1980Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1980 election for North Carolina's 6th District
U.S. House · North Carolina
Eugene "gene" Johnston (R) won with 51.1% of the vote, defeating Richardson Preyer (D) by 2.1 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Eugene "gene" JohnstonRepublican · winner
51.1%80,275
Richardson PreyerDemocrat
48.9%76,957
157,232 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.
Richardson PreyerEugene "gene" Johnston
$219.5K
Raised by the campaign
$251.3K
$214.9K
Spent by the campaign
$250.9K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Campaign money: FEC, through Nov 24, 1980; FEC, through Dec 31, 1980.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1980