owen	2,323 69.5%	944 28.2%	77	3,344	D+41.2
Carroll	2,127 63.9%	1,076 32.3%	125	3,328	D+31.6
Cumberland	821 26.6%	2,216 71.9%	44	3,081	R+45.3
Hancock	1,530 50.9%	1,367 45.5%	107	3,004	D+5.4
Wolfe	1,814 64.7%	951 33.9%	40	2,805	D+30.8
Lee	1,017 37.3%	1,650 60.5%	59	2,726	R+23.2
Hickman	1,456 54.6%	1,143 42.8%	69	2,668	D+11.7
Bracken	1,420 53.7%	1,154 43.6%	70	2,644	D+10.1
Carlisle	1,542 60.6%	975 38.3%	28	2,545	D+22.3
Lyon	1,496 59.2%	968 38.3%	63	2,527	D+20.9
Trimble	1,478 61.8%	824 34.4%	90	2,392	D+27.3
Nicholas	1,349 57.4%	915 38.9%	87	2,351	D+18.5
Elliott	1,668 74.4%	551 24.6%	22	2,241	D+49.8
Spencer	1,216 55.3%	935 42.5%	49	2,200	D+12.8
Gallatin	988 58.0%	684 40.1%	32	1,704	D+17.8
Owsley	437 25.7%	1,250 73.6%	12	1,699	R+47.9
Menifee	966 62.6%	547 35.5%	30	1,543	D+27.2
Robertson	562 56.3%	416 41.6%	21	999	D+14.6

Counties as they stood in 1980; some have since been split, merged or renamed. Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Sources and how the results were checked.

Kentucky in every presidential election we hold

Year	Winner	Margin
2024	Donald Trump (R)	R+30.5
2020	Donald Trump (R)	R+25.9
2016	Donald Trump (R)	R+29.8
2012	Mitt Romney (R)	R+22.7
2008	John McCain (R)	R+16.2
2004	George W. Bush (R)	R+19.9
2000	George W. Bush (R)	R+15.1
1996	Bill Clinton (D)	D+1.0
1992	Bill Clinton (D)	D+3.2
1988	George H. W. Bush (R)	R+11.6
1984	Ronald Reagan (R)	R+20.6
1980	Ronald Reagan (R)	R+1.4
1976	Jimmy Carter (D)	D+7.2
1972	Richard Nixon (R)	R+28.6
1968	Richard Nixon (R)	R+6.1
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson (D)	D+28.4
1960	Richard Nixon (R)	R+7.2
1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)	R+9.1
1952	Adlai Stevenson II (D)	D+0.1
1948	Harry S. Truman (D)	D+15.3
1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)	D+9.2
1940	Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)	D+15.1
1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)	D+18.6
1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)	D+18.9
1928	Herbert Hoover (R)	R+18.8
1924	Calvin Coolidge (R)	R+3.0
1920	James M. Cox (D)	D+0.6
1916	Woodrow Wilson (D)	D+5.4
1912	Woodrow Wilson (D)	D+23.0
1908	William Jennings Bryan (D)	D+1.7
1904	Alton B. Parker (D)	D+2.7
1900	William Jennings Bryan (D)	D+1.7
1896	William McKinley (R)	R+0.1
1892	Grover Cleveland (D)	D+11.7
1888	Grover Cleveland (D)	D+8.3
1884	Grover Cleveland (D)	D+12.4
1880	Winfield Scott Hancock (D)	D+15.9
1876	Samuel J. Tilden (D)	D+24.0
1872	Third party (other)
1868	Horatio Seymour (D)	D+49.4

1980 presidential election in Kentucky

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Kentucky in every presidential election we hold

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