1980 United States Senate election in South Carolina
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The 1980 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Marshall Mays to win his fourth (his third full) term.
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November 4, 1980
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 County results Hollings: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for Senator on June 10, 1980. Fritz Hollings, the incumbent Senator, won the Democratic primary against two minor candidates; Nettie Durant Dickerson and William Kreml.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Fritz Hollings | 266,796 | 81.2% |
| Nettie Durant Dickerson | 34,720 | 10.6% |
| William P. Kreml | 27,049 | 8.2% |
Republican primary
The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on June 10, 1980. Marshall Mays, a former state legislator, emerged as the frontrunner and went on to defeat Charlie Rhodes in the runoff election on June 24.
| Republican Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Marshall Mays | 14,075 | 42.6% |
| Charlie Rhodes | 11,395 | 34.5% |
| Robert Carley | 7,575 | 22.9% |
| Republican Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Marshall Mays | 6,853 | 64.8% | +22.2% |
| Charlie Rhodes | 3,717 | 35.2% | +0.7% |
General election campaign
The Republican Party did not see the race as winnable and Mays received little assistance for his campaign. Hollings did little campaigning for the race and easily won re-election in the midst of an otherwise strong Republican year.
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Fritz Hollings (incumbent) | 612,556 | 70.36% | +0.92% | |
| Republican | Marshall Mays | 257,946 | 29.63% | +0.95% | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 94 | 0.01% | N/A | |
| Majority | 354,610 | 40.73% | −0.03% | ||
| Turnout | 870,596 | 70.5% | +19.2% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||