1980Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1980 election for California's 42nd District
U.S. House · California
Duncan Hunter (R) won with 53.3% of the vote, defeating Lionel Van Deerlin (D) by 6.5 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Duncan HunterRepublican · winner
53.3%79,713
Lionel Van DeerlinDemocrat
46.7%69,936
149,649 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Lionel Van DeerlinDuncan Hunter
$103.7K
Raised by the campaign
$152.4K
$139.8K
Spent by the campaign
$145.5K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1980.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1980